Lorenzo Boselli will never forget being first in line to kick in the penalty shootout for Syracuse University at the NCAA men’s soccer Division I national championship game in December. Boselli, a midfielder, had played the first 90 minutes but sat out the extra time. It was a cold winter day, his body was cooling down and the opposing team, Indiana University, had converted its first penalty.
“I was twice as nervous,” he says. “Fortunately, I scored.” Syracuse ended up winning its first men’s soccer Division I championship, and Boselli, a 22-year-old native of Bregnano, Italy, helped make university history, scoring three goals and four assists in the game.