The UNC women’s soccer team made the wrong kind of history Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels’ pursuit of a 23rd national title in program history will have to wait another year, as UNC fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to South Carolina at Dorrance Field.

This is Carolina’s first-ever loss in its first game of the NCAA Tournament. Under head coach Anson Dorrance, they had previously been 39-0 in such games. This is also just UNC’s eighth all-time loss at home in NCAA Tournament play.

The Tar Heels, seeded No. 2 in their quadrant of the tournament field, outshot the Gamecocks 11-9 on the afternoon, but couldn’t find a way past South Carolina goalkeeper Heather Hinz. Isabel Cox tested Hinz within the first two minutes of the first half, but it was one of just three shots on goal for Carolina during the entirety of the match.

The two teams entered halftime in a scoreless tie, and the score stayed 0-0 until the 81st minute, when South Carolina’s Luciana Zullo found the back of the net, beating UNC senior goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. With the season on the line, the Tar Heels earned a corner kick in the 84th minute, but were not able to conjure up any meaningful chances before the clock hit 90 minutes.

The defeat was the women’s soccer team’s first match in 16 days, as the team missed out on the ACC Tournament for the first time in program history this season. They finish the season 12-3-3, but were just 2-2-1 in their last five games. South Carolina has now won two of three meetings between the two Carolinas in NCAA Tournament play.

 

Featured image via South Carolina Athletics

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