Cardinals Fall at No. 1 North Carolina in Spring Opener

Friday, March 5

Chapel Hill, NC

1:00 P.M.

University of Louisville

(8-3)

North Carolina

(11-1)

Louisville

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey Camarati

Cardinals Fall at No. 1 North Carolina in Spring Opener

March 05, 2021 | Field Hockey

Box Score

By: Hollyn Barr

CHAPEL HILL, N.C – The seventh-ranked University of Louisville field hockey team opened the 2021 spring season with a 2-0 loss at No. 1 North Carolina Friday afternoon.

In the game, Louisville outshot the Tar Heels 16-14 with a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal and 10-5 in penalty corners. Goalkeeper Sam Minrath collected three saves.

With the loss Cardinals begin the spring season at 8-3 (0-1 ACC) while the Tar Heels move to 11-1 (1-0 ACC).

"Challenging way to start the 'spring' season against the No. 1 team at home," said UofL head coach Justine Sowry. "In the first half UNC looked like they had already played eight games, playing fast and in sync and it took us off guard, hence we were very reactive. In turn, we were frantic with the ball and unable to connect or link consecutive passes. The second half of the game was much improved with better pressure on the ball and had long stretches of possession."

North Carolina jumped to an early 1-0 lead after drawing a pair of back-to-back penalty corners when Erin Matson sent a rebound past Sam Minrath in the second minute of the game. The Tar heels added a second goal with under two minutes left in the first half when Matson found the back of the cage after a broken corner.

UNC took a 2-0 lead into halftime after outshooting the Cardinals 10-7 with a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal while Louisville held a 4-3 edge in corners.

Louisville attacked early out of the break, earning a penalty corner in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Louisville applied pressure quickly, but could not break through the Tar Heels' defense. North Carolina's Amanda Hendry collected nine stops in the game to hold the Cardinals at bay.

"We must improve in taking advantage of the opportunities in attack as that can change the momentum instantly and it could very well have been a factor early in the game," said Sowry. "Set pieces were ultimately the difference between both teams."

Louisville will return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Cards travel to Muncie, Indiana to take on Ball State.