A steady rain fell in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Friday evening, but the field hockey field was not the only thing flooded.
Sophomore forward Gab Major poured in five goals, pacing No. 3 North Carolina’s decisive 8-3 win against the fourth-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.
With the win, UNC moves to 10-1 and pushes its ACC mark to 3-1. UVa. drops to 8-2 and now carries a 2-2 mark in ACC play.
While the Cavaliers outshot the Tar Heels in the first half — UVa. and UNC had nine and seven shots, respectively— North Carolina capitalized on its chances more often.
The Tar Heels struck first in the seventh minute off of a penalty corner, as Major and senior Emily Wold assisted on a goal by senior Nina Notman. The Cavaliers notched a goal less than 10 minutes later, and the score remained tied at 1 for about nine minutes.
But with about 10 minutes left in the first half, Major — who is the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Week — began her scoring onslaught, tallying the first of seven-straight UNC goals.
Major scored four more times during the Tar Heels' run, and her five goals tied the single-game school record. She has now scored nine times in the past three games and leads UNC with 11 goals.
In addition to Major, Notman and freshman Malin Evert scored during the Tar Heels' streak to help UNC seal the victory.
The final score didn't reflect how tight the game was at times. UVa. recorded 18 shots compared to UNC’s 22, and both squads had nine penalty corners.
