CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — No. 2 Syracuse (8-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t complete the comeback against No. 4 North Carolina (12-1, 3-0) and came up just short in its 17-15 loss to the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon at Fetzer Field. Here are three quick takeaways from the game.

Like Clockwork

Syracuse wasn’t its typical dominant self in a lot of ways on Saturday. But faceoff specialist Ben Williams held his own at the X. He won 14-of-18 in the first half and 21-of-35 overall in the UNC win.

His dominance was the reason Syracuse held a 35-28 lead in ground balls and took only one fewer shot than North Carolina on the afternoon. But the Tar Heels had better looks and converted at a higher rate.

Not the Problem

Bobby Wardwell made a save on just three of his 13 opportunities in the first half. As a result, it was Warren Hill that came out to warm up before the second half. But the new face did little to limit the damage for the Orange.

Hill allowed a goal to Luke Goldstock just 46 seconds into his appearance. And despite reaching high for a save on his next opportunity, he allowed the next three shots to get past him and go wide of the net.

After the Orange cut the lead to 15-11, Syracuse turned the ball over on its own side of the field. Hill was caught out of the goal and Joey Sankey bounced it in the empty net to make it 16-11, killing a 4-1 Orange run. A minute later, Sankey got one over Hill’s shoulder, and the Tar Heels took it over from there.

Hill made a couple highlight-reel saves, but they were after the game was basically out of reach.

Quiet Attack

Syracuse finally had its starting attack in order with Randy Staats healthy and in the starting lineup. But two of the three struggled to muster much offense. Dylan Donahue tallied five goals. But by the time Kevin Rice put one in the net, the Orange was down six with less than eight minutes to play. Staats and Rice combined for just one goal on their 11 combined shots.

Rice turned the ball over in the final seconds and UNC came away with it and ran the clock out on the Orange’s second road loss of the season.

Published on April 11, 2015 at 6:28 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3