The No. 21 Virginia men’s soccer team and No. 6 North Carolina played through a pair of overtime periods to a 1-1 draw Saturday evening at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C. The match marked the regular-season finale for both sides; UVa finishes the regular season at 9-5-2 (3-3-2 ACC), while the Tar Heels, winners of seven straight matches coming into the game, conclude at 12-4-1 (5-2-1 ACC).UNC out-shot Virginia, 15-11, including a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The Tar Heels also held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. UNC was called for 15 fouls and UVa was whistled for 14.
UVA goalkeeper Calle Brown (R-Sr., Leesburg, Va.) made four saves, including a game-saving stop late in the second overtime. UNC keeper Brendan Moore stopped three shots on target.
After a scoreless first half, UNC took the lead in the 51st minute when Jonathan Campbell fired a shot from outside the box into traffic, and the ball redirected off Tyler Engel and into the net.
Virginia knotted the score in the 69th minute when Bird sent a dangerous cross deep into the box and it caromed off the head of Engel and over Moore for the goal. Bird was credited with his team-leading fifth goal of the season. It marked UVa’s first goal against UNC since 2008.
UVa out-shot the Tar Heels 4-1 in the second overtime period, although UNC had the best scoring chance with Brown making a terrific diving save on Craven header in the 108th minute. After a long cross deep into the box, Andy Craven put a head on the ball and Brown dove to his right and knocked the ball away with his right hand to keep the draw in tact.
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Chris Graham
