The North Carolina field hockey team lost 3-2 to the Delaware on Sunday afternoon in Norfolk, Virginia, in the national championship game. The Tar Heels outshot Delaware 16-5, but lost in the final minutes.
What happened?
The Tar Heels came out a little flat. The Blue Hens owned the ball for a good deal of the first half, pushing two goals in the first 35 minutes of play.
After going into halftime down 2-0, UNC looked like a different team in the second half with a more aggressive attack. A goal by Lauren Moyer in the first three minutes of the half cut the Hens to one and changed the complexion of the game.
North Carolina piled up shots in the second half, but with 18:03 remaining, the Tar Heels — still trailing a goal — called for a video referral. It overturned a Hens' corner and gave UNC the ball. The Tar Heels used this momentum to attack relentlessly.
Moyer played with a ferocious intensity that gave the Tar Heels life. The emotional leader stayed all over the Hens defense, seemingly daring the opposition to make a mistake. The Tar Heels fired shot after shot, but to no avail.
With 7:24 left, UNC found the cage when Emma Bozek found Malin Evert, culminating in a Megan DuVernois finish. Improbably, the Tar Heels had tied Delaware at two apiece with seven minutes remaining.
But that didn't last long. With 5:56 on the clock, Delaware pushed across its third goal to take a 3-2 led. Coach Karen Shelton immediately called a timeout. The Tar Heels had been down before, but this was a new turn — a late goal for the opposition. UNC was unable to recover.