WATCH: North Carolina women's lacrosse pulls off improbable comeback to advance to NCAA finals
The beauty of college athletics is the rollercoaster rides teams put their fans through. Especially in Olympic sports, where the single-elimination tournaments provide some of the best drama in all of sports. North Carolina women’s lacrosse was the latest example, pulling off an improbable comeback on Friday.
With a spot in the championship game on the line, the Tar Heels were facing off against Northwestern in a national semifinal. North Carolina is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and won its previous two games by a combined 25 goals. As for the Wildcats, they were the No. 4 seed but were still rolling through their matchups.
Northwestern had North Carolina exactly where they wanted them, up 10 goals with just over seven minutes to go. However, one of the best comebacks in history ensued, with the Tar Heels eventually scoring eight unanswered goals to win the game 15-14 and advance to the national championship.
North Carolina’s Sam Geiersbach did a majority of the scoring during the comeback, tallying four goals on the 8-0 run. In fact, Giersbach had the final four goals and sent the Tar Heels to the national championship game.
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Leading the game for nearly 57 minutes, Northwestern was minutes away from their ninth national championship appearance in program history. Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has brought the Wildcats seven titles but has not lifted the trophy since 2012. Northwestern has made three straight Final Fours but came up short every time.
As for North Carolina, they will be seeking their first championship since the 2016 season. Whoever wins on the opposite side of the bracket between Boston College and Maryland will be their opponent on Monday night. After a perfect 21-0 regular season and an ACC Tournament win, the Tar Heels will be hoping to bring more silverware back to Chapel Hill.