Hawkeyes late goal not enough, fall to #2 UNC in Ann Arbor
The Hawkeyes hung for as long as they could on the defensive end, but a pair of third quarter goals gave second-ranked North Carolina enough to pick up a 2-1 victory on Sunday morning in Ann Arbor. Despite the loss, Iowa concludes the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a 1-1 record, extending their streak to six straight seasons with a win in the opening weekend.
The Iowa defense held off the Tar Heels offensive attack for the entire first half, but Charly Bruder put UNC on the board in the 34th minute. A pass into the circle deflected off the stick of defender Milly Short, giving Bruder a wide open look on goal. She slotted it past GK Mia Magnotta for the opening goal of the match.
It didn’t take long for UNC to get their second goal. Off of an Iowa turnover in the 37th minute, forward Ryleigh Heck found Sanne Hak in near the goal. Hak lifted a shot over Magnotta and into the goal to give the Heels a commanding 2-0 lead. Despite the box score showing two goals allowed, Mia Magnotta finished the game with six saves, which gave the Hawkeyes a fighting chance going into the final 15 minutes.
The Iowa offense was only able to muster four shots on the day, but they were able to break through in the 51st minute. A broken play off of a penalty corner led to the goal, as Jacey Wittel scooped the ball in front of the goal and Miranda Jackson was able to tap it in. All of the sudden, with just under ten minutes to play, the Hawkeyes were back in it.
Unfortunately, the closing minutes of the match did not yield many chances for Iowa to equalize. The Tar Heels did a good job of holding possession and bleeding the clock. North Carolina held a dominating advantage in shots (24-4) and shots on goal (8-2). The Hawkeyes were forced to defend 14 penalty corners, but they did not allow UNC to capitalize on any of those chances. The defensive penalty corner unit was credited with eight blocked shots on the day.
Up next, the Hawkeyes will return to Iowa City for their home opener on Friday against Miami Ohio. The game is set to begin at 2:00pm CT on BTN+.
