CARY — The guy who hadn’t appeared in a game for two weeks won the match for the North Carolina men’s soccer team on Tuesday, as the fourth-ranked Tar Heels defeated Old Dominion, 2-1.
For the first 87 minutes of the game, UNC (12-2-1, 4-1-1 ACC) looked destined to be unlucky losers, having outshot the Monarchs by a drastic margin. Forward Zach Wright hit the crossbar on a pair of occasions.
But Lucas del Rosario intervened and saved the day.
Seeing the field for the first time since Oct. 3 against James Madison, del Rosario, a first-year from Durham, knotted the equalizer in the 88th minute with a header to send the contest into overtime.
Little did he know at the end of regulation: There was an even more memorable moment awaiting the young forward.
Less than two minutes into the second golden-goal overtime period, he made a run to the far post. Having spotted him, midfielder Jeremy Kelly played in a ball that rolled across the face of the goal and eventually found del Rosario.
But at that moment, the pressing question presented itself: to shoot or not to shoot? The angle del Rosario had to work with was less than ideal, and any sort of delay would result in a nearby Old Dominion defender closing down on him. Not to mention, squeaking it by Old Dominion goalkeeper Mertcan Akar — who notched nine saves on Tuesday — had stopped Tar Heel opportunities all evening.
Yet, the decision was instantaneous. His shot was golden.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” del Rosario said. “I mean, coming into the game we knew it was a big game; we were winless in two so we needed this win, and it just made that feeling even much better.”