13th-ranked Orange drop regular season road finale to 10th-ranked Tar Heels

By Josh Rothert | @joshrothert

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The momentum that number 13 SU field hockey (7-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) showcased to start its ACC slate again proved to be not enough. Syracuse fell on the road 2-1 to 10th-ranked North Carolina (9-5, 5-1 ACC).

UNC opened the scoring in the second quarter. Heels midfielder Ella Barbacci broke loose in the SU half, received a deep pass and skated towards the net. The senior slapped a shot through the five-hole and past goalkeeper Jessie Eiselin to supplant the Heels on the board.

Syracuse managed to push back in the third quarter, and was not entirely outmatched by a team it had not won against in seven previous meetings in Chapel Hill. The Orange had two shot attempts in the third frame, but went over 30 minutes between penalty corners, including the entire period.

Trailing by a goal in the fourth, head coach Lynn Farquhar pushed the troops forward, looking for more APCs.

SU got just that in the fourth. After the first try was thwarted, forward Aubrey Turner inserted and back Jess Liddell rifled one past UNC goalie Merritt Skubisz to knot the game at one.

UNC did not wait for the response. With seven minutes to play, the Tar Heels quickly forged downfield and senior Charly Bruder fired a shot from inside the circle at Eiselin, who made a pad save.

Just a few minutes later, UNC’s APC unit found the answer. Brader tightroped the end line and whistled a shot skywards, which ricocheted off an SU stick and bounced past Eiselin for the go-ahead score.

SU is still in a prime position to play in the ACC tournament. But before postseason play, Syracuse gets a set of games at home to end the regular season, starting with  Stanford next Friday at 5:00. Live updates can be found on X @joshrothert.