Facing the No. 4 Blue Jays (4-0), the No. 3 Tar Heels (3-1) had been mostly shut down through 35 minutes of play. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the third period, the Tar Heels had failed to find any sort of groove. Turnovers and fouls continued to set UNC back, stunting any positive momentum the team tried to build.
Still, a spirited performance from the Tar Heel defense had them just two goals behind.
“We were right there midway through the third quarter,” head coach Joe Breschi said. “But we just weren’t getting the momentum of a big goal here or there.”
An interference penalty by the Blue Jays gave the Tar Heels a man-up opportunity — and a chance to come within one. Perhaps it would be the momentum goal Breschi’s group was looking for.
But two errant shots and a turnover later, any hope of a momentum goal had all but disappeared. Just 40 seconds after UNC had earned its man-up opportunity, the Blue Jays barreled down the field to score a goal of their own — the first of a 9-3 run en route to a 13-5 win at Fetzer Field.
After three convincing wins against lesser opposition to start the season, the Tar Heels were outclassed against Johns Hopkins on Saturday. But UNC believes a humbling loss is just what the team needed to understand how far it still has to go.
“Losses in February are tough, but you can really learn from them if you look at them the right way,” redshirt junior goalkeeper Brian Balkam said. “A team like that comes in and exposes you a little bit in your weak spots.”
While an early-season blowout defeat — the worst since UNC’s 17-9 loss to Duke on May 22, 2010 — was not on any player’s wish list, the Tar Heels have been here before.
