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Winn scores game-winner in 80th minute to send UNC men's soccer to College Cup

Men's soccer celebration

The North Carolina men's soccer team celebrates after defeating Fordham, 2-1, and advancing to its second consecutive college cup on Dec. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

CARY — On Saturday night, the North Carolina men's soccer team made history and got one step closer to claiming the ultimate prize.

The Tar Heels (17-3-1) edged a scrappy Fordham squad, 2-1, to advance to the program’s second straight College Cup. It was a hard-fought match, but UNC’s attacking strength proved too much for the Rams (14-6-3), who had notched the program’s first three NCAA Tournament wins to reach the Elite Eight.

“Fordham is a heck of a good team," North Carolina head coach Carlos Somoano said. “Some people like to make it out that they’re a good story to be here. They’re more than a good story, they’re a good team, and they deserved to be here tonight.”

The win propelled UNC into the NCAA semifinal for a record sixth time in the last ten years and gave the program its 23rd NCAA Tournament win during that span — also a nation-best accomplishment. Somoano was nostalgic in addressing how far senior forwards Zach Wright and Alan Winn have come to lead this team back to the College Cup.

“I couldn’t be happier to be sitting with these two guys right now," Somoano said with a hint of a smile. “It seems like just yesterday they showed up and we were talking about some funny stuff four years ago, and they’ve just grown so much. I’m proud to see the way they played tonight to get us back to the College Cup”.

It was a hectic first half, even though neither team scored. In the 22nd minute, sophomore midfielder and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist Cam Lindley found himself with a wide-open shot on goal. With a chance to give his team the lead, Lindley blasted the ball over the crossbar.

Later in the first half, the Rams almost scored the game’s first goal. A well-directed 26th-minute corner kick bounced into the middle of the box. Time seemed to stop as players watched the ball, before redshirt junior goalkeeper James Pyle dove on it like a live grenade.

For the third consecutive game, the Tar Heels got hot in the second half after starting off slowly in the opening frame.

“We started off slow, but we know what we had to do to change things in the second half to pick it up," Wright said.

Forward Zach Wright (10) around a Fordham defender on Dec. 2 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

Wright brought the change, controlling the flow of the game after halftime, and his teammates routinely pushed the ball down his right sideline. 

In the 61st minute, he struck gold. Sophomore midfielder Jack Skahan crossed the ball to Wright in the box, who had broken free from ten yards out. The ball left his foot and zipped toward the goal, hitting the opposite post before sinking into the net for Wright’s fourth goal of the season.

However, the Rams had overcome deficits in two previous tournament games and tied the contest two minutes later on a deflected free kick.

The Tar Heels came roaring back in the 80th minute, having come too far to lose. 

Lindley fired the ball towards the right sideline, where Wright lay waiting. Wright beat his defender and raced towards the endline. The forward deftly flicked a cross into the box, where it met Winn’s head, before depositing into the back of the net for the game-winning goal. It was Winn’s team-leading 11th goal of the season and gave Lindley his 13th assist of the year, the most by a UNC player since Matt Crawford's 16 in 2002.

“Zach was going down the line and Zach made a beautiful cross in," Winn said. “Coach has stressed enough to always get in the box and always get those second balls or crossed balls. I was just there to tap it in.”

The Tar Heels head to Philadelphia seeking the program’s first NCAA Tournament title since 2011. Third-seeded UNC will face second-seeded Indiana in the College Cup on Friday, looking to hand the 17-0-6 Hoosiers their first loss of the season.

“We’re certainly going there to give our best effort," a resolute Somoano said. “We’re not just excited to be there.”

@christrenkle2

sports@dailytarheel.com

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