Syracuse stumbles out of the gate, but rallies to defeat North Carolina

Lax2017_11
Syracuse won another one-goal game
Lax2017_11
Syracuse won another one-goal game

Sergio Salcido netted a hat trick, and Syracuse scored five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter and overtime to win another one-goal game, squeaking out a 12-11 win at Chapel Hill on Saturday afternoon.

Though Syracuse has played in eight one-goal games this season, it didn’t appear that it would be involved in another after William Perry’s man-up goal with 5:26 left in the third quarter gave the Tar Heels a 10-5 lead.

But Nate Solomon’s unassisted goal less than a minute later proved to be the impetus for seven of the next eight goals as the Orange improved to 10-1 on the season, and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.

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The win also clinched the ACC regular season title for the Orange, who will retain the No. 1 ranking heading into next week. The previous six No. 1 teams held the ranking for only a week.

Ben Williams continued his improved play, going 15-25 at the X. He won a faceoff with under two minutes left to set up the equalizer by Paolo Ciferri with 1:19 to go. In overtime, Williams again won a critical faceoff, this time setting up Sergio Salcido for the game-winner.

Luke Goldstock led UNC with a hat trick, while SU’s Stephen Rehfuss tied his career-high with four points on two goals and two assists.

Syracuse returns to action next Saturday against Binghamton at the Carrier Dome for a 2 p.m. start. The game will be televised on the ACC Network Extra, and it will be Senior Day.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.