It was a busy weekend of Olympic sports for UNC, with the men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball teams all in action.
In men’s soccer, the Tar Heels fell at Syracuse Saturday afternoon after the Orange netted a goal in the 36th minute. Carolina pressed for an equalizer hard in the second half, totaling 13 shots in the second half alone and forcing eight saves out of the Syracuse keeper. Unfortunately for Carolina, no Tar Heel effort found the back of the net. The 1-0 defeat is UNC’s first in ACC play this year. Carolina is now 8-3-4 overall and 2-1-4 in the ACC. UNC will return to action when it hosts No. 19 Duke at Dorrance Field in the regular-season finale Friday, October 31 at 8 p.m.
The UNC women earned a better result Sunday when they hosted Syracuse in Chapel Hill. Olivia Thomas scored twice in a span of less than five minutes in the first half, part of an explosive offensive effort which saw Carolina lead 4-1 at halftime. The Tar Heels were able to cruise from there to a 4-2 win. Linda Ullmark and Kate Faasse each netted goals in the first half, and UNC outshot the Orange 21-3 overall and 10-2 in shots on target.
Carolina is now 11-6 overall and 5-4 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will wrap up the regular season when they host NC State Thursday, October 30 at 8 p.m. at Dorrance Field.
In volleyball, UNC played a pair of thrilling matches at Carmichael Arena as part of a weekend homestand. Against Notre Dame Friday night, the Tar Heels found themselves down two sets to none and staring down their first defeat in conference play. But Carolina controlled the action in the third set, using a 5-0 run late to take a 24-13 lead. The Tar Heels won the set 25-17 to stay alive. In the fourth set, UNC gutted out clutch late points thanks to a kill from Safi Hampton and a big block at the net, then sealed the 25-20 win on a Sienna Cozza service ace.
Things nearly unraveled in the fifth set, as Notre Dame won seven of the first 10 points and led 13-12, just two points from winning the match in the first-to-15 set. But Carolina buckled down again, with kills from Hampton and Laynie Smith and another service ace from Cozza finishing off the Irish and keeping Carolina unbeaten in the ACC.
It was another tight match Sunday against No. 8 Louisville, though the Cardinals started with a bang by dominating the first set, 25-10. In the second set, Louisville led throughout and gave themselves five set points at 24-19, but Carolina saved four in a row to close the gap to 24-23. The momentum didn’t last, though, as the Cardinals clinched the set on the next point.
Again facing a two-set deficit, UNC saved itself in the third set and forced a fourth. Carolina won six of the final nine points after the score was tied at 19-19, including kills from Hailey Pearce and Chelsea Thorpe. In a tight fourth set, Carolina led 9-4 early but was forced to call timeout after Louisville took a 19-18 lead. UNC gained the momentum back after that and had two set points at 24-22, but the Cardinals came up clutch with four straight points to steal the set and win the match.
UNC is now 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the ACC. Carolina will be back in action when it hosts No. 7 SMU Friday, October 31 at 6 p.m. in Carmichael Arena.
Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter
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