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Syracuse men’s soccer midfielder Giona Leibold was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason watch list on Wednesday. The watch list includes one player from each school in the conference.

Leibold was an integral part of SU’s national championship team in 2022. He started all 22 games and finished with a career-high five goals, which ranked third on the team. He also tallied two assists and took a career-best 33 shots, 13 of them on goal.

Throughout last postseason, Leibold consistently delivered. In the third round of the NCAA Tournament against Cornell, the midfielder scored a game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to advance to the Elite Eight. He also netted the second goal in Syracuse’s ACC Championship win over Clemson and assisted on Levante Johnson’s overtime game-winner in the NCAA second-round win over Penn.

Leibold is set to have a larger role in the offense this season. With players like Johnson and Nathan Opoku playing professionally, Leibold will be tasked to make up for some of the lost production.