Orange Upsets Tar Heels in Shootout, Advances to ACC Semifinals

Sunday, November 8

Chapel Hill, NC

1 pm

Syracuse University

11-5-3

North Carolina

14-1-3

OT 10

OT 11

OT 12

Syracuse

North Carolina

Photo by: UNC Athletic Communications

Orange Upsets Tar Heels in Shootout, Advances to ACC Semifinals

11/8/2015 5:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Syracuse will take on No. 2 Clemson on Wednesday.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Redshirt junior Liam Callahan converted the go-ahead penalty kick against No. 5/3 North Carolina to send No. 15/-- Syracuse to the ACC Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive year. The teams were tied, 1-1, after 110 minutes of play, but the Orange won the shootout, 4-3, for the victory.

"North Carolina is one of the elite programs in the country," said Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre. "They have a wonderful array of talent and very dangerous players going forward with a lot of experience, so we knew we had our hands full today. This time of the season, we know what the other team is going to bring to the table. It's just a case of executing. Obviously we worried that we didn't get that second goal, but thankfully, the guys showed a lot of character to find a way to move on."

The teams were tied, 3-3, after the first set of penalty kicks. The Tar Heels (14-1-3) held a 1-0 advantage, but junior Oyvind Alseth and Oskar Sewerin converted their chances as the teams were tied, 2-2. Junior Chris Nanco put his shot in the back of the net, and Tar Heels' Jonathan Campbell's shot went high to give the Orange a 3-2 advantage. An Orange miss on its fifth attempt allowed Tucker Hume to tie the score at 3-3, sending the game to sudden-death penalty kicks. Callahan put his shot in the top left corner to give Syracuse the lead, and Warren Marshall's attempt sailed over the crossbar to give the Orange (11-5-3) a spot in the tournament semifinals.

Syracuse was the more dangerous team to start the match as it earned two corner kicks and got off one shot in the first seven minutes of action. The Orange was able to maintain possession in its offensive end for much of the first half, but struggled to connect passes in the final third until Callahan made a run down the left side of the field and crossed the ball to senior Noah Rhynhart on the right side. Two North Carolina players touched the ball as it crossed the goal line before Rhynhart could touch it for the own goal to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute.

The Orange's backline was able to turn the Tar Heels away when they were able to play forward as it did not allow a shot on goal in the first half.

Syracuse had a couple of chances to add to its lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but couldn't convert on its opportunities. North Carolina took advantage and tied the score in the 60th minute. Hume made a move to the center of the field and found the back of the net off a shot from 25 yards out. The Tar Heels continued to test Syracuse goalkeeper Hendrik Hilpert, but he was up to the task, making four saves in the second half, including a diving stop on a free kick. North Carolina goalkeeper James Pyle made three saves in the second half as the teams headed to overtime.

After neither team was able to get off a shot in the first overtime, North Carolina was the more dangerous team in the second extra session, but Syracuse successfully defended against five corner kicks to send the match to a penalty kick shootout.

The Orange will now face No. 2/2 Clemson in Greeneville, S.C. on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in the ACC Tounament semifinals. The teams met earlier this season at the SU Soccer Stadium. The Tigers scored in the final minute for the 1-0 victory.