UNC field hockey unable to complete comeback in season-ending loss to St. Joseph's

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Down 2-1, North Carolina pulled senior goalkeeper Abigail Taylor with less than eight minutes remaining in the NCAA tournament semifinals.

Senior forward Lisa Slinkert replaced her, giving UNC an extra attacker to hopefully reignite the offense. It was a last ditch effort to find the equalizer. 

But the Tar Heels never found it. The buzzer sounded and UNC was still down. St. Joseph's players rushed toward their goalkeeper as the Carolina Blue-clad players stood motionless on the field. 

UNC's backline, which only allowed nine goals across 20 games before Friday's semifinal contest, let two goals squeak by, ending the No. 1 seed's perfect season and preventing North Carolina's return to the national championship game. Uncharacteristic defensive lapses from the Tar Heels — resulting in two goals from Saint Joseph's graduate forward Manu Ghigliotti — combined with 10 saves from St. Joseph's contributed to the upset. 

“We fell short on a couple of occasions, and those bit us in the butt today,” head coach Erin Matson said. “So we'll learn from that. We'll grow from it.”

Throughout the matchup, UNC struggled on both ends of the field. North Carolina's offense couldn't get anything going despite its six shots in the opening quarter compared to SJU's zero. But St. Joseph's was knocking on the door for a score. The Hawks broke up UNC's passes to gain fast-break opportunities, charging toward the North Carolina circle. 

At first, the Tar Heels had a response. Taylor and the defense stopped the Hawks from scoring by pressuring them, but the success was short-lived. 

Ghigliotti's first goal came in the second quarter. In a scramble, the St. Joesph's player recovered the ball in front of the goal, finding space to take a clear shot. She found the back of the net. 

Taylor slid forward on her knees to try and save it after senior back Kelly Smith failed to break it up, but the ball soared past her. The Tar Heels entered their first deficit of the season. 

Despite the rut, North Carolina kept calm. Matson said no one was frantic or freaked out. They wanted to take the game one goal at a time and not worry about the outcome in the moment. 

“When that happened, [there] was the message of, ‘This is good for us,’” Matson said. “‘This is going to make us stronger.’”

As time dwindled, it became clear that this goal was more than just a learning experience. The goal was a catalyst for the Hawks and became a hole the Tar Heels couldn't dig themselves out of. 

In the third quarter, St. Joseph's was awarded a penalty corner. Taylor made the initial save, deflecting the shot. The ball landed right in front of a waiting Ghigliotti. Junior midfielder Sietske Brüning tried to block her from gaining a position of attack, but Ghigliotti had a handle on it. 

2-0. The same goal threshold UNC aims for in every single game, but typically the Tar Heels are on the other side of it. They know it's almost impossible to come back from. That's why they try to notch it as quickly as possible. 

“I mean, it's not fun,” Matson said. “One-nothing's one thing, and and two-nothing is another.”

Matson said Ghigliotti was the defense's only issue. St. Joseph's struggled with UNC's first defensive set-up, but Ghigliotti found her way through. The Tar Heels changed their defense after her first goal, only to be silenced by Ghigliotti again. 

Still, they tried to fuel a comeback. North Carolina drew its seventh penalty corner, and sophomore forward Charly Bruder found the back of the net. 

The goal fired up the Tar Heels. They finally found the energy they were searching for. 

In the final quarter, UNC took six shots and worked for three penalty corner opportunities. Even with an extra player on attack for more than half of the quarter, St. Joseph's tasted the upset. 

When the buzzer finally sounded, the Tar Heels circled a tear-soaked Taylor.

“There's no argument that we weren't the better team, but St. Joe's was the better team today,” Matson said. “At this point in the season, you need to show up, and St. Joe's did.”

@aplancaster_

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com