North Carolina
Virginia
#3 UNC Draws 1-1 With #21 Virginia
November 2, 2014 | Men's Soccer
North Carolina (12-4-1, 5-2-1 ACC) is the third seed in the upcoming ACC Men's Soccer Championship, and hosts sixth-seeded Louisville Sunday at 1 p.m. in a quarterfinal round match at Fetzer.
Carolina took the lead in the 51st minute when Tyler Engel deflected in a shot taken from Jonathan Campbell from about 25 yards out. The goal was Engel's fifth of the season, tying him with Verneri Valimaa for second on the team.
The Tar Heels dominated the second half, holding a 7-2 shot advantage over the Cavaliers. However, UVa was able to get the equalizer in the 69th minute when a shot from Eric Bird went off the head of Campbell and floated over the outstretched arms of UNC keeper Brendan Moore and into the net to square the match at 1-1.
The unfortunate goal was the first allowed by Moore in 659 minutes spanning eight games. He last conceded in the first half against Clemson on Oct. 3.
In the 80th minute, a perfect service from Engel found the head of Craven, but the ball squirted just over the cross bar to keep the match tied, 1-1.
Virginia (9-5-2, 3-3-2) nearly caught the Tar Heels off guard in the late stages of regulation when a cross found a streaking Riggs Lennon but he was unable to make a clean connection with the ball in the 89th minute.
In the first extra session, Craven was dragged down inside the box by Virginia's Todd Wharton, but no call was made by the official in the 99th minute of play.
Craven, the top goal scorer in the ACC this season, looked like the hero once again for Carolina in the 108th minute when he headed a ball off a cross from Campbell that appeared destined for the back of the net, however, Cavalier keeper Calle Brown made an outstanding save for his fourth and final stop of the evening.
UNC enjoyed a 15-11 edge in shots, and a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks over the Cavaliers.
Carolina remains the hottest team in the country, now uneaten in its last eight matches (7-0-1). The Tar Heels are also unbeaten in its last eight games against Virginia. The goal by the Cavaliers was the first scored on UNC since Oct. 3, 2008.
Louisville (8-6-3, 4-3-1) lost 1-0 in overtime tonight at Wake Forest. The last meeting against the Cardinals pitted top-ranked Louisville against No. 2 North Carolina in the 2011 Carolina Nike Classic in Chapel Hill. Rob Lovejoy scored in the 2-1 Tar Heel victory.
Carolina held a ceremony before the match to honor its 10 seniors: Craven, Engel, Glen Long, Lovejoy, Ryan McAnallen, Moore, C.J. Odenigwe, Boyd Okwuonu, Valimaa and David Walden.
