SYRACUSE, N.Y. – No. 5/5 North Carolina scored a goal 5:44 into overtime to break a 1-1 tie and defeat the Syracuse women’s soccer team in the Orange’s season finale. Junior Maya Pitts’ (Montclair, N.J.) goal in the 72nd minute tied the score and forced the extra session.

”Our players worked hard and I’m very proud of them,” said Syracuse head coach Phil Wheddon. “Taking North Carolina to overtime is a moral victory. Unfortunately that doesn’t show up on the stats sheet.”

North Carolina opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Amber Munerlyn passed the ball to Summer Green, who put her shot in the left corner of the net. Freshman Alex Lamontagne (Whitby, Ontario) had the Orange’s best chances in the first half, twice getting the ball in Syracuse’s offensive end with just a defender to beat, but she was unable to get off a shot on either possession. The Orange limited the Tar Heels (12-2-2, 9-0-1) to just four shots in the first half, two of which were on goal.

The Orange successfully defended against two corner kicks in the opening minutes of the second half and SU goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan (Short Hills, N.J.) recorded three saves to keep Syracuse with striking distance. The Orange broke through in the 72nd minute. Sophomore Stephanie Skilton (Auckland, New Zealand) slid the ball over to the right side of the box to Pitts, who put her shot in the left corner of the goal for the equalizer. It was her third goal of the year and gives her a career-high nine points this season.

Syracuse had two corner kicks and North Carolina had one in the final 10 minutes of regulation but neither team could take advantage of the opportunities as the match went into overtime.

The Orange successfully defended against two corner kicks before Paige Nielsen took a shot from the right side of the box that found the back of the net to give the Tar Heels a 2-1 victory. Green and Boyles were credited with assists on the play.

Syracuse ends the season with an overall record of 5-10-4 and a 2-7-1 mark in ACC play. Prior to the match, senior Alexis Koval (Syracuse, N.Y.) was honored in a pregame ceremony.

AGATE

                                1st          2nd        OT          Final

Syracuse              0              1              0              1
North Carolina   1              0              1              2

Scoring:
UNC       16:38     Summer Green (Amber Munerlyn
SU          71:10     Maya Pitts (Stephanie Skilton)
UNC       95:44     Paige Nielsen (Summer Green, Joanna Boyles)

Shots: North Carolina 12, Syracuse 3
Corner Kicks: North Carolina 5, Syracuse 3
Saves: Syracuse 4 (Courtney Brosnan), North Carolina 0 (Bryane Heaberlin, Lindsay Harris)

 

Attendance: 563

 

-- SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: NEW YORK’S COLLEGE TEAM --