College

Former Steamer is ACC Champion and Advances to College Cup Semi-Final!

December 7, 2022

Syracuse men's soccer captured its first ACC Tournament Championship since 2015 with a dominant 2-0 victory over Clemson at WakeMed Soccer Park. The Orange bring home the second ACC Championship under head coach Ian McIntyre.

Since their ACC Tournament Championship, the Syracuse Orangemen have beaten Penn, Cornell, and Vermont to advance to the NCAA College Cup Semi-Final match versus Creighton on December 9!

No. 3 seed Syracuse men's soccer will take on Creighton at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, in the 2022 NCAA College Cup Semifinal. The Orange and Bluejays meet on the soccer pitch for the first time at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with a spot in the National Championship on the line. The match will be live on ESPNU. No. 13 seed Indiana faceoffs against Pittsburgh in the other semifinal showdown at the College Cup.

Syracuse looks to make history against Creighton. A win would secure the Orange's first-ever national championship appearance and the 18th win of the season, which would break the program's single-season win record.

Good luck to Tony and his Syracuse teammates in pursuing the National Title!

Vestavia Hills 2020 Senior and former Steamer Tony Shaw was not only named Alabama Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year in 2020 but was also selected to the prestigious United Soccer Coaches High School Scholar All-America Team!

This award is presented annually to both male and female players that are high school seniors. To become a Scholar All-America at the interscholastic level, a player must first be nominated by his or her head coach. The coach must be a United Soccer Coaches member at the high school level. To be nominated, players must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or better (on a 4.0 scale) through the first semester of their senior year, must have demonstrated recognized excellence in high school soccer, and must have performed community service at the local, regional, or national level. Shaw has maintained a 3.96 GPA in the classroom.

Shaw signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on scholarship at Syracuse University in 2019.

Congratulations to Tony Shaw on being named one of the nation’s best on the field and in the classroom for the 2019-20 academic year. Your future is bright, and we are so excited for you!

Tony Shaw - Gatorade Player of the Year

Shaw, a Syracuse signee, is the fourth player from Vestavia Hills High School to win the honor of Gatorade Player of the Year! Shaw joins recent Gatorade Alabama Boys Soccer Players of the Year Logan Frost (2018-19, Briarwood Christian School), Brooks Rice (2017-18, Spain Park High School), and past VHSC soccer players Kennedy Davis (2016-17, Oak Mountain High School), JJ Williams (2015-16, Alabama Christian Academy), Eduvie Ikoba (2014-15, Bob Jones High School), and Jake Rufe (2013-14, Grissom High School) among the state’s list of former Gatorade Player of the year award winners.

The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence but also high academic achievement standards and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.

HS Graduation Year: 2020
Position: Midfielder
Club Name: Vestavia Hills SC
Jersey Number: 10
High School: Vestavia Hills
Region: South
City: Vestavia Hills
State: Alabama

A two-time first-team All-State selection, Shaw concluded his prep career with 13 goals and a school-record 28 assists. He is a Region 3 Olympic Development Program member and helped the Gwinnett Soccer Academy to the Elite National Premier League 17U national final. Shaw is ranked as the South’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020 by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Shaw has volunteered locally, feeding the homeless and coaching youth soccer players, and he has raised money to benefit pediatric cancer research.

“If I’m buying stock in a student-athlete, it would be in Tony Shaw... He’s big, strong, fast, a leader, and a student of the game. Syracuse is getting a great player with lots of upsides.”

Vestavia Hills Coach Leo Harlan