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Indiana, Syracuse men's soccer teams reach College Cup final

CARY, N.C. -- Ryan Wittenbrink and Tommy Mihalic scored in the first half and No. 13 Indiana beat Pittsburgh 2-0 on Friday night to advance to its 17th NCAA College Cup championship game.

Indiana (14-4-6) became the first Division I men's soccer program to reach 100 NCAA tournament victories -- in its 22nd semifinal. The Hoosiers advance to play No. 3 Syracuse on Monday.

Wittenbrink's penalty kick in the 14th minute was blocked by Pitt goalkeeper Joe van der Sar, but the Indiana forward was first to the rebound for an empty-netter. Mihalic scored his seventh goal of the season with 17 seconds left before halftime when he raced to a deflected shot and scored from a difficult angle.

Goalkeeper JT Harms made three saves to extend Indiana's streak of shutouts to four -- all in the tournament.

Pittsburgh (12-5-5) played in its second College Cup in three years, including a 1-0 loss to the Hoosiers in the 2020 semifinals.

Earlier Friday, Syracuse (18-2-4) secured its first national championship appearance in men's soccer after extending its unbeaten streak to 13 games. Levonte Johnson tapped in a cross from Nathan Opoku in the 86th minute.

Syracuse led 1-0 and 2-1 but it was familiar territory for Creighton, which trailed 1-0 in four of its five tournament games.

Christian Curti, a Marist transfer, knocked in a loose ball in front of the net to open the scoring in the 37th minute with his first goal of the season. Creighton goalkeeper Paul Kruse appeared to control a corner kick but it slipped through his hands and Curti touched it home.

Duncan McGuire, the NCAA scoring leader, tied it at 1-all for Creighton in the 50th minute with his 23rd goal of the season -- breaking a 42-year-old school record. But Syracuse retook the lead less than two minutes later when Opoku scored his 10th goal.

Alfie Pope tied it at 2-all in the 64th minute with his fourth goal of the season. Callum Watson heaved a throw-in into the box and Luke Mitchell's glancing header fell to the feet of Pope for a one-touch finish.

Creighton (13-5-6) won seven straight games to reach in its first College Cup semifinal match since 2012. The Bluejays were the top attacking side in Division I, leading the nation in goals scored with 65.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.