It took five years, but No. 8 North Carolina finally claimed another regular-season victory over Virginia. The Tar Heels edged the Cavaliers 10-9 in a tight game Saturday at Klockner Stadium. Despite a furious final minute that gave Virginia several scoring opportunities, UNC held on to their slim one-goal lead to hand Virginia its first home loss of the season.
"We haven't really played like that in quite a while," Virginia coach Julie Myers said. "It was a day we weren't on, we weren't in sync, and we didn't manage the clock well."
The Virginia offense peppered UNC goalkeeper Kristin Hordy with 32 shots, but Hordy played a superb game between the pipes. The junior racked up 16 saves on the afternoon, including a stop on a late Virginia breakaway that would have tied the game.
"She's a good goalie," senior Tyler Leachman said of Hordy. "She did make some good saves but they gave us a lot of opportunities in the last minute."
The North Carolina offense managed only 19 shots, but made them count. Virginia goalkeeper Ginger Miles made only three saves as she gave up a season-high 10 goals.
"Nine goals could be enough if we were making saves at the other end," Myers said. "But when we're not making many saves, if any at all, we need to make sure our shots count."
Virginia began the game sluggishly and mustered only three goals in the first half, heading into the locker room down 5-3. In the second half, though, the Cavaliers came out with renewed energy, tying the game at eight with 13:32 left on the clock, and briefly took a 9-8 lead shortly afterwards. The lead would not last though, as Carolina responded with two goals to regain the lead with five minutes remaining.
"I definitely think we picked it up in the second half," Leachman said. "We tied the game, we had our chances. We got faster as the game went on."
The Heels were eager to run and attack the net as quickly as possible. Carolina exploited the Cavaliers' transition defense on many of their goals. UNC quickly pounced on Virginia turnovers, getting the ball up the field as fast as possible, before the defense could be set.
"Our transition piece was disorganized, and I think Carolina was able to take advantage of it," Myers said.
The game came down to the final minute, as North Carolina could not maintain possession against a Virginia squad playing desperately for an equalizer. Virginia was simply unable to convert any of their chances when they had the ball.
"Everybody was standing and hoping for Tyler to do it," Myers said of the ending sequence. "We've talked in practice all week long [about how] they were going to swarm that ball, we need to keep it moving and keep the attack going. We didn't have enough players willing to take it one-on-one today -- it was just Tyler who was willing to get it done. I think she was almost able to do it."
Virginia returns to action on Tuesday with an away game against in-state rival William & Mary.
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