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Shea Vanderbosch got up from one knee and yelled a series of orders at her backline. No one had picked up UNC’s Melina Rebimbas, who sauntered leisurely into scoring position before slotting a shot into the bottom right corner. The goal came with just four minutes remaining in the contest.

Vanderbosch had every right to be angry. She made 13 saves but let in five goals. Rebimbas’ score marked North Carolina’s sixth of the game.

Syracuse’s (2-13-2, 0-8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) penultimate game of the 2023 regular season resulted in a 6-1 loss to No. 3 North Carolina (10-0-7, 5-0-4 ACC). Offensively, the Tar Heels outshot SU 42-3 and notched 15 corners. UNC’s Avery Patterson also netted twice to continue her reign as the team’s leading goal-scorer.

Throughout the first half, Syracuse was placed on its heels. The Orange struggled to dribble past midfield. Every time they regained possession, the Tar Heels’ high pressure forced SU to turn the ball over.

Amid an onslaught of continuous attacks from the opposition, Vanderbosch stayed vigilant. She snuffed out a long-distance shot from Tori Dellaperuta following a searching cross Bella Sember.

However, UNC’s attacking play broke the deadlock in the 34th minute. Following a Vanderbosch save, Maddie Dahlien won possession from Kate Murphy near the left corner flag. Charging forward, she delivered a low driven cross in front of goal for a simple tap-in from Maycee Bell.

Five minutes later, Syracuse recorded its first shot of the game off a set piece. Erin Flurey fired a free kick toward the middle of the net, which was easily corralled by UNC goalie Nona Reason.

Then, Syracuse went down 2-0. On a North Carolina counterattack, Tessa Dellarose played a pass toward an unmarked Sember on the edge of the box. Upon reception, Sember cut inside to her right and belted a shot past Vanderbosch to double the Tar Heels’ advantage. Vanderbosch didn’t even move.

In the second half, the Orange continued to concede. In the 48th minute, Dellaperuta carved open the Syracuse backline once again but her ensuing shot was parried away from Vanderbosch. The rebound, however, fell right to Sam Meza for an easy open-net score, giving UNC a 3-0 advantage.

In almost identical fashion as the first half, SU failed to generate anything threatening on the offensive end. It seemed that every time a Syracuse player was on the ball, two or three UNC defenders immediately trapped her, forcing a cough-up in possession.

It took until the 75th minute for the Orange to finally net. Flurey was the first, as usual, to break the Orange’s offensive deadlock with a goal. Driving forward from the left flank, Flurey beat her immediate defender, skipped inside the 18-yard box and knocked in a shot from close range. Flurey threw up both fists to the sky in celebration as she cut SU’s deficit to two goals.

But then, UNC scored a fourth and a fifth. Rebimbas’ goal put UNC up 6-1 in the 87th minute, marking the second time in eight days where Syracuse allowed six goals.

Published on October 22, 2023 at 7:10 pm