As time ran out on North Carolina at Fetzer Field Sunday, sophomore Paige Nielsen slammed her fist into the turf in frustration.
Notre Dame, the No. 8 team in the country, was celebrating its 1-0 victory over the nation’s top-ranked team. Because for the first time this season, UNC’s second half offensive onslaught wasn’t enough.
Senior Crystal Dunn was a key cog in UNC’s barrage of shots on Notre Dame’s goalkeeper. But each time, the ball was deflected away at the last second — with the exception of one.
In the 62nd minute of the game, Crystal Dunn managed to break away from her defender and fire a shot from straight away, only to have it smash into the crossbar and careen down toward the goal line where it bounced up and into the goalie’s hands.
On replay it’s clear that Dunn’s shot crossed the line, yet the officials did not see it clear enough in real time to make the call. UNC remained scoreless, as they would for the remainder of the game.
“I thought it was in,” Dunn said of the shot, “but the rules of the game are the ref makes the calls. Unfortunately it wasn’t clear enough for him to make the final decision.”
UNC coach Anson Dorrance was disappointed that the call was missed, but was quick to credit Notre Dame for its play.
“Obviously in our game you get some good luck and some bad luck,” Dorrance said, “for us that’s a little bit of bad luck. I’m certainly not one to think as a result we deserved to win or tie the game.”
Like Nielsen, senior forward Kealia Ohai’s frustration was evident, but her response was much like Dorrance and Dunn’s. She said the team can’t focus on the negative things that happen during a game, and instead focus on doing their own job.
