Birthday boy James Pyle saves game for UNC men's soccer

James Pyle’s 20th birthday started on a sour note.

Almost halfway through the first half of No. 2 North Carolina’s match against No. 22 Syracuse, Pyle hesitated for a moment on a long cross played into the box, giving first-year defender Miles Robinson the space he needed to head the ball past him and into the goal.

But it would be the only mistake Pyle made.

The redshirt first-year keeper finished with a career-high seven saves on Saturday night, helping UNC battle to a 2-1 victory and extending its program-best 10-0-1 start.

“I think what I’m most proud of is he made a mistake that cost us, but he more than made up for it,” Coach Carlos Somoano said.

Faced with a 1-0 deficit against a ranked opponent and harried by a top-10 scoring offense, other young keepers might have faltered.

But not Pyle.

“You make a good save, get over it. You let in a goal, get over it,” Pyle said. “Just keep the game going.”

Whether he stops the ball or not, Pyle stays even-keeled, even after making multiple one-on-one saves. But while he stays level-headed after a big save, his teammates feed off of it.

“Soccer is huge on momentum,” said senior defender Jonathan Campbell. “So when you can change that when a team is doing well and come up with a big save, it can put them down, get them on their back foot.”

Syracuse entered Fetzer Field on a five-game winning streak and averaged three goals a game during that span. The Orange put eight of their 11 shots on goal, much to Pyle’s delight.

“I like the challenge,” he said. “I feel like in past games I haven’t been able to show as much as I can do. But tonight allowed me the opportunity to make the saves that needed to be made and help my team.”

After his hesitation earlier led to a goal, Pyle became more decisive the rest of the game, diving to snare long passes in the box before they could become dangerous. Despite the wet conditions, the ball never slipped once Pyle got his mitts on it.

“It’s not the mistakes that you make — because every player is going to make a mistake, and goalkeepers, if they make a mistake, it’s exposed — but it’s how you respond to those mistakes,” Somoano said.

“He could easily have crumbled, but he didn’t. He expanded.”

With each save to keep UNC in the game, Pyle’s confidence increased. Although tougher foes await for a UNC team with national title hopes, this game proved to Pyle he can handle the test.

“It shows me I can do everything I need to do,” Pyle said.

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