In three games this season, the North Carolina men’s soccer team has dazzled the Fetzer Field faithful with explosive displays of offense, come-from-behind heroics and even a victory against former No.1 Louisville.
But under the bright lights of Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va. on Saturday, the Tar Heels were unable to take that show on the road.
Battling through 90-minute regulation and two rounds of overtime, UNC (3-1, 0-1 ACC) fell to unranked Virginia Tech 1-0 after Hokie defender James Shupp capitalized on a bouncing ball in the Tar Heel box in the 103rd minute.
The UNC loss marked the first time the Tar Heels have dropped a game to Virginia Tech since 2007.
“It’s just a shame,” senior midfielder Kirk Urso said. “If you look at the stats, we had a lot of shots, and we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Entering the night as the nation’s No.1 team, UNC outshot the Hokies 22 to 8, as eight different Tar Heels took at least one look at goal. But the Virginia Tech defense proved stingy with Hokie goalkeeper Kyle Renfro tallying nine saves, including two during golden-goal overtime.
With 14 fouls and three yellow cards, the Hokies (2-2, 1-0 ACC) also weren’t shy about making contact.
“They were disruptive — I wouldn’t call it dirty — but it was definitely disruptive and physical,” coach Carlos Somoano said. “But that was the way they were trying to cope with us, and it’s not illegal to foul somebody. You just get a free kick, and we have to take advantage of our free kicks or try to find a way to play through it.”
Coming off last weekend’s upset victory against then-No. 1 Louisville, the Tar Heels set an aggressive tone early in Saturday’s contest. Redshirt junior forward Billy Schuler took the game’s first shot in the fifth minute, and UNC junior Ben Speas quickly followed suit, taking a shot of his own about 40 seconds later.
