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Daniel Diaz-Bonilla got a text from his dad two days ago, telling him things can change in a moment and to prepare for when it comes.

Diaz-Bonilla has patiently waited his turn throughout the regular season. The forward appeared in 13 games off the bench, without registering a goal contribution. He’s entered games sporadically, often toward the end of halves. But Wednesday evening, Diaz-Bonilla finally got his chance.

His two goals and two assists propelled Syracuse (8-3-6, 2-1-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) to a blowout, 5-0 win over North Carolina State (6-9-3, 1-5-2 ACC) in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Diaz-Bonilla’s four goal contributions were the most from an SU player since 2013.

Entering the match, Diaz-Bonilla had only taken five shots all season but made an instant impact against the Wolfpack. The graduate student substituted in for Julius Rauch at the 38:28 mark in the first half. Forty-six seconds later, Diaz-Bonilla provided Syracuse with a much-needed second goal heading into halftime.

After scoring 11 goals and dishing out 11 assists in three seasons with Princeton, Diaz-Bonilla transferred to Syracuse as a graduate student. He’d yet to make a big splash offensively with the Orange. His biggest chance came against Clemson on Oct. 15 when he hit the crossbar on a one-on-one with the goalie. Against the Wolfpack, Diaz-Bonilla didn’t think twice when a chance presented itself.

“I’d like to think I was due,” Diaz-Bonilla said postgame. “I don’t know if I was expecting two goals and two assists…I kind of felt like a goal was coming.”

His first goal came after intricate play by Syracuse in the final third. Mateo Leveque sat with the ball just outside the 18-yard box before flicking it up in the air for Felipe D’Agostini. The forward chested the ball and played a first-time ball toward Diaz-Bonilla, who connected perfectly on a left-footed volley. It put SU up 2-0 five minutes before halftime.

“In those moments, to be honest, I don’t even remember hitting it, it’s pure instinct,” Diaz-Bonilla said. “It’s chest, ball and then hit. People asked me, ‘Did you take two touches or one touch,’ and I literally had no idea.”

After struggling to break NC State down in a 1-1 draw just 10 days ago, Diaz-Bonilla’s goal opened the floodgates. Syracuse defender Gabriel Mikina emphasized the importance of getting a second goal before halftime.

Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said he knew his team had goals in them. After scoring multiple times just once in the last seven matches, the Orange exploded for a season-high five goals. It was their most since Sept. 5, 2022, and Diaz Bonilla played a big part.

After D’Agostini set up Diaz-Bonilla in the first half, he returned the favor in the second. Jeorgio Kocevski found a pocket of space at the top of the box, lifting a ball toward a wide-open Diaz-Bonilla. The forward’s off-ball movement afforded him plenty of time to make a decision. Diaz-Bonilla headed the ball down for D’Agostini, who fired a left-footed shot past Samuel Terranova in net to put Syracuse up 3-0.

Less than three minutes later, Diaz-Bonilla was the provider again. Kocevski played a ball out wide to Diaz Bonilla. A quick step over and touch created space for a cross. Diaz-Bonilla put the ball on a platter at the back post for Jackson Glenn to head home his first-career goal as the Orange led 4-0.

“We knew we were getting a good player (Diaz-Bonilla),” McIntyre said. “Our team could not be happier for Daniel…when we were in our circle at the end of the game and they were shouting DDB’s name, it was a proud moment.”

In recent weeks, Syracuse’s offensive struggles have been apparent. It’s been waiting for someone to step up. The Orange haven’t had a player score multiple goals since Lorenzo Boselli’s brace against Providence on Aug. 24, SU’s first game of the season.

The Orange’s second-leading goalscorer this season is Mikina, who scored his fifth goal of the year on a long-range effort in the first half. To win games, the Orange need their attackers to show up and Diaz-Bonilla did in a big way against the Wolfpack.

In the 81st minute, he scored his second goal of the game. D’Agostini latched onto a poor back pass from NC State. Diaz-Bonilla sprinted to get with him. With Terranova coming out, D’Agostini played a square ball to Diaz-Bonilla who passed the ball into an empty net.

“We know we can score now, and we’ve been waiting for that outburst all season,” Mikina said. “Now it’s come at the right time, so we just gotta bring that over and keep scoring.”

Diaz-Bonilla’s four goal contributions were a career-high. While at Princeton, he never scored multiple goals in a game. Diaz-Bonilla had only scored and assisted in a single game twice previously — against Harvard on Nov. 5, 2022, and Lehigh on Oct. 15, 2019.

When asked if his performance against the Wolfpack was the best of his career, Diaz-Bonilla smiled and then paused to think.

“Definitely in college,” Diaz-Bonilla said. “I think I had a couple of games like that in high school, but this was the best one of my college career.”

Published on November 1, 2023 at 11:00 pm

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