UNC men's soccer team holds strong to beat Virginia Tech

Leading 2-1 in the final minutes on Friday, the No. 4 North Carolina men’s soccer team was barely holding off an aggressive Virginia Tech attack.

But for the second game in a row, the Tar Heels (11-2-1, 6-0-1 ACC) looked to freshman Robbie Lovejoy to seal their 3-1 victory against the Hokies (4-10-1, 1-4-1).

With less than three minutes left in regulation, Lovejoy picked up a loose ball and fired a shot, netting the decisive third goal for the Tar Heels and clinching a tie for the regular-season ACC championship for the second straight year. If UNC wins the next conference game, they will win the title outright, which has never happened.

“The ball just kind of happened to be at my feet,” Lovejoy said. “I wasn’t really expecting it, but I was able to slip through the defense and finally get a shot on goal.”

The UNC goal put away a game that featured both a dominating first 70 minutes and a shaky ending.

Midfielder Jordan Gafa struck first for the Tar Heels, cleaning up a rebound off a shot by Carlos McCrary in the 21st minute.

McCrary got on the board himself in the 60th minute, scoring on a breakaway where he juked two Hokie defenders and the goalkeeper before sending the ball in the net.

But injuries to Gafa and midfielder Dustin McCarty in the second half forced UNC into lineup changes that threw off the team’s chemistry.

“For a period of time we lost our rhythm,” UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said. “We made four substitutions, and in hindsight … they got opportunities.”

While the Tar Heels only allowed five shots — none on goal — in the first 68 minutes, Va. Tech tallied its first goal when redshirt freshman Patrick Huang struck the ball from 25 yards. The ball deflected off a defender and floated over keeper Scott Goodwin’s head to bring the Hokies within one.

After the score, the previously asunder Virginia Tech squad came together, firing three more shots in the final 20 minutes and controlling the ball for the majority of that time.

“They put the heat on us, and we had to be strong in the back,” said Lovejoy, who scored the game-winner Tuesday against South Carolina. “And all credit to our backline, they were phenomenal throughout the whole game.”

Despite the attack by Va. Tech, UNC’s backline held steady, with redshirt junior Drew McKinney and redshirt freshman Matt Rose turning in strong performances.

“We played very committed,” Bolowich said. “We knew we were in for a battle, the difference was some of our guys stepping up and making a difference in the match.”

But with the ACC and NCAA tournaments looming and what Bolowich believes could be a top-four seed for North Carolina, the Tar Heels aren’t looking ahead too far.

“It feels amazing (to win the conference),” sophomore forward Enzo Martinez said. “Our work really paid off. But we can’t walk in and play Clemson like we’ve already won. That’s not going to make us better in the long run.”

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