By R.L. Bynum

No. 3 Carolina and No. 12 Alabama waged a physical battle that didn’t include many good scoring chances until the second half, and the Crimson Tide’s press got the best of the Tar Heels for much of the night.

The Tide drew 12 fouls and three yellow cards, making it tough for UNC as the teams played to a 1–1 draw Sunday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

In the 82nd minute, Alabama head coach Wes Hart walked over near the UNC bench and exchanged heated words with UNC associate head coach Damon Nahas, drawing yellow cards for both. It was that kind of night, as both undefeated teams moved to 5–0–3.

Carolina outshot Alabama 18–11, but the Tide’s shot total was the most against the Tar Heels this season after No. 6 Penn State and No. 7 Arkansas each got off 10. UNC had a 7–3 edge in shots on goal.

After giving ranked SEC teams their first losses in the previous two games — beating Arkansas in Chapel Hill 3–1 on Sept. 3 and No. 10 South Carolina 2–1 on Thursday — it looked like Alabama would be the third such victim after UNC senior midfielder Avery Patterson’s amazing play that gave the Tar Heels the momentum for a few minutes.

In the 59th minute, Patterson quickly dribbled nearly three-quarters of the field before juking an Alabama defender, pushing a left-footed strike to the right side of the goal and past Tide goalkeeper Coralie Lallier for the game’s first goal. It marked the third consecutive game with a goal for Patterson.

Alabama’s Gianna Paul got the equalizer in the 79th minute, though. She took a long pass behind UNC left back Maycee Bell, pushed past goaltender Emmie Allen, then center back Savy King for the score from close range.

Lallier tipped an Ally Sentnor shot wide right in the 86th minute.

NOTES — The Tar Heels return home at 3:30 Friday (ESPN3) for their ACC opener against Virginia Tech (3–2–3). Both Hokies losses have come against ranked teams, 1–0 on Aug. 27 against No. 13 Georgetown and 3–2 Sunday against No. 20 Northwestern. … Alabama was the fourth top-12 opponent UNC has faced after meeting (current ranks) No. 6 Penn State, Arkansas and South Carolina. … UNC and Alabama both lost to eventual national champion UCLA in last season’s College Cup, the Heels in the championship game and the Tide in the semifinals. … Alabama’s goal was the first against UNC in three meetings after UNC outscored the Tide by a combined score of 14–0 in two wins. … In the previous meeting with Alabama, UNC won 6–0 in Durham in 1997 for Coach Anson Dorrance’s 400th victory. … King and Bell both played all 90 minutes.

No. 3 UNC 1, No. 12 Alabama 1

Date	Month/day	Time/ score	Opponent	TV/ record
	August
14	Thursday	L, 2–0	at Tennessee	0–1
17	Sunday	W, 5–0	vs. Siena	1–1
21	Thursday	6:30	at Georgia	SECN+
24	Sunday	Noon	vs. Rice	ACCNE
28	Thursday	4 p.m.	vs. UNCG	ACCNE
31	Sunday	Noon	vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee
	September
4	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Alabama
7	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. James Madison
11	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia Tech
17	Wednesday	7 p.m.	vs. Florida State	ACCN
25	Thursday	6 p.m.	At Notre Dame	ACCN
	October
2	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Boston College	ACCN
5	Sunday	4 p.m.	vs. Pittsburgh
12	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ESPNU
17	Friday	6 p.m.	at SMU
23	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Miami
26	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Syracuse
30	Thursday	8 p.m.	vs. N.C. State	ACCN
	November		ACC tournament
2	Sunday		First round: Campus sites
6, 9	Thurs., Sun.	W, 2–1	Semifinals, final: Cary
			NCAA tournament
13	Thursday		First round Campus sites
	December	Women’s College Cup
5, 8	Fri., Mon.		CPKC Stadium Kansas City