College of Charleston
North Carolina
Men?s Soccer Suffers Heartbreaking Loss to No. 2 UNC
10/14/2015 2:20:00 AM | Men's Soccer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The College of Charleston men's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in the final seconds against No. 2 North Carolina Wednesday evening at Fetzer Field. An own goal off of UNC corner kick with 15 seconds remaining in regulation ended the Cougars upset bid over the nationally ranked Tar Heels.
“We fought hard and I couldn't have asked for anything more from the boys, we gave everything for each other,” said team captain Nico Rittmeyer. “It was a tough loss considering how well I thought we played but if we play the way we did tonight in our upcoming conference games, I'm sure we'll get the results we need. We have to take this and learn from it and look to improve on our performance. It all starts with our next training session.”
Despite being outshot 17-4, the Cougars (5-5-2, 2-1-1 CAA) were only the second team to score more than one goal on the Tar Heels (11-0-1) this season. CofC only registered two shots on UNC goalkeeper James Pyle, who ranks second in ACC in goals-against-average (0.59) and save percentage (.857), but they made them count as Nico Rittmeyer and Jacob Nelson both found the back of the net.
After UNC took an early lead on a header by Alan Winn in the 33rd minute, junior captain Nico Rittmeyer responded with a header of his own in the 40th minute. The header was set up on a beautiful pass from Adan Noel, which was his first assist of the season. Rittmeyer, who played for the Tar Heels in 2012 and 2013, scored his team-leading fourth goal on his birthday against his former squad. Despite not using a sub in the first half, The College went into break in 1-1 dogfight with the nationally ranked Tar Heels.
Both teams opened the first 25 minutes of the second half playing great defense and limiting each others scoring opportunities. In the 72nd minute, a foul in the box called on the Cougars rewarded UNC with a penalty kick. Raby George converted the PK and gave the Tar Heels a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining.
Less than three minutes later, Jacob Nelson would break down the middle of the UNC box and beat Pyle for the second time of the night. Nelson was set up by Paul Burdick's first assist of the season and the Cougars were once again tied with No. 2 UNC with just 15 minutes remaining.
The unthinkable would happen with 30 seconds remaining in regulation. On a UNC corner kick, a CofC defender tried to clear the ball but accidently scored an own goal, giving the Tar Heels a 3-2 win the final seconds. Entering Wednesday, UNC was one of only three schools in Division I that was still undefeated.
The Cougars will look to break a three-game losing streak on Saturday, Oct. 17 when they host Hofstra. The match will also serve as Senior Day for Tucker Coons, Adam Purvis, and Alex Young since it is CofC's last home game of the season.
