Following Thursday’s 2-1 victory against Louisville, the No. 3 North Carolina field hockey team had less than 21 hours to gear up for Friday’s ACC Championship semifinal match against No. 11 Boston College.
But the quick turnaround did not faze the third-seeded Tar Heels, who grinded out a tough 3-2 victory over the seventh-seeded Eagles on Friday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
UNC opened up the scoring in the 13th minute when forward Austyn Cuneo slid a beautiful pass toward the front of the goal, where Sam Night pushed the ball into the back of the cage.
It took Tar Heels less than two minutes to strike again. Midfielder Nina Notman scored off a penalty corner to give North Carolina a 2-0 advantage. But that lead did not last long.
Boston College scored with about 15 minutes left in the first half to cut the Tar Heels' lead to 2-1. That score would carry into halftime.
The Eagles' offense continued to attack the North Carolina defense throughout the rest of the game, but Boston College only found the back of cage once more — tying the game at 2 in the 45th minute of play.
Tensions rose as the Eagles' attack worked deep into the Tar Heels' defense, causing Coach Karen Shelton to take a timeout with 11:06 remaining.
The timeout proved to be vital, as Gab Major was able to notch the go-ahead goal on an assist from Malin Evert in the 62nd minute. But Boston College did not go down without a fight.
