CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Sergio Salcido was always going to shoot. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t scored since the first quarter. It didn’t matter that he had a tough, roughly 55-degree angle on a red-hot goalie. It didn’t matter that he entered the game with a .150 season shooting percentage — “God awful,” by his standards.

Brad Voigt swung him the ball and Salcido didn’t hesitate.

“The guy who had rotated onto me ran about 10 yards up from the crease,” Salcido said. “That’s a long rotation.”

North Carolina opened Fetzer Field in 1935 and Salcido closed it for good on Saturday afternoon. His overtime man-up bullet capped an improbable run in which the No. 1 Orange (10-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) overcame a five-goal, second-half deficit to topple No. 17 North Carolina (6-6, 1-2), 12-11, and clinch the ACC regular-season title and No. 1 conference tournament seed. It was an improbable run Syracuse has been making all season, embodied perhaps no better than by Salcido.

The former walk-on had only five assists in two years entering last season, then broke out for 29 goals, 24 assists and a second-team All-American nod — something ESPN analyst Mark Dixon said is one of the most surprising things he’s ever seen in lacrosse. But this season, the redshirt senior said he did not practice for the first seven weeks of the season with an undisclosed injury. He left an early February scrimmage hobbling. Sometimes he worked out a day before the game, but seldom.

“When you’re not practicing during the week,” SU head coach John Desko said, “it’s hard to get in rhythm.”

On Saturday, Salcido showed he might be fully recovered. He matched his season-high goals (two) in the first quarter alone on just two shots. The first on a wide-open man-up can around the crease. His second infuriated Tar Heel defender Jack Rowlett, UNC’s second-best defender, when he dodged from behind the goal and suddenly stopped his full run. Salcido spun and Rowlett, fooled, kept running and the crowd gave its approving, “Oooh.” A flick of the wrist pocketed the shot and dispatched flailing Tar Heel goalie Brian Balkam.

Rowlett was a downgrade from top defenders that teams have regularly thrown at Salcido all season. That added attention, for an unassuming walk-on just 18 months ago, startled Salcido into his poor start. The pressure of facing a top defender made Salcido realize that he may only get one or two good looks at the goal per game. In the beginning of the season, he shot his shot anyway. He attempted seven against Siena (no goals), 13 against Albany (two) and 11 against Virginia (two).

“Right now, I think I’m trying to aim a little bit too much,” Salcido said last week. “I analyze my game probably more than I should. I think that’s kind of hurt me, as far as shooting goes. In practice, I let it fly and it seems to go in. In the games, I’m trying to pick a corner instead of picking a spot. It’s something I’m working on.”

The Winter Park, Florida, native has been able to practice for the last two weeks and used that time to re-hone his shooting mechanics, wary of any bad habits he picked up while compensating for his injury.

“Fortunately, he was on today,” Desko said, “because that’s when we needed it the most.”

Yet after his initial burst, Salcido remained quiet. He missed his next two shots — including one when North Carolina midfielder Justin Anderson got caught in transition and ended up guarding his counterpart. Salcido hesitated at first, looking to pass off, but then he squared up Anderson, shimmied and went left as Anderson’s ankles went right. His second “Oooh” of the day left him alone about 18 yards out, from where he promptly pushed the shot wide right.

North Carolina frustration boiled over well after the halftime whistle, when Rowlett ran up behind Salcido and tomahawked his stick out of his hands. Flags flew immediately and Salcido slowly turned with his hands out. Then he seemed to shrug and turn back to his team.

In the second half, Salcido mostly directed the offense from the top as his teammates mounted a 7-1 run to force overtime.

“Teams slide to (Salcido) much quicker this year,” attack Jordan Evans said. “If they’re not going to get there (fast enough), he’s going to put it in the back of the net.”

With about a minute gone in the overtime period, UNC defender Jack Lambert pushed SU attack Nate Solomon and sent the Orange on a man-up.

SU worked the ball methodically around the top as Salcido sat on the backside and waited. Then it came to him. This time, the redshirt senior said he didn’t try to shoot it as hard as he could. He didn’t try to force it into a specific spot. He looked at an area — just over the goalie’s right shoulder — and let it fly.

Published on April 15, 2017 at 8:34 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR