'Uncharacteristic of us': UNC men's soccer's defense lapses in draw with St. John's

Sometimes, the game of soccer is fickle. 

What ultimately decides the result of a back-and-forth, 90-minute battle can simply be a brief moment of lapsed concentration. 

This was the case for the No. 12 North Carolina men’s soccer team on Friday night. A lack of focus allowed St. John’s to score on two occasions before North Carolina mounted a late-game comeback to draw, 2-2. 

“You can be playing well and give one up, and you’re kind of going, ‘Oh how’d that happen?’” assistant coach Grant Porter said. “For us not to dwell on it and just get back and get something out of the game was important.” 

The first blunder came in the 31st minute. A driving St. John’s forward sneaked behind the Tar Heel defense as he dribbled parallel to UNC’s goal. From there, a secondary striker made an unmarked run into the 8-yard box, where North Carolina defenders did little to prevent St. John's from tying the game. 

Fast forward to the second half, and another moment of passivity proved costly. As the attention of three UNC defenders surrounded a lone Red Storm striker, a fellow St. John’s forward slipped in behind the back line, again. After the ball deflected off the feet of several Tar Heel defenders unable to clear the danger, he scored the go-ahead goal.  

“We’re built on identity, I think, more than just defense,” Porter said. “And I think we lost a little bit of our identity tonight at times.” 

To see UNC’s backline make a mistake is an unusual sight. Twice in one game? Extremely rare. 

Head coach Carlos Somoano — who didn't attend Friday’s game due to illness — previously said he builds his team by solidifying a defense first, before filling in the leftover midfield and attacking positions. 

An emphasis on defense is the defining characteristic of Somoano’s squads. Much like last season when North Carolina finished top five in the NCAA for average goals allowed, UNC’s defense has worked to continue this trend through its first five games. 

Prior to Friday night, the Tar Heels only allowed one goal all year. 

But then came those two mistakes against the Red Storm. 

“We pride ourselves on, if we do make a mistake, we got another guy to bail that guy out,” graduate center back Riley Thomas said. “I think tonight, we just had too many blunders in a row, which is a little uncharacteristic of us.” 

Without the help of corner kicks, the Red Storm found ways to capitalize on the two moments where UNC broke down defensively. 

But North Carolina didn’t allow two possessions to dictate the entirety of the match. Junior midfielder Sam Williams spurred on his teammates in a huddle immediately after St. John’s took the lead in the 53rd minute. 

In the time that remained, North Carolina fired off four shots, including one which forced the St. John’s keeper to make a goal line save. Then came junior forward Lucas Ross’ first career goal in the 87th minute, tying the game. 

“It seems like when we need a goal in the game, we get a goal,” Williams said. “So [I’m] proud of the guys to keep going at them and keep believing that we can get one.”

The recent scoring outburst of UNC's 11 goals over the last three games is beginning to revise the team's mantra of being a defensive-focused squad.

With the Duke Blue Devils up next on the schedule, North Carolina will either have to play flawless defense for a full 90 minutes or outpace the ACC’s highest scoring offense to neutralize its rival on the road next Friday.

@cadeshoemaker23

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