The UNC field hockey team will want to get out of Iowa City as fast as possible. The Tar Heels dropped their second consecutive game to open the season Sunday, falling 3-1 to the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes. The loss marks Carolina’s first 0-2 start since the George H. W. Bush administration, and their first time losing consecutive games since the 2013 season.

The Tar Heels once again fell behind early, allowing an Iowa goal just 30 seconds into the second period. Erin Matson’s first goal of the season drew UNC level before halftime.

Carolina outshot the Hawkeyes on the afternoon, including holding a 4-1 advantage in the third quarter, but Iowa made their lone try of the period count, pushing in front 2-1 midway with under three minutes to go in the quarter.

UNC pulled goalkeeper Abigail Taylor for an extra attacker with just under twelve minutes remaining, but just as No. 2 Michigan did on Friday, Iowa made Carolina pay for its gamble and scored again. Despite two penalty corners in the final ten minutes, the Tar Heels couldn’t manage another goal.

This is the first time Carolina has been two games under .500 since the end of the 2002 season, when Carolina finished 9-11. The Tar Heels will be off until Friday, September 3, when they will travel back east to visit another ranked opponent: No. 13 Princeton. The game is part of a two-game weekend event, as the team will stay in Princeton to play Penn the following Sunday.

 

Featured image via Iowa Athletics

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