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Down 3-0 against No. 2 North Carolina on Friday night, No. 15 Syracuse had to get on the board quickly if it had any chance of staging a comeback.

Bo Van Kempen, the most consistent source of offense for the Orange all season, missed a shot that went wide of the net. Despite not being able to connect, UNC was issued a green card, but SU could not get a clean shot off.

Still, SU continued to have chances. With three minutes left in the third, Syracuse was gifted its second penalty corner of the day. Willemijn Boogert passed it into Lieke Leeggangers, but Abigail Taylor was there to record the save for the Tar Heels. Off of the rebound, Vivian Rowan tried to save the play with a shot of her own but couldn’t get it past Taylor.

Although Rowan was unable to connect, a third penalty corner was forced by SU. Van Kempen had an opportunity to get Syracuse on the board, but Taylor made yet another save.

Taylor finished her shutout with four saves, three of them coming in that sequence.

No. 15 Syracuse (4-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) couldn’t mount any offense, dropping its second game of the season, 5-0, against No. 2 North Carolina (5-0, 1-0 ACC). Both losses by the Orange have come by the same score after losing 5-0 to then-No. 14 Ohio State earlier this month. SU has now lost each of its last five contests against the Tar Heels and still have never beaten North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The Orange held strong early in the first quarter, when Louise Pert made a save off of a UNC penalty corner just one minute into the match. SU had an opportunity to take the lead in the first quarter, but Annabelle Vossenaar was unable to connect off its first penalty corner.

Halfway through the first, North Carolina broke through. Avery Donahue found the back of the net for the first time this season. The Harvard transfer captured the pass from Ryleigh Heck and was able to chip it in at the left post.

Lynn Farquhar’s squad was at an immediate disadvantage to begin the second quarter. Leeggagers was issued a green card, meaning she had to sit for the next two minutes.

UNC capitalized on the opportunity. Pleun Lemmers tapped one past Pert to give the Tar Heels a two-goal lead. The Orange were dominated for the entire first half, as they didn’t record a single shot in the second quarter and had just two heading into the break.

After UNC scored its third goal of the evening, Syracuse could not get anything past Taylor on a long offensive possession.

Seconds after the Orange were unable to break through the Tar Heel wall, UNC pushed the pace and forced a penalty corner of its own. This time, the ball did find a way across the line and in, as Heck put North Carolina up 4-0. Heck finished the game with three assists to go along with the tally.

Heading into the final frame, the game was out of reach. To make matters worse for Syracuse, North Carolina sunk one more shot in for good measure to finish up the shutout victory.

For the first time since suffering a significant lower body injury that kept her out all of last season, Pert went wire to wire, playing the full 60 minutes. The senior goalie did record four saves in the effort, but it wasn’t enough.

UNC finished the contest with 13 shots (nine on goal) and six penalty corners. Syracuse wrapped up the day with six total shots (four on goal) and three penalty corners.

After a close win against then-No. 16 Penn State, the Orange have now lost their last two games against ranked opponents (Ohio State and North Carolina) by a combined score of 10-0.

Published on September 21, 2024 at 1:06 am