University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Louisville
No. 4 Carolina Drops Heartbreaker To No. 1 Louisville
December 10, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 10, 2010
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The North Carolina Tar Heels saw their season come to an end Friday night in Santa Barbara, Calif. in heartbreaking fashion as Louisville's Aaron Horton found the back of the net with only 51 seconds remaining to give the No. 1 Cardinals (20-0-3) the 2-1 NCAA Semifinal win. The Tar Heels fall to 16-4-4 to conclude the year.
Louisville came out the aggressor in the first half challenging the Tar Heel backline on several runs and nearly found the back of the net in the 17th minute when Charlie Campbell collected a ball in the box and fired a shot past Scott Goodwin. Drew McKinney scrambled back to help Goodwin and arrived to the line just in time to clear the ball away.
Campbell would collect the rebound and fire another shot on goal toward the top right corner. Goodwin was in position and was able to deflect the ball away with his left handed punch.
The Tar Heels settled down after the pair of miraculous saves and started to mount an attack against the Cardinals. Michael Farfan sent a shot high in the 21st minute when he made a run down the left side and pulled the ball to his right before firing a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box.
Alex Dixon was the next to attack for the Tar Heels as he sprinted down the right side and made his way around a defender but was short-sided as his shot went wide in the 22nd minute.
Over the final 20 minutes of the half neither team was able to amount much of an attack as a blocked shot off the foot of Enzo Martinez was the only attempt before the halftime break.
The Cardinals started the second half with a flurry of shots as Nick Deleon and MAC Hermann Finalist Colin Rolfe each sent shots wide in the opening 10 minutes.
In the 57th minute Rolfe hit a shot from 25 yards out that Jalil Anibaba was able to get a foot on and deflect out for a corner kick.
The corner would prove to be dangerous for the Tar Heels as Louisville's Dylan Mares sent the corner to the far side of the box where Austin Berry came flying in to head the ball past a diving Scott Goodwin in the 58th minute.
The lead would not last long, however, as the Tar Heels found the equalizer less than five minutes later.
Alex Dixon found the ball at his feet in the Louisville defensive third and made his way around three defenders to get into the box. The Humble, Texas, native found another Texan with a perfect service. Dixon's ball found Stephen McCarthy who drove a header to the far post and into the back of the net to equalize for the Tar Heels.
Carolina looked like a different team after giving up the opening goal and continued to press forward.
The 69th minute saw Michael Farfan win a ball in the midfield and take on three defenders before being taken down from behind. The tackle led to a pushing match between the teams. After the dust settled Eddie Ababio and Dylan Mares were each issued yellow cards.
Less than four minutes later Louisville's Paolo Delpiccolo was fed a cross in the box and connected on a header from 12 yards out that went wide of a diving Goodwin.
Enzo Martinez made a run in the 83rd minute on the left side dribbling past a defender and making his way into the box. Martinez's shot from 10 yards out rose above the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
Carolina looked to be in a very familiar position as the clock counted down and neared the end of regulation but in the final minute Dustin McCarty attempted to send a ball across the backline to Matt Rose but Louisville's Ryan Smith was there to intercept the pass.
Smith appeared to be in position to put a shot on net but instead of shooting he dropped a ball to Aaron Horton who chipped a ball over a diving Scott Goodwin and into the net with only 51 seconds remaining on the clock.
The Tar Heels were unable to get a shot on goal in the final seconds and saw their season come to an end at the College Cup for the third consecutive season.
The Cardinals out shot Carolina 11-9 in the game, marking just the second time all year the Tar Heels came up on the short end. The two goals marks the third time Carolina has allowed more than one goal in a game, all Tar Heel losses.
Carolina finishes the year 16-4-4 on the year, while Louisville improves to 20-0-3 and advances to Sunday's national championship contest.
