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John Zervos was elated for Olu Oyegunle and Syracuse’s 2022 national championship win. But Zervos, Oyegunle’s coach at Sigma FC, was worried the success would go to the defender’s head. Instead, the opposite happened.

“He wasn’t a guy that came in and kind of gloated about being a national champion,” Zervos said. “He actually humbled himself and took the time to try and talk to some of the young guys which I thought was fantastic and nobody told him to do it.”

Oyegunle played a crucial role in Syracuse’s national championship run, starting 21 games in 2022 after five as a freshman. Now, with the departure of former counterparts Abdi Salim and Christian Curti, Oyegunle’s experience will be vital as SU begins its title defense.

“When you work hard for something, you’re not just gonna come off cocky or whatever, because you grinded for it,” Oyegunle said.

Oyegunle admitted he was “childish” at times during his freshman season, but learned to tone it down. According to Salim, Oyegunle was delivered a “wakeup call” in spring 2022. Salim suffered a torn ACL, forcing Oyegunle to step up his game.

During Oyegunle’s first year with the Orange, Salim said his combination of speed and strength stood out — the same qualities that deemed him a standout in his time with Sigma. Zervos first saw those skills on display when was scouting an opposing player but became intrigued by Oyegunle’s play. He offered Oyegunle a spot on Sigma’s squad, which he joined in 2016.

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While at Sigma, Oyegunle sometimes trained with older age groups. Zervos said that by the time he was 16 years old, Oyegunle’s technical skills improved. The physical tools had always been there, but training with Sigma put an emphasis on improving his passing range and touch. In 2017, Oyegunle also spent time at Belgium club Gent.

“For him to get a taste of Europe and see what the levels are like there and what he needs to work towards,” Zervos said. “I think he realized he’s not too far off. It was just the minor details that he’s got to work on.”

Oyegunle developed further at Syracuse after a strong spring 2022, earning a starting role. Multiple teammates compared Oyegunle to former SU standout Kamal Miller. Like Oyegunle, Miller is a left-footed center back who arrived at Syracuse with raw athletic ability but a lack of technical skill. Ian McIntyre chuckled at the comparison, stating the pair are very different players but possess similarities.

Last summer, Salim said Oyegunle arrived on campus a few weeks early to work on his fitness and technical skills. As one of the outside center backs, Oyegunle was rarely substituted off. Curti said the position was the hardest to play in McIntyre’s system.

Along with playing a full 90 minutes, the center backs were often susceptible to counter attacks if Syracuse was caught out in possession. But these were the situations Oyegunle thrived in.

Multiple teammates and coaches singled out Oyegunle’s best attribute as his one-on-one defending. Curti remembered when a ball slipped through SU’s defense in its Oct. 22 matchup against NC State and one of Wolfpack’s faster players was put through on net. Oyegunle tracked him down from 10-15 yards behind the play to clear the danger.

“If there’s guys that are looking to beat him for pace, it’s not gonna happen,” Curti said. “If there’s bigger guys who are going to try to bully him, it’s not gonna happen. Anyone really, one-on-one, they’re gonna have a tough time getting by.”

Former Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy said Oyegunle was always eager and confident for his defensive assignments, but was aware of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s high-level talent.

On Sept. 24, Syracuse lost its first game of 2022 at the hands of Virginia. Battling with 10 men for most of the game, Oyegunle remembers a long cross-field ball played to UVA’s Leo Afonso on the right wing.

The SU coaching staff yelled at Oyegunle to push him towards the sideline, yet he remembered he couldn’t quite hear them and instead allowed him to cut infield. At the corner of the 18-yard box, Afonso belted a rocket into the top left corner, giving Virginia a 1-0 win to end Syracuse’s undefeated streak.

Oyegunle said he regularly keeps in contact with Afonso, so when a rematch was confirmed in the ACC semifinals, Oyegunle texted Afonso. He was ready, helping SU avenge its earlier loss in penalty kicks, advancing to its first ACC final since 2015.

The following game, Oyegunle displayed what Salim thought was his best performance of the season. Salim explained everyone “brought it” that game, but Oyegunle specifically stepped up to the moment. Oyegunle spurred a stifling Syracuse defense in a 2-0 win over Clemson.

“I don’t think there was any chance we were losing that game,” Oyegunle said.

Cindy Zhang| Design Editor

Oyegunle played a key part for SU in the postseason, especially after Buster Sjoberg went down injured. In Syracuse’s first three NCAA tournament games, the defense sustained one-goal leads en route to a Final Four berth.

McIntyre said the defense was a huge part of why Syracuse was winning last season. But with Salim now playing for Orlando City in Major League Soccer and Curti graduated, the backline that excelled down the stretch looks different. The Orange added transfers like Gabriel Mikina and Pablo Pedregosa, who bring experience, and Gavin Wigg is returning after making two appearances in 2022. Oyegunle has played in the system the longest.

McIntyre has been impressed with the junior throughout the spring during Syracuse’s trip to England and its three exhibition wins. McIntyre said Oyegunle has started in the “same vein of form” as last season.

“Olu is an extremely talented player, he has a huge ceiling,” McIntyre said. “He still has a lot of soccer in him too and he knows that.”

With McIntyre stressing the importance and responsibility of the outside center back positions, Oyegunle regularly receives an earful from the sidelines. Curti explained that if the coaching staff gets on Oyegunle, it’s because they have high expectations. After last season, Curti’s anticipating another leap for Oyegunle.

“With that experience, and I guess having that fire under him to kind of have another year like that and provide for the team, I think he’s gonna take another huge step,” Curti said.

Published on August 27, 2023 at 10:48 pm

Contact Zak: zakwolf784254@gmail.com | @ZakWolf22