Tar Heels tie Terrapins 2-2

When North Carolina midfielder Omar Holness raced 50 yards down the field with the ball at his feet, dodging defenders and sliding a shot past the opposing goalkeeper, it appeared the No. 2 Tar Heels were in control Friday night against No. 18 Maryland.

The goal was UNC’s second of the night in a span of under seven minutes early in the first half, and was the freshman native of Jamaica’s first career goal, which he celebrated by dancing a popular Jamaican dance called the “Nuh Linga”.

But UNC’s handle on the game propelled by Holness’ goal and the excitement surrounding it would ultimately be deflated, taken over by the minor miscues and lack of consistency on offense that led the Tar Heels to a 2-2 overtime draw with Maryland.

“I think offensively, just in general, we’re really inconsistent right now and are trying to find our rhythm,” coach Carlos Somoano said. “We’ve always been a rhythm team that tries to get into a little bit of a flow passing the ball but we haven’t been able to hit that this year as much as we’d like. We have the ability to do it but just consistently sticking to our game plan has been a little bit of a burden for us.”

Both teams did, however, find a rhythm offensively to start the game.

The Terrapins scored the first goal of the night after junior defender Jordan McCrary deflected an attempted clearance to Maryland’s Schillo Tshuma.

“I just saw the ball coming across and knew I had a man on my back. I tried to get across to cover (Jonathan Campbell) as much as I could and as the ball came across the box I tried to step out and clear it,” McCrary said. “ I just got an unlucky touch on it and it was deflected to the top of the box.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a midfielder or someone there to step on it and he got a clean hit, got a goal.”

McCrary made up for the blunder on UNC’s next offensive possession by drawing a foul in the penalty box, which junior midfielder Raby George turned into UNC’s first goal after he netted the ensuing penalty kick.

In the 21st minute, Holness gave UNC a 2-1 lead — one which the Tar Heels would relinquish nearly 16 minutes later on a play goalkeeper Brendan Moore wishes he could have back.

From 18 yards out, Tshuma tried his luck again in the 36th minute, shooting a ball low and with little velocity. The sophomore forward was able to net his second goal of the evening, taking the game to a 2-2 tie that would hold for the rest of the night.

“He was coming across the middle and I was moving to my left,” Moore said. “He took a shot back to my left but it was soft and usually I would make that save.”

Holness’ goal would be the last time the Tar Heels would find the net in the 110-minute game despite taking a season-high 13 shots.

And while UNC looks to the move past its second consecutive ACC draw, perhaps the Tar Heels should take an approach similar to how Holness said he attacked the play on which he scored his first collegiate goal.

“It’s just about going forward, forward, forward — no matter what,” Holness said.