A minute into overtime, Syracuse midfielder Sergio Salcido was lying on the field in Chapel Hill after being shoved from behind by a North Carolina player.
A few seconds later, the 5'7" senior put a laser into the back of the net to capture win number ten for Syracuse.
His gritty play sums up the whole game for the Orange, who fought back from a late deficit to stun #17 North Carolina 12-11.
The victory locks up the number one seed in the ACC tournament for the Orange, but a win in a high-intensity game means far more to a Syracuse team coming out of two straight blow outs.
Cuse shot out to an early 4-1 lead, aided by two of Sergio Salcido's three goals on the night. Unlike their last two games however, the #1 team in the nation couldn't pull away to make it a third straight comfortable victory.
The Tar Heels answered with five goals from five different players to bring a 6-4 lead into halftime. The Orange meanwhile, seemed baffled by North Carolina's defense, failing to score for more than 20 straight minutes of game time.
The Orange struck first blood in the second half, however, when attack-midfield hybrid Nick Mariano backhanded one in to bring the Orange within one score. Mariano would turn around and put a finger to his mouth after the goal, answering the relentless chatter from the Tar Heels throughout the game.
The home team responded by putting up four straight goals, including two from senior attacker Luke Goldstock. North Carolina's offensive leader finished the game with a hat trick and three assists. Goldstock could be seen saying something to Syracuse goalie Evan Molloy after he scored a goal late in the third quarter.
The teams battled back and forth until the fourth quarter, when an unlikely hero emerged for the Orange to bring them back from a four goal deficit. Redshirt freshman Stephen Rehfuss assisted on Nick Mariano's second goal of the day early in the final quarter. Rehfuss then put in two straight unnassisted goals for Syracuse to bring the game within one.
With just over a minute left, a ten-player scrum near midfield opened up space for redshirt senior Paolo Ciferri. The Ithaca native capitalized on a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper to tie the game up at 11.
North Carolina goalkeeper Brian Balkam made a phenomenal leg save to keep the Orange from winning in regulation, but he couldn't snag Sergio Salcido's man-up snipe in overtime, ultimately giving the game to the Orange.
With the win, Syracuse will finish the regular season 4-0 in conference play. All of those games were won by a single goal.
The last game of the Syracuse Men's regular season takes place at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, April 22nd.