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In the middle of the second quarter, goalkeeper Will Mark was called upon four different times. North Carolina had fired off multiple shots in the possession. The first three were all low and were saved. But on the fourth and final shot of the possession, Harrison Schertzinger aimed high, beating Mark to give UNC an 8-5 lead in the third goal of a 4-0 run.

On Saturday, Mark faced 36 shots on goal and 49 shots total from the Tar Heels. Though making 17 saves, he saved just under 50% of the shots, and let in some saveable shots. UNC attacks aimed all over the net, but consistently beat Mark to the top shelf. UNC (3-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) was in full control in its 19-13 win over Syracuse (3-2, 0-1 ACC).

“At times, I saw goals from Will that he hasn’t been letting in,” Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said. “We saw some good saves, but I just saw a tremendous amount of shots.”

Multiple times on Saturday, UNC shot to the top shelf to get past Mark. To score their goal, the Tar Heels moved the ball around before finding Logan McGovern on the right side. McGovern appeared to have a very minimal shooting window. But without a Syracuse defender within a stick’s length in front of him, McGovern rifled the shot into the top of the net.

Then, McGovern assisted a similar goal. Sean Goldsmith was positioned near the top of the offensive zone. The ball made its way around before McGovern dumped it off to Goldsmith. Goldsmith had more of an angle and without a defender pressuring him, Goldsmith beat Mark as the goalkeeper was just a little too slow. North Carolina continued the downpour of shots on Mark in the second quarter, notching almost 50% of its total shots in that period alone.

Other times, Mark was beaten by the short hop. To continue its momentum from the end of the second quarter, McGovern passed the ball to Harry Wellford. Wellford shot from deep on the left wing, but Mark read the low trajectory and positioned himself on his knees, his stick blocking the ball from going through his legs. But it bounced right in front of him and ended up in the net, as UNC extended its lead early into the third quarter.

Wellford also gave the Tar Heels its first lead of the game, scoring unassisted just over three and a half minutes into the game. Wellford got a screen from one of his teammates and went around the right side of the screen. On the run, Wellford shot the ball and Mark appeared to get a touch on it, but it snuck by him and into the net. Similarly on another goal, the ball had grazed Mark as it barely made its way into the net on the near post.

Mark wasn’t the only one to blame for some of the goals. Syracuse’s defense was easily beaten many times and Mark was facing shots right in front of his cage, practically impossible to save. Lance Tillman dumped the ball off to Sean Goldsmith, who was wide open near the cage. Goldsmith took a couple steps and placed it behind Mark easily.

“We just got to help him out a little bit more, especially early on,” Gait said about the defense.

Mark also struggled when Syracuse was trying to break through UNC’s ride. A few times, Mark would try to dump the ball out to one of his midfielders. But he’d overshoot the intended target, creating a ground ball opportunity. UNC easily won the ground ball battle on Saturday, having a 36-22 advantage.

On another play, McGovern stood at X with possession. As McGovern tried to make his way toward the cage and curve it, Mark pressured him, defending him several yards away from his goal. Mark tried to check McGovern’s stick, but McGovern maintained possession and the net was left open. He scored, building the UNC lead to 11-6.

Mark still had 17 saves on the day, making some key saves in the third quarter. The Orange slowly cut back into their seven-goal deficit, getting it to as low as three. Mark made several stops with his feet, even saving a couple shots from point-blank range. But North Carolina got back in its groove, finding the back of the net a few more times to get the lead back up to six goals.

“He’ll bounce back. He’s a competitor,” Gait said. “It takes an entire defense to make those saves.”

Published on February 25, 2023 at 7:23 pm

Contact Cole: colebambini@gmail.com | @ColeBambini