No. 8 UNC men's soccer's offense stalls in loss to Boston College

On a fast break, three UNC players raced down the middle of the field. After facing a congested box all night, they only had a few Boston College defenders in front of them. 

Senior forward Luke Hille got the pass at the top of the box. He took a shot.

The ball sailed high over the crossbar.

Chance missed. 

This was the theme of No. 8 North Carolina's 1-0 loss to Boston College on senior night. Though an unexpected shot gave Boston College the winning goal, it was UNC's missed opportunities on offense that sealed the team's fate in the last regular season game. 

Head coach Carlos Somoano couldn't pinpoint exactly what went wrong with the offense — and the players, who weren't made available following the loss, didn't have the chance to try — but he suggested that the team strayed away from its game plan. 

“[We] just got further and further off track as the game went on instead of staying composed and sticking to our principles,” Somoano said.

The Tar Heels especially struggled with shot selection. Perhaps trying to bypass the mass of Boston College players that constantly cluttered the box, UNC sent several shots soaring wide or over the goal. 

The Eagles, who stood to gain places in the ACC rankings with a tie, opted to play in a defensive shape to stifle the North Carolina offense. Still, UNC didn't lack for chances.

North Carolina recorded 17 total shots with eight shots on goal. In comparison, the Eagles had just four shots all game.

But with Boston College's formation, the Tar Heels struggled to find each other in the box, often passing or shooting right into defenders. 

And as the game progressed, the missed chances began to take a toll on the players. Somoano's disappointment in the offense was evident in his statements after the game, but he chuckled and joked that the players almost looked “hangry” for a goal. 

“You know, you get tired and worn down and just get a little bit of a lack of focus,” Somoano said. “And that's kind of what it looked like today, a bit of a worn down, tired team that didn't handle that very well.”

With 37 minutes left in the game and still searching for a goal, Somoano subbed in graduate forward Martin Vician. The forward suffered a lower body injury before the game against Pitt two weeks prior and hadn't played since. But with 10 goals on the season, he had the chance to turn the game around. 

But just like the rest of UNC's chances, it wasn't enough. 

Vician generated a handful of opportunities right away, but his presence wasn't enough to push through the Tar Heels' offensive struggles, and the forward finished the game with zero shots. 

“Good guys definitely looked a little heavy today,” Somoano said. “Legs just looked off.” 

After the loss, the Tar Heels dropped to fifth in conference standings. With the ACC tournament starting on Wednesday, North Carolina had the potential of earning a more favorable matchup. Friday's match could have also proved that they can score against the conference's weaker teams, who are likely to employ a compact box in the postseason. 

But neither happened. And UNC's still searching for the answers why. 

“I don't want to make something up, like give you some gimmicky story,” Somoano said. “I don't really have an answer for that right now.”

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