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North Carolina controlled the entirety of the first half with a high press that limited Syracuse’s ability to create an attack. Less than one minute into the second quarter, a penalty stroke was called in favor of UNC. Erin Matson stepped up and buried the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal to open the scoring in the ACC Semifinal matchup between the Orange and the Tar Heels.

The ACC Offensive Player of the Year went on to score again twice before halftime to complete a second-quarter hat trick as North Carolina continued to impose its will on the Orange. The Tar Heels went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

“They came out full throttle and we were on our heels the first 2 quarters,” Syracuse head coach Ange Bradley said.

No. 2 seed Syracuse (13-5, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) fell to No. 3 seed North Carolina (12-6, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) in the semifinal of the ACC Tournament 4-1 after Matson’s hat trick put the Tar Heels out of reach for the Orange. UNC advances to the ACC Final and will face No. 5 seed Virginia in the championship on Sunday. The Tar Heels successfully executed a high-press and man-marking system in the first half that confined SU to its own defensive half. Stifled, the Orange struggled to get the ball forward and create goal-scoring chances. SU managed to stabilize possession, earn 8 penalty corners, and outshoot UNC 12-2 in the second half. But the Orange only found the back of the net late in the fourth quarter through Eefke van den Nieuwenhof.

“It’s a tough loss, it’s disappointing for everybody,” Bradley said. “It’s a hard lesson … to learn.”

Syracuse was without forward Pleun Lammers throughout this tournament run, and it also missed Willemijn Boogert in its matchup with the Tar Heels after the midfielder got injured while practicing before the game.

North Carolina was without its head coach Karen Shelton who received a red card in the Tar Heels’ quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 seed Wake Forest on Thursday. But the Tar Heels clinically stifled SU’s ability to move the ball and took advantage of attacking chances, specifically in the first half.

“They didn’t have (Shelton) here,” Bradley said. “(But) they had a lot of intangibles and having been to finals before in an ACC championship and unfortunately we did not weather that kind of aggression the first half.”

Syracuse managed to survive the first quarter without conceding a goal, as both teams only recorded one shot each in the period. But it was clear that North Carolina was controlling the tempo of the game. SU’s backline trio of Sienna Pegram, van den Nieuwenhof and SJ Quigley was forced to exchange quick passes in their defensive shooting circle. UNC’s man-marking style worked to have at least one or two players pressuring an SU player in possession of the ball.

The Orange’s defense didn’t crack until a penalty stroke was called for North Carolina within the first minute of the second quarter. Matson stepped up without hesitation and put UNC up 1-0. In the next six minutes, Syracuse responded by earning two penalty corners which could have balanced the game. But van den Nieuwenhof’s shots on both of these corner plays were blocked by UNC’s defensive unit, and SU was unable to level the scoring.

Then, midfielder Florine van Boetzelaer received a green card and was sidelined with 6:16 left before halftime. This put Syracuse at a one-player disadvantage for two minutes, and the Tar Heels pounced at the opportunity. UNC again closed down the Orange in their own defensive shooting circle, preventing SU from clearing the ball and launching any counterattacks.

“Carolina put very hard pressure, a lot of the plan seemed to be to break us down and break the speed,” Bradley said. “That type of pressure I think made us a little bit like ‘Woah.’”

Halfway through the penalty, Matson doubled North Carolina’s lead with a backhanded shot after spinning around Tess Queen in the shooting circle and firing a shot past a defending Carolin Hoffmann and a diving Brooke Borzymowski. Two minutes later — after van Boetzelaer had already returned to the field — Matson completed her second quarter hat trick and notched her 26th goal of the season when she tapped the ball across the goal line after a scrum in front of Borzymowski’s net.

“We came out a little tight, I mean you can see inexperience in the first half versus second half,” Bradley said. “The first half we were not the best versions of ourselves.”

Syracuse came into the second half rejuvenated and was able to control spells of possession and move the ball up the field to get shots on goal. The Orange recorded 12 shots in the second half compared to North Carolina’s two and earned eight penalty corners across the final two frames while not allowing UNC any.

“Statistically we dominated the second half,” Bradley said.“We became aggressive and pressured the ball and moved the ball.”

But mistakes like botched penalty corner plays and loss of forward passes limited SU’s offensive effectiveness. North Carolina tacked on a fourth goal in the fourth quarter before Syracuse could get on the scoreboard.

Matson got on the end of a loose ball that deflected off Pegram’s stick and sped past van den Nieuwenhof to find herself in a one-on-one situation with Borzymowski during that final period. Instead of shooting, Matson passed across the right of the shooting circle to an open Hannah Griggs, who passed the ball into an empty net after Borzymowski already committed to stopping Matson.

Syracuse finally broke through with just over two minutes left in regulation on a penalty corner. Van den Nieuwenhof’s signature powerful shot ricocheted off the UNC goalkeeper and sailed into the back of the net for her seventh score of the season.

“The second half we did go and we brought it to them,” Bradley said. “But you know you can’t get to a final playing two quarters.”

Published on November 5, 2021 at 10:49 pm

Contact Bryan: brbrush@syr.edu