Defending national champions Florida State used an offensive eruption to roll past Carolina in Tallahassee on Friday night. The Seminoles scored two goals each in the first and second halves to win 4-2 and deal the Tar Heels their third loss of the season.

Florida State struck first in the 20th minute and doubled the lead less than four minutes later, taking a 2-0 lead midway through the first half. But Carolina answered with a flurry of its own, as Aria Nagai scored twice in the span of 2:16 to even the score at 2-2 heading into halftime.

The Seminoles kept their feet on the gas in the second half, taking a 3-2 lead inside of 10 minutes and extending it to 4-2 in the 67th minute. Carolina only managed three shots for the remainder of the night.

Florida State pounded the UNC defense all night, amassing 26 total shots. Of those 26, 18 were on target, forcing Carolina goalkeeper Clare Gagne into a season-high 13 saves. By contrast, the Tar Heels only managed 11 shots in total, with five on target. The four goals given up by Carolina are the most on the season, and the 26 shots allowed are as many as the team had seen in the previous three matches combined.

The loss is UNC’s second in its last three matches and drops the team to 14-3 overall and 7-2 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will wrap up the regular season on Thursday night when they host Duke at Dorrance Field. The Blue Devils dealt Carolina its first loss of the season in a non-conference match on September 5.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter


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