In pursuit of the program’s first national title since 2012, the No. 2 UNC women’s soccer team saw its season come to a crashing halt Thursday night in Cary — as Santa Clara defeated the Tar Heels 3-1 in the College Cup Semifinals.

UNC ends the year with a record of 18-2-0 as it suffered its first loss in eight games this spring, and allowed its first goals since falling to Florida State last November in the ACC title game.

Santa Clara (10-1) struck first in the 20th minute when Izzy D’Aquila took advantage of a miscue by the Tar Heel defense inside the box and slipped the ball past goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.

That lead would hold until early in the second half, as UNC star Brianna Pinto provided the Tar Heels with an equalizer.

Thirty seconds later, Kelsey Turnbow put Santa Clara back in front and squashed all the momentum Pinto had just provided. Skylar Smith added an insurance goal not long after when she collected her own rebound and put it back in the net, on a night where Santa Clara out-shot UNC by a margin of 12-10.

The Tar Heels were unable to mount a serious comeback over the final 30 minutes of action, as they fall just short of a national title yet again — extending the longest drought in program history to eight seasons.

 

Photo via UNC Athletics

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