May 17, 5:53 p.m. -- Just when it seemed like Syracuse was set to run away with Saturday's game against North Carolina, the Tar Heels battled back.
But after a season full of routs and breaking records, the No. 5 Orange showed composure down the stretch. Syracuse is going to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
The Orange delivered the knockout blow late for a 13-11 NCAA quarterfinal win over North Carolina in front of 1,037 at the Carrier Dome to keep the historic season alive.
SU will face No. 1 Northwestern in the national semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. in Towson, Md. The three-time defending national champion Wildcats won the teams' only meeting this season, 19-7, at the Carrier Dome.
No. 2 seed Pennsylvania and unseeded Duke will play in the other semifinal at 8:30 p.m.
Syracuse couldn't shake the Tar Heels all afternoon in its tightest game of the year. Neither team led by more than three. With 90 seconds to play and trailing, 12-11, UNC tried to battle back from a deficit for the fourth time. Instead, the knockout blow came not from a prolific offensive play, but a defensive stand and a wild clear.
Seeking the tying score just to the left of goalie Liz Hogan, Manlius native and Tar Heel Kristen Taylor's errant pass to teammate Julia Ryan fell harmlessly out of bounds, giving the ball back to the hosts.
"It's one of those plays where you wish it didn't happen, but it did," Taylor said. "It's one of those mistakes that happened all game long, but unfortunately at that point of the game it's a game changing play."
With the ball back, Hogan flung a home run pass 55 yards down the field. On one hop, the ball bounced into teammate Jackie DePetris' stick, and the sophomore blasted an empty net goal to send the Orange to the national semifinals.
"We practice it, sure, but I was caught off guard," Orange coach Gary Gait said. "I'm thinking possession, possession."
Gait said goalie coach Maggie Koch had told Hogan to go for the long clear if she got herself into trouble. With pressure from the Tar Heels Hogan let the ball fly and bagged herself an assist.
Taylor said North Carolina had pulled its goalie up the field to mark Orange players as the Tar Heels tried to force a turnover. That left just enough space for DePetris to catch the ball on a lucky bounce.
"We had a player there as well," UNC coach Jenny Levy said. "We had the right play on. … Unfortunately my defender didn't pick up the ground ball and bounce happened and their player did. You come up with that ground ball and maybe something different happens."
Just 10 minutes earlier, it had looked that way when the Tar Heels used a four-goal streak to gain their first lead of the game at 10-9. Feeling the game slipping away, Gait burned his final timeout.
Moments later, Katie Rowan blasted a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at 10.
"We rarely get the board out," Gait said. "But we did get a chance to get the board out and show them what it looked like. Though not executed as drawn up, it was effective."
Gait's play had called for Rowan to draw the defense out and find someone else to score. Instead, the double team was late in coming and Rowan took the shot herself. Rowan followed that up with two straight assists on the same play, giving the Orange a lead it would not relinquish.
The Tewaaraton Award finalist had a hand in three of Syracuse's last four goals.
"(Rowan) really stepped up there right at the end," said sophomore Christina Dove, who had five points and three goals herself. "I think it just got our whole team's confidence up and got everyone involved. From then on we knew we would pull it out."
The gut check was one of many all day long as Syracuse weathered assault after assault. Just as the record-setting Orange offense seemed ready to roll, North Carolina would rebound, winning a couple quick draw controls and tying the game back up.
In the process, SU set the all-time NCAA team scoring record with 372 goals this season. Syracuse had dominated most of its games, outscoring the opposition by 212 goals.
But in its first game decided by two goals or less, the five seed showed the composure it had rarely needed before Saturday. Now, Syracuse moves on.
"(It's) the result of what we've been doing all year long," Gait said. "Through our mental training to just the way we talk about being the Syracuse Orange…Staying composed, ready to play, not giving up. You got to be proud as a coach when they follow through and just get the job done."
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Return to dailyorange.com for full coverage of the women's lacrosse Final Four from Towson, Md., as well as the men's run through the tournament.
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