CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In its fifth match this season against a Top 10 opponent, the 25th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies could not continue their recent winning streak and dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 3 North Carolina in ACC action Sunday afternoon at Dorrance Field.
With the loss, coupled with the rest of the ACC results from Sunday, the Hokies (11-4-2, 3-4-2 ACC) have slipped back into a tie for eighth place in the league standings with Notre Dame at 11 points. The top eight teams make the conference's postseason tournament.
With its win, North Carolina (15-1-1, 8-0-1 ACC) secured its 23rd ACC regular season league title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament.
The Tar Heels were held scoreless for the first 41 minutes of each half, but broke through on the scoreboard in the first on a Zoe Redei strike from the left corner of the box. Her shot ricocheted off the crossbar and into the goal for her second of the year at the 42:09 mark.
Tech, who did not have a shot on goal, had a good chance just four minutes after the break, but Lilly Weber's shot from close range went left of the net. The Hokies managed seven corners, and on their last, Kelsey Irwin got a shot off, but hers went wide right in the 84th minute.
Mandy McGlynn made six saves in the game – three in each half – but with just over three minutes to go, the Tar Heels got an insurance goal on a counter as a shot by Isabel Cox deflected off a Tech defender and into the net which sealed their victory.
Quick Notes:
- This was the 20th meeting between the two schools and UNC now leads the series at 18-2, including winners of 10 straight.
- The Hokies were held scoreless for only the third time this season after being held without a goal nine times last year.
- Jaylyn Thompson has now started 67 straight matches, the most since Kelsey Mitchell (2009-12) started all 88 games of her Tech career.
- McGlynn is now at 57 straight and Emmalee McCarter owns the third longest streak at 36.
- McGlynn has played 5,075:20 straight minutes since the last time she was substituted (Aug. 25, 2017 – 54 straight matches).
From Coach Adair:
"I was proud of the effort from the group today. I think the team worked hard and came out trying to put our best foot forward. We competed for 90 minutes and made a mistake here and there and Carolina being the good team that they are, they punished us for it. I was pleased with the play of our team. They were solid throughout. It's a shame, because when we tried to push for the equalizer, we gave up one on the counter at the end. We didn't complete both ends of the halves, but I'm proud of the group and the effort they put forth. Now, we're going to get ready to go on the road and get an important road win at Pitt on Thursday."
Up Next:
The Hokies will conclude their regular season on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, taking on the Panthers with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Tech will be looking to qualify for the ACC tournament for the second straight year with a victory.