On Saturday, the North Carolina men’s soccer team got one step closer to returning to the College Cup.
The Tar Heels (16-3-1, 6-1-1 ACC) advanced to their eighth Elite Eight appearance in the past 10 years after defeating a pesky Southern Methodist (17-3-1, 5-1-1 American) squad by a score of 2-0.
The Mustangs employed a defensive approach in the first half, holding the Tar Heels to just five shots while packing the defensive side of the field. The teams went into halftime scoreless.
With five minutes gone in the second half, the Tar Heels finally got onto the scoreboard. Sophomore midfielder Jack Skahan possessed the ball 25 yards out from the left side of the field. He made a quick move, then fired a laser into the box. The ball skidded just past forward Alan Winn’s run, and snuck into the bottom right corner of the goal, giving the Tar Heels a 1-0 advantage.
“I didn’t see the goal," Skahan said with a smile. “I was going for a guy in the middle, and it got on frame and went in. That’s normally a cross for me.”
After the goal, the momentum shifted, with SMU employing a more aggressive approach to get back into the game.
The approach was still in effect in the 83rd minute. Redshirt sophomore Jelani Pieters was in the game for less than a minute when a nifty back-heel pass was flicked to him by sophomore midfielder Cam Lindley.
With Lindley standing near midfield, Pieters streaked behind him on an overlap run and Lindley found his teammate. Pieters took the ball in stride, sprinting down the left side of the field. He cut into the middle at the top of the box and fired a low screamer into the back of the net, breaking the collective hearts of the SMU faithful.
“Jelani is great off the ball,” Lindley said. “We know we were trying to get behind. I took the chance, and it’s one of those risk-reward passes. If it pays off, it’s going to show up and give us results. I got lucky and Jelani made a great run.”
