CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A three-minute stretch in the first half was the difference on Friday night (Sept. 25) as No. 16 Virginia (5-2-2, 1-2-0 ACC) fell to No. 1 North Carolina (10-1-0, 3-0-0 ACC) by a score of 3-1 at Klöckner Stadium.
GOALS
9’ – UNC: Bella Devey (Lilliah Blum)
10’ – UNC: Bella Devey (Bella Gaetino)
12’ – UNC: Summer Denigan (penalty kick)
57’ – UVA: Addison Halpern (penalty kick)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tar Heels got on the board quickly, scoring a pair of goals in the in under a minute. The first came off a turnover near midfield that North Carolina quickly turned into a chance from Bella Devey in the ninth minute. Following the reset, UNC played a long ball over the top and Devey got in behind the defense for the one-on-one chance. A hand ball in the 12th minute sent the Tar Heels to the penalty spot where Summer Denigan converted to make it a 3-0 lead.
Virginia got on the board in the 57th minute with her own chance from the penalty spot. Aniyah Collier got loose behind the defense and her centering pass was batted down by a recovering defender in the box to put Halpern at the spot.
NOTES ON THE GAME
- Addison Halpern has factored into a goal in seven-of-nine games this season after scoring against UNC.
- Halpern leads the team with eight goals and has a team-leading 18 points this season.
FROM HEAD COACH STEVE SWANSON
“We were probably more consistent tonight than we’ve been, but that three-minute spell hurt us. Credit North Carolina, they punished us. A good team takes their chances and I think they had five chances in that first 15 minutes and scored three goals. You tip your hat to them. I thought we created some good chances and could have had more than one. I’m disappointed. It was a great crowd and atmosphere, unfortunately we couldn’t get them into the game like we needed to. That three minutes cost us. Our biggest challenge is putting together a full 90 minutes.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia continues to play at home next weekend, hosting Syracuse in a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday (Oct. 3). It will be Senior Day for the Cavaliers at Klöckner Stadium.