Richmond outscored UNC 11-5 in the second half of Saturday’s NCAA Tournament first-round matchup at Dorrance Field, leading the Spiders to a 13-10 upset win over the No. 8 overall seed Tar Heels. UNC’s season is over.

Carolina led for the entire first half, jumping out to a 4-0 lead early in the second quarter thanks to goals from Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala. Richmond cut the deficit to 5-2 before halftime, then scored three times in the opening three minutes of the third quarter to tie the game.

Duffy and Pietramala each found the back of the net a second time later in the quarter to restore UNC’s lead, but it did nothing to halt Richmond’s momentum. A Spiders goal with two seconds to go on the third-quarter clock tied the game at 9-9 entering the fourth.

Pietramala scored one more time at the 10:08 mark of the fourth quarter, but it would be the final goal of UNC’s season. Richmond tied the game again at 10-10 less than a minute later, then scored three more times in the final minutes to win going away. Duffy and Pietramala each finished with hat tricks, but no other Tar Heel scored more than once.

UNC dropped three of its final four games of the season after a 9-2 start. The Tar Heels haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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