The UNC field hockey team’s third title defense in a row will have to start with a setback. The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines avenged their championship loss to the Tar Heels last May with a 3-2 win in Iowa City on Friday.

A 2-0 halftime lead for Michigan proved too much to overcome for head coach Karen Shelton’s team.

The offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter, with senior midfielder Eva Smolenaars getting UNC on the board to cut the deficit in half. With 12 minutes remaining, Carolina pulled freshman goalkeeper Abigail Taylor for an extra attacker, but Michigan burned the Tar Heels by quickly adding their third goal to extend the lead to 3-1.

Senior forward Hannah Griggs pulled Carolina back within one with five minutes to go, but that was all the Tar Heels would get for the rest of the game. They would sent three potential shots toward the Michigan goal within a span of a minute, but none found its intended destination.

The Wolverines’ revenge will likely come with a No. 1 ranking in the next national poll.

Things don’t get any easier for Carolina, as they will try to rebound against No. 3 Iowa, whom the Tar Heels defeated in the 2021 NCAA semifinals, in a true road test in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon. UNC field hockey hasn’t started a season 0-2 since 1992.

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics

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