Syracuse Advances Past Carolina On Penalty Kicks, 5-3

Tuesday, November 5

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4 p.m.

North Carolina

7-7-4, 3-5-0

Syracuse University

7-5-5, 2-4-2

Syracuse

North Carolina

November 5, 2019 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Season Stats Box Score Photo Gallery

By: T.J. Scholl

Chapel Hill – North Carolina (7-7-4, 3-5-0) and Syracuse (7-5-5, 2-4-2) needed penalty kicks to decided the first round of the ACC Championship, as the Orange advanced, 5-3, in the shootout on Tuesday evening. After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, Syracuse's Christian Miesch saved the first penalty kick of the night against Santiago Herrera which eventually advanced the Orange to the second round of the ACC Championship.

The first 45 minutes of postseason action were dominated by the midfield as the two teams only combined for two shots on goal and entered halftime tied, 0-0. Syracuse's best effort came in the 28^th minute, but the shot from outside the box was saved by Alec Smir. The Tar Heels looked like they were going to pull in front in the 35^th minute, but a shot from Jack Skahan was deflected and missed the near post by mere inches for a corner kick.

Juxtaposed to the action on the pitch in the first half, both the Tar Heels and Orange cranked up the intensity knowing that an impending date with Virginia was on the line in the second round of the ACC Championships. Carolina really came to life around the 60th minute of the contest when the team saw two great opportunities on goal. The first came in the 59th minute when Mauricio Pineda took a shot at goal but was held in-check by Miesch, the Orange's keeper. Utilizing his speed and quick footwork, fellow senior Jelani Pieters found an opening just outside of the box in the following minute but had his shot blocked before he could have a go at Miesch.

In the 68th minute, it appeared that the Tar Heels had broken through to take the go-ahead goal. Skahan dribbled up the right side of the pitch before being pinched by the Orange's defense. However, he was able to find Jimenez alone near the six-yard box with a cross. The freshman's header missed wide to the left by mere inches and Carolina remained scoreless.

On the opposite end of the field, Syracuse culminated an offensive attack of its own in the 77th minute. Hilli Goldhar, who recorded two shots on goal for the Orange, drilled a sinking shot towards Smir, but the sophomore keeper was able to make the save and kept the Tar Heels in the fight. Then again, in the 82nd minute in a counter-attack following a Carolina corner, Syracuse outnumbered the Tar Heel defense 3-2 in a push towards the goal. Moving the ball from side-to-side, the Orange were ruled offsides on its last pass in to the box.

In the following minutes, the Tar Heels applied heavy pressure to Syracuse's defense. The Tar Heels looked like they had taken the lead thanks to a Jeremy Kelly header in the 85th minute, but it was disallowed after it was deemed he was offsides by the sideline judge. Once again, the momentum shifted back towards the Orange as they made an offensive push in the closing minutes. Goldhar almost came up big again, but Smir's save kept him off of the board.

Berhalter almost found the game-winner in the 89th minute with a beautiful free kick from just outside the box, but the ball smashed off the crossbar as Syracuse cleared it to end regulation.

In the first overtime period, Raul Aguilera seemed destined to win it with a shot from just inside the six-yard box. But, Miesch came up with a miraculous, point-blank save, to keep the game scoreless.

In the blink of an eye, Syracuse almost won the game on the other end off a header from Ryan Raposo at the back post, but Smir punched the ball over the top of the net.

Both teams went back and forth in the second overtime period, but neither were able to break the deadlock as we went to penalty kicks. Santiago Herrera stepped up first for the Heels, but his shot was blocked by Miesch. The Orange would go on to make all five penalties and advance, 5-3.