Syracuse was exhausted. It didn’t have starting center back Nyal Higgins due to red card suspension, forcing head coach Ian McIntyre to stray away from SU’s trademark 3-5-2 formation. Massimo Ferrin was in the starting lineup despite injuring his back four days prior — an injury he thought would keep him sidelined, McIntyre said. The Orange had to travel 636 miles to Chapel Hill, North Carolina after losing their chance to host an ACC tournament on Friday, too.

Despite being undermanned and injured, No. 10 Syracuse (7-5-5, 2-4-2 Atlantic Coast) inched past No. 7 North Carolina (7-7-4, 3-5) on penalty kicks, after a scoreless regulation and two overtime periods in the first round of the ACC tournament. The Orange were a perfect five-for-five from the spot.

“I asked the guys for a response to our last game against Boston College,” McIntyre said. “We were terrific. We were warriors out there.”

Syracuse would have hosted a first round game with a win against Boston College in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 1, but “let one slip,” McIntyre said. SU was up a goal and a man at halftime but conceded twice in the final 45 minutes. Instead, they earned the No. 10 seed and a second trip of the year to Chapel Hill.

On Oct. 12, Syracuse upset then-No. 18 North Carolina, 4-3. After falling behind 3-1, the Orange stormed back with three goals — two from Ryan Raposo and one from Sondre Norheim — in the final 20 minutes. The loss marked the first of a six-game winless streak to end the regular season for the Tar Heels, including five losses.

Higgins was unavailable due to suspension after receiving a red card against Boston College. The senior started at center back for the Orange in all 16 regular season games. As a result, McIntyre resorted to a back four with Dylan McDonald and Sondre Norheim at center back and John-Austin Ricks and Simon Triantafillou on the wings. 

A back-and-forth first half saw both sides create chances, but neither could capitalize. SU’s best chance came from the left foot of Ricks, whose strike from the top of the penalty area forced a diving save from UNC goalkeeper Alec Smir. The Orange out-shot the Tarheels 7-3 in the first half.

“It wasn’t just the back four, it was the front guys who worked extremely hard, too,” McIntyre said. “They worked tirelessly to get pressure on the ball.”

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For much of the second half, North Carolina pinned Syracuse in its own half. When SU won the ball, it constantly gave it back with errant passes and dribbles. Mauricio Pineda, Jelani Pieters and Jeremy Kelly all registered shots within a six-minute span. Four minutes later, the Orange left UNC’s Jonathan Jimenez unmarked at the back post in what surely looked to be the opening goal, but the freshman directed his header wide left.

The Orange resisted the Tar Heels’ pressure and began to possess the ball in their attacking half, but SU’s most tense moments were yet to come. 

With five minutes remaining in regulation, Kelly nodded in a lofted cross from Pieters but he was ruled offside. Replays showed Kelly was kept onside by Sondre Norheim, but the call was not reversible. Sebastian Berhalter then rung a free kick off the crossbar with less than a minute remaining. Somehow, SU managed to extend the game to overtime, its sixth time playing more than 90 minutes this season.

“In the last five minutes (of regulation), I think we rode our luck a little bit,” McIntyre said. “But I thought we got a second wind in overtime, and I thought there were going to be chances for us to find a winner.”

Two 10-minute overtime periods passed with no goals. It was up to penalty kicks, which are “a lottery,” McIntyre said.

Ferrin went first, stepped up and scored. UNC’s first kick taker, Santiago Herrera, couldn’t do the same. Miesch laid out to his right and deflected Herrera’s low, driven shot wide for the only miss between either side. SU’s Severin Soerlie and Matt Orr — both of whom didn’t play a minute in regulation or overtime, calmly slotted their penalties, including the winner from Orr.

“Ice in the veins of our five shooters,” McIntyre said. “On the road in a difficult environment, I thought they were five excellent penalties. Didn’t give their goalie any chance.”

The Orange will face No. 2 seed Virginia, who they have not played this season, in the tournament quarterfinals at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Published on November 5, 2019 at 7:57 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu