During the first 60 minutes of yesterday's game against No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Virginia was able to keep the game tied against a bigger, stronger and faster Tar Heel team that controlled the possession and the tempo for the entire match.
But a pair of brilliant offensive sequences from UNC midway through the second half quickly changed that, as North Carolina (17-0, 6-0 ACC) grabbed a two-goal lead and defeated the Cavaliers (12-3-2, 3-2-1), 3-1, to move to 27-0-0 all-time against Virginia.
"We're unhappy with a loss," Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. "I'll be honest and simple. We're past the point of saying 'Hey, that's all right, we played well today.'"
In the 63rd minute, Tar Heel junior forward Anne Morrell picked up the ball in midfield and broke down the right sideline. She crossed the ball to sophomore midfielder Kacey White who found freshman forward Heather O'Reilly on a quick tap. O'Reilly one-timed the ball to the low left corner to put the Tar Heels ahead 2-1.
Just six-and-a-half minutes later, UNC sophomore forward Lindsay Tarpley collected a Lori Chalupny pass on the left side and easily chipped the ball over Virginia senior goalkeeper Anne Abernethy to give North Carolina a two-goal cushion that they held on to for the remainder of the contest.
The three goals allowed was a season-high for a Cavalier defense that had let up an average of 0.61 scores per game.
"You have to be careful not to get stretched out on a team like that," Swanson said. "The minute you get stretched out, like we did on the second goal, they can really penetrate."
The Tar Heels were able to control the ball in the Virginia zone for most of the contest, but the Cavaliers managed to keep North Carolina's scoring chances to a minimum in the early going. UNC only took four shots in the first half and only two of them were on goal.
As the game wore on, however, the Tar Heel offensive attack proved too much for the Cavalier defense to handle.
"Overall, with their speed, strength and pressure all over the place, it's difficult to handle," Virginia junior defender Gillian Hatch said. "Over time, they broke through us once or twice."
Early on, the Tar Heels struck first as Tarpley beat Abernethy to a lose ball in the Virginia box and crossed it to Chalupney, who easily found the back of the open Virginia net.
The Cavaliers countered the Tar Heel tally less than two minutes later, when sophomore midfielder Sarah Huffman intercepted a pass deep in the North Carolina zone. She quickly pulled the trigger from the top of the box and drilled the ball past the outstretched hands of sophomore North Carolina goalkeeper Ally Winget.
"That was a good time to score," sophomore midfielder Sarah Huffman said. "We were looking for an opportunity so we didn't stay down. It did help us bounce back."
The Cavaliers were helpless offensively for the rest of the contest, however, as the Tar Heels effectively double-teamed Virginia and kept the Cavaliers from having a single shot on goal in the second half.
"They like to double-team all over the field," sophomore midfielder Kelly Hammond said. "They came at us hard. We responded well, but they had a couple great sequences and got great goals."
The two-goal margin of victory was North Carolina's smallest against an ACC opponent. In their five previous conference games the Tar Heels outscored their opponents 24-2.
The Cavaliers came into the home finale undefeated at Klockner. The defeat moves Virginia's record in front of the home crowd to 6-1-1 on the year.
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