Syracuse falls to No. 1 seed UNC in ACC semifinals
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The clock began to tick down from 30 seconds. Junior back Eefke van den Nieuwenhof sent a long entry pass to forward Quirine Comans, leaving Syracuse with one more opportunity to tie the game. Comans dribbled into the UNC zone, fired a low shot to the left of the goal, but was just inches wide, ending Syracuse’s Atlantic Coast Conference title hopes.
Syracuse suffered a 2-1 loss to top-seeded North Carolina in its ACC semifinal match. While their first matchup on the year was an obliteration in favor of UNC, this was a close game for the full 60 minutes. After being down 2-0 in the fourth quarter, Syracuse attempted a comeback but fell short.
The first half was an offensive struggle. Syracuse struggled to develop opportunities, only registering two shots on the half. UNC accumulated seven shots but were denied each time as Brooke Borzymowski saved three and the other four missed the net.
The best scoring chance for either side in the first came from Syracuse, just over a minute into the first quarter as SU drew a penalty corner. The insertion pass went from midfielder Willemijn Boogert to forward Charlotte de Vries, where the de Vries shot was saved by UNC’s goaltender, Kylie Walbert.
The rocket from de Vries ricocheted to the right of Walbert, where midfielder Joy Haarman had a golden opportunity: Walbert was out of position and not in a spot to make a save, the net was wide open. Haarman’s shot was on target, but UNC defender Sietske Bruning saved the shot herself, deflecting the ball off the end of her stick and robbing the Orange.
The second quarter was entirely uneventful for the Orange as they registered zero shot attempts. UNC created constant pressure on the Syracuse back end with a suffocating press defense and SU couldn’t break the press and jumpstart their offense in a consistent manner.
Despite Borzymowski’s five saves and strong defense, SU was getting no help from the offense and with how long UNC controlled the ball in SU’s zone, it was only a matter of time before they got on the board.
With 3:18 remaining in the third quarter, UNC drew a penalty stroke due to a shot attempt hitting off of the foot of one of the back enders for the Orange. The top offensive weapon for the Tar Heels, Erin Matson, attempted the penalty stroke and she delivered. She placed the ball to the left side of the net, and Borzymowski’s diving save attempt failed. It was Matson’s 21st goal of the season, which leads the ACC.
UNC followed up the goal with more defense, holding Syracuse to zero shots in a second consecutive quarter. Neither team registered a shot in the third quarter after Matson’s goal.
The amount of offensive output began to change in the fourth quarter. UNC was off to a hot start, drawing a penalty corner 49 seconds into the final frame. The insertion pass was delivered to Bruning, where she fired the ball to the front of the net to forward Ryleigh Heck for a tip-in opportunity. Heck was in perfect position and tipped the ball into the top right corner of the goal, giving North Carolina a 2-0 lead.
SU started to create more consistent offensive chances, finally registering a few shots from Comans and de Vries in the fourth quarter. Then, the Orange broke through.
In the 52nd minute, de Vries attempted a shot from the left side of the UNC goal, when her shot was deflected up into the air by UNC. The ball found its way to Haarman and she swatted the ball from midair into the low right corner of the net, lowering the deficit by one goal.
But the North Carolina defense came through to close out the game. Each offensive opportunity from Syracuse was thwarted by the Tar Heel defense. Comans’ end-of-game chance was the last gasp for Ange Bradley’s squad, as UNC advanced to its eighth straight ACC title game.