One second remained.
A bona fide buzzer beater from sophomore Zach Wright proved to be the highlight of the No. 5 North Carolina soccer team's 3-0 victory over visiting Santa Clara on Sunday night. The UNC offense finally found its rhythm, as the team improved its record to 2-0 on the young season.
It was a chaotic scene that led to Wright’s first-half goal.
First, the ball skipped out of play with exactly 13 seconds left on the clock as the referee signaled for a corner, and the ten-second countdown began on the PA system.
Then, an unlikely hero emerged for the Tar Heels — the ball boy.
The ball boy fired an extra soccer ball in the direction of redshirt freshman Andy Lopez, who was sprinting over to take the corner. The ball boy’s throw was right on the money, allowing Lopez to get the ball into play.
Lopez quickly placed the ball in the corner, took a small run-up and delivered the ball into the box, where Wright leaped above the Broncos' defense and headed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net. One second remained on the clock as the ball trickled in, sending the Fetzer Field faithful into excitement.
Quotable
“The ball boy’s the real MVP. The assist to the assist was all the ball boy.” — Andy Lopez on the pass that set up the last-second goal.
