Goodwin key player in men's soccer victory against Georgetown

When Georgetown men’s soccer coach Brian Wiese joked that North Carolina could have played without a goalie in the first half of the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament second-round victory Sunday evening, it wasn’t the first time such a thing could have been said about UNC this season.

Throughout UNC’s record-setting season that has provided it with homefield advantage throughout the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels have been outstanding along the backline and even better in the midfield, often taking the pressure off sophomore goalkeeper Scott Goodwin.

But when UNC needed him most to keep its NCAA title hopes alive, Goodwin rose to the occasion, shutting out the Hoyas for 110 minutes and making one final pivotal save in the Tar Heels’ 5-4 penalty-kick victory.

“He was great,” Wiese said. “And it sounds like he’s been great all year for them, as well.”

Despite Wiese’s remark, Goodwin was tested early in the contest, diving to parry a thirty-yard strike from the foot of Georgetown’s Seth C’deBaca. It wouldn’t be the last time Goodwin sent the senior away empty-handed in his final game as a Hoya.

From there, UNC developed a rhythm in the midfield and created scoring chances that kept the ball in Georgetown’s end of the field. But when the Hoyas came out of the intermission rejuvenated, Goodwin was again called to preserve UNC’s dreams of a third consecutive College Cup appearance.

Seven minutes after the break, the Hoyas earned a corner kick from the right side. C’deBaca played a bounding ball into the box toward the near post, which was then flicked into the air off the leg of a Georgetown attacker. The touch allowed Hoya defender Ben Slingerland to manage a sudden and powerful header aimed at the upper middle portion of the goal.

At a moment’s notice, Goodwin sprung to action, leaping to punch the ball over the goal.

“You just see it, and you just got to go for it,” he said. “It’s just a reactions kind of thing.”

Goodwin would make three more saves during a two-minute Georgetown onslaught that began with 12 minutes remaining. After two 10-minute overtimes were unable to break the scoreless tie, Goodwin was again asked to stand tall, this time in a penalty shootout.

After incorrectly guessing right on the first two Hoya penalties, Goodwin stuck to his guns on C’deBaca’s critical attempt. The third time was the charm, as Goodwin dove to his right, meeting the ball in midair to make the only save of the penalty-kick round.

“Really, when it comes down to that you have to go with your instincts every time,” Goodwin said. “If you don’t falter from that, the odds are with you to guess the right way once or twice.”

The shutout was Goodwin’s 11th of the season and marked the fifth straight game the Raleigh native has not given up a goal in the run of play. If the Tar Heels are to continue playing through December, Wiese says he’ll have to keep it up.

“If you’re going to make a run to the College Cup, you have to have someone who’s going to be able to make the saves you need to make in these rounds,” Wiese said.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.