Tar Heels Fall To Syracuse, 4-3

Saturday, October 12

Chapel Hill

1 p.m.

North Carolina

7-3-2-, 3-2-0

Syracuse

4-3-4, 1-2-2

UNC

Jelani Pieters
University of North Carolina Men's Soccer v Syracuse
Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
Saturday October 12, 2019

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 12, 2019 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Overall Stats Photo Gallery

By: T.J. Scholl

Chapel Hill -- No. 18 North Carolina (7-3-2) fell to Syracuse, 4-3, after the Orange came back from a 3-1 defect in the second half at the UNC Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium on a warm Saturday afternoon. Alex Rose, Jonathan Jimenez and Santiago Herrera scored for the Tar heels, while Ryan Raposo led Syracuse with a hat trick and an assist.

Syracuse opened the scoring just 42 seconds in to the match after a through ball was played to Raposo as he slid the ball near post to beat Alec Smir. But, Carolina responded 14 minutes later thanks for a perfect cross by Mauricio Pineda to the head of Rose. Rose jumped over a defender at the back post to level the score as he beat the keeper to make it 1-1. After the tough start for Smir, he made a brilliant save in the 18th minute to keep the game tied as he stopped a volley from just inside the box with some quick reactions.

Jimenez gave the Heels a 2-1 lead in the 33^rd minute after he beat a defender, cut inside the box, juked the keeper and slotted the ball into the left corner past a pair of Syracuse defenders for a brilliant individual effort.

The Heels took the 2-1 lead in to halftime but added to the lead in the 57th minute thanks to a Herrera penalty kick. Jimenez and Jelani Pieters stripped a Syracuse defender which allowed Jimenez to find the ball at his feet in the box. With his back to goal, he went to put a move on the defender and was taken down with an immediate call from the official. Herrera stepped up and buried the penalty for the 3-1 lead.

Syracuse responded with three unanswered goals in the last 20 minutes of the game to take home the 4-3 win. Carolina out shot the Orange 10-8 on the game as both teams combined for 32 fouls.

UNC will be back in action on Friday, October 18 as they travel down to Winston Salem to face Wake Forest.