DAVIDSON — When the whistle blew to signal the kickoff of Monday night’s match between the No. 2 North Carolina men’s soccer team and Davidson, UNC goalkeeper Scott Goodwin had one simple, succinct request for his teammates.

“Get one in early.”

They didn’t. But then again, neither did the Wildcats.

In fact, neither team managed to find the back of the net in the opening half. The scoreless draw ended 37 minutes into the second half, when Davidson netted the first goal of the game.

Davidson tallied in the 82nd minute, giving the Tar Heels limited time to equalize. Eight minutes later, UNC’s nine-game undefeated streak was broken to a Davidson team that hadn’t beaten North Carolina since 2002.

Coach Carlos Somoano noted Davidson’s defensive strategy as something that was hard to overcome for the Tar Heels.

“(Stacking all 11 players in the box) is the way they tried to go about winning the game,” he said. “And it worked today. I think the key to how they won the game is the guy smashed the ball as hard as he could, and it happened to find the corner of the net. If you asked him to do it 10 more times he probably wouldn’t even hit the net.”

The game was full of obstacles for both teams. In the 20th minute, Davidson notched a breakaway goal from 19 yards out, but it was ruled offside.

The Tar Heels, too, had missed opportunities. During the opening half, Mikey Lopez crossed to Billy Schuler, who headed it toward the crossbar, but Davidson’s top 100 goalie Chip Sanders denied him the goal.

Later, Kirk Urso was awarded a free kick, but the direct shot at goal from 19 yards out-caught the left exterior of the net. In the 61st minute, Jordan Gafa corralled a misplayed ball from a Wildcat defender, launching it at the goal and missing wide right.

The Tar Heels shot 12 times in the second half and had five total corner kicks, but the team simply seemed unable to find the back of the net, hitting the post or the crossbar numerous times.

“That’s just how the game goes,” Urso said. “And I think that’s why finishing is so important. That’s why people who get goals get a lot of credit — it’s tough, and I think we need to work on that. We need to find ways to get into the back of the net as a team.”

Finally, eight minutes before the game clock expired, Davidson forward Jake Keator ripped one past the reach of Goodwin from 25 yards out, handing UNC its first loss since the Sept. 10th match at Virginia Tech and second defeat by an unranked opponent this season.

Davidson fans rushed the field of Alumni Stadium as time expired.

“It’s just frustrating,” Schuler said.

“Nothing really clicked for us out there after coming off of some good performances. I’m just upset with myself. I didn’t play well.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.