Men’s Soccer Shocks UNC, Advances in ACC Tournament

By Nick Kuzma

CitrusTV Men’s Soccer Beat Reporter

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Syracuse defender Matt Orr lined up for the penalty kick on Tuesday evening, knowing if he got it past North Carolina goaltender Alec Smir, he would send the Orange to the next round of the ACC Tournament.

The senior ran at and struck the ball, sending it right. Smir guessed left, and the ball landed in the back-right corner of the net. Syracuse was headed to the ACC Championship Quarterfinals.

Syracuse (7-5-5, 2-4-2 Atlantic Coast) defeated North Carolina (7-7-4, 3-5 Atlantic Coast) 5-3 in penalty kicks at Dorrance Soccer Fields. SU also took down UNC 4-3 on October 12.

Regulation ended in a 0-0 draw and even two overtime periods could not bring the match to an end.

Unlike in the regular season, playoff soccer goes to penalties if the game is still tied after two overtime periods.

The ‘Cuse scored all five of its penalty kicks with attempts from Massimo Ferrin, Ryan Raposo, Severin Soerlie, Sondre Norheim, and Orr.

But, the biggest play of the game came from SU Goaltender Christian Miesch. The sophomore made a massive save on UNC’s first penalty attempt, essentially winning the game.

The Orange now heads down to Charlottesville to play two-seed and No. 4 Virginia (14-1-1, 6-1-1 Atlantic Coast).

UVA’s only loss this season was a 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh, a team Syracuse tied with 1-1 in double overtime at the end of September. the Orange didn’t face the Cavaliers during the regular season.

On Syracuse’s side of the bracket, 11-seed Virginia Tech advanced to play three-seed Wake Forest, therefore, if the Orange and the Hokies advance, SU will host the game.

Kickoff for Syracuse v. Virginia is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday November 10.

npkuzma@syr.edu | @nkuz71