The UNC women’s soccer team saw its seven-match winning streak snapped Sunday afternoon in Cary, as the top-seeded Tar Heels fell to No. 2 seed Florida State in the ACC Tournament final.

As with UNC’s other four losses this season, Carolina held an early lead. Junior Avery Patterson scored her team-leading 10th goal of the season in the 23rd minute to put the Tar Heels in front. But that lead lasted just eight minutes, as the Seminoles equalized in the 31st minute.

The 1-1 scored held until halftime, but Florida State opened the second half on the front foot and took the lead in the 49th minute. Carolina pushed hard for an equalizer in the home stretch, firing five of its seven total shots in the match’s final 12:26. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, no shot found a way through a dedicated Seminole defense, and time ran out on the 2-1 loss.

The result mirrors UNC’s win in Tallahassee in the regular season, when Carolina trailed 1-0 early but came back to win 2-1. Sunday’s result denied the Tar Heels their first ACC Tournament crown since 2019, but the team is still positioned for a high seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which begins next week. Carolina will officially find out its first opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter

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