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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Will Mark is at his best when he’s feeling the wind in his face and the stick in his hand. He said it sounds crazy, but it’s what helps him stay ready in the cage.

“It’s easy for my mind to wander, think about the outcome, think about the shot, where they’re going to put it, where they’re going to be,” Mark said. “For me, it’s just being present, seeing that shot without any preconceptions and reacting to it authentically.”

Mark needed to be at the top of his game late against North Carolina. The Tar Heels rattled five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter, looking for the game-tying score with 1:41 left in the game.

Out of a timeout, Trevor Deubner, who had already scored twice in the fourth, charged to the right side of the goal from X and fired. Mark saw the play the entire way, easily popping the attempt into his stick.

“I was ready for that moment,” Mark said about his final save.

In No. 7 Syracuse’s (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 10-9 win over North Carolina (6-6, 0-2 ACC), Mark notched 13 saves with a 59.1% save percentage. It was the sixth time this season that the Orange gave up less than 10 goals, 11 days after their worst performance of the year in an 18-17 double overtime loss to then-No. 13 Cornell.

“We love when our goalies are above 50% and he certainly was that,” head coach Gary Gait said. “A couple key ones in the end, we’ve been waiting for those. He got it done today.”

North Carolina’s attack is led by Owen Duffy, Logan McGovern and Dominic Pietramala, who account for 52% of its goals this season. Duffy rattled off the first two shots of the afternoon, trying to find the back of the net curling from X. The first was stopped by Mark and the second was blocked. The Tar Heels reset the clock and fired two more, which were both saved by Mark.

However, UNC found the back of the net after the Orange quickly stalled on offense. Duffy lost the ball briefly, picking it up before spinning inside of two defenders to score roughly 30 seconds in the possession. North Carolina scored two straight after, dragging out a man-up opportunity to the final second before Pietramala gained a step on Caden Kol to bury his shot into the top right corner.

But the Tar Heels didn’t score for another 20 minutes. During that time, two possessions were halted from moving screens. They turned the ball over eight times too.

Mark said Syracuse started to dominate defensively by forcing North Carolina to be uncomfortable. The way to do that is taking away a team’s popular options, Mark said, which SU did by knowing what to expect from each.

Duffy is an explosive and crafty player, embracing a similar “Long Island” play style as Joey Spallina, Mark said. Pietramala is “just a shooter” and Mark knew what he was going to see from McGovern after playing against him for four years while he was at Bryant and Mark was at LIU.

Mark stopped a shot from Duffy and McGovern during the Tar Heels scoreless first-half stretch.

McGovern’s attempt came early in the second quarter off a deep feed from James Matan at the left wing to the opposite side of the crease. McGovern ripped it to the top left corner, which Mark snagged. Duffy spun away from Riley Figueiras on the left wing for his attempt, side-arming it at Mark with five minutes left in the first half. Mark stopped it with his chest.

Mark did a good job of stopping North Carolina’s tertiary options too, finishing with seven saves in the first half. He said his success came from the defense applying a lot of pressure on shooters when they let go of the ball, also staying out of his line of sight he could see the ball and make a stop.

“The defense was giving me shots I like to see,” Mark said. “It’s seven guys working together, they’re doing their job and I’ve got to do mine.”

UNC broke its scoreless streak with a minute left in the first half off of a man-up opportunity. From X, McGovern located Matt Wrede, who fired past Mark on a tight angle from the left side.

SU bounced back with three straight goals to open the second half, but those were its last of the game. UNC goalie Collin Krieg recorded six of his 17 saves in the final two quarters. The Orange turned the ball over seven times and failed to clear twice.

After Syracuse’s first turnover of the second half, the Tar Heels reset following a miss from Wrede. Duffy charged into the middle of the field, absorbing contact from Figueiras before whipping it low. Mark was upright, diving too late to stop the shot.

Duffy’s goal kickstarted North Carolina’s 5-0 scoring run which ended the game. But throughout that run, Mark stopped as many attempts as he let in.

Three minutes after North Carolina cut Syracuse’s lead to three, the Tar Heels were given another man-up opportunity. SU’s man-down unit did what it could, but Pietramala had an open step-down attempt from 15 yards out. Mark patiently bent a little before exploding up to catch it high on his right.

The Orange couldn’t complete the clear, putting themselves immediately back on defense. With a couple of seconds left on the extra-man opportunity, Mark had a one-on-one with Duffy, who was jogging down the left side.

Mark dove to his knees, blocking the righty step-down strike. It was his second save in roughly 30 seconds, halting North Carolina once again. In a season defined by losses from goals given up late and in overtime, Mark’s major plays late made up for a lackluster offensive performance in a must-win game.

“We’ve been in three games where we’ve had opportunities to win …and we haven’t made those saves,” Gait said. “It’s a big step for us to finish that one-goal game with a win.”

Published on April 13, 2024 at 5:41 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu