The University of North Carolina men’s soccer team took control early in the second half and rode that burst to a 3-1 win over Lipscomb on Saturday night at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.
UNC was sharp enough in the opening half to create danger, but the goals didn’t come until after the break. Once they did, the Tar Heels delivered quickly: two finishes in a two-minute span flipped the game in Carolina’s favor and put the Bisons in chase mode the rest of the way.
Ryan Zellefrow started the scoring with a finish off a cross from Bertil Rygaard Hansen. Then Zellefrow and Joschi Schelb linked up in the box, with Schelb finishing past the keeper for the second goal. Dan Klink added the final touch late, chipping the goalkeeper to seal it for UNC.
The result moved the Tar Heels to 3-2-3 on the season. Lipscomb dropped to 3-5-1.
Carolina had chances before halftime but couldn’t turn them into a lead. The second half looked far more like the version of UNC that wanted the game, and for much of the night it seemed the Heels might even escape with a clean sheet. That changed in the 69th minute, when an awkward bouncing ball fell to Alejandro Valcarce Marin, who put Lipscomb on the board.
UNC still had the final say. In the 89th minute, Lipscomb’s keeper came out to try to clear a ball, and Klink was ready, lifting a shot over him for Carolina’s third.
Earlier in the match, UNC kept pressing without finding the breakthrough. In the 21st minute, Schelb and Hansen combined at the top of the box, but Schelb’s attempt was tipped over the bar.
Three minutes later, Zellefrow worked through traffic and sent a shot into the keeper’s belly. Then in the 35th, Schelb and Ryan Dugan linked up on another promising sequence, only for a rocket of a shot to strike one of the Bisons and go out of danger.
Zellefrow’s goal was his second of the season and the seventh of his career. Schelb’s goal was his sixth of the season and the 26th of his career.
Klink’s goal was his first of the season and the seventh of his career. Hansen’s assist was his third of the season and the ninth of his career, while Zellefrow picked up his first assist of the season and the seventh of his career.
North Carolina returns to Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium on Wednesday to host West Florida at 7 p.m.
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