By R.L. Bynum
No. 5 North Carolina fell behind in the first few minutes but responded with sustained pressure and rode a goal and an assist from senior forward Ella Barbacci to a 2–1 road win over Richmond at Crenshaw Field on Sunday.
Richmond’s Maia Dechario converted the game’s opening penalty corner in the ninth minute, but UNC’s rally moved the Tar Heels to 9–2 under Coach Erin Matson when the opponent scores the first goal.
“We’ll continue to keep working,” Matson said after her team rebounded from Friday’s 5–4 overtime home loss to No. 20 Old Dominion. “We still said it to the team, we can be really proud with the response and a win today, and bringing that back home. But at the same time, very unsatisfied and realistic. And there’s a lot of work to be done. So, we’ll get back to a good week of practice and go again.”
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Carolina dictated the pace after that, finishing with edges of 14–6 on shots and 9–2 on shots on goal over the Spiders (4–2).
Barbacci scored in the 26th minute to tie the game and give the senior her third goal of the weekend. Early in the third quarter, senior forward Charly Bruder forced a Richmond turnover. Barbacci made a quick pass to Bruder, who fired in the game-winner for her team-leading fifth goal.
Bruder moved past Ryleigh Heck for sole possession of seventh place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 65 career goals. She is three shy of tying Kelsey Kolojejchick and Louise Hines for fifth.
Matson made clear afterward that style points mattered less than the result.
“We say we don’t always need to win pretty,” she said. “We can win ugly, but a win is a win, and that’s something that we need to be proud of. I think, overall, we are working on connecting our actions to our words, setting our goals like we always do, but acting with them for 60 minutes, setting our individual goals but not just saying them to each other, acting on them. And I think that showed a little bit more today versus Friday, but there’s still work for us to do there.”
Much of that response ran through Barbacci, whose weekend included three goals and an assist. Matson singled her out, pointing to how the senior has bought into what the coaching staff has asked of her.
“She’s doing exactly what we need from her, and exactly what we’re asking from her,” Matson said. “She’s being coachable. She’s processing. She’s leading her teammates. She’s applying what we’re working on during the week, and I think it shows coming out of the weekend with three goals and an assist for her team, and stepping into that role when her team really needs it.”
UNC (3–3) gets a week off before hosting No. 11 Virginia at noon next Sunday (ACC Network) in the Tar Heels’ ACC opener. The Cavaliers (4–1), who thumped James Madison 7–0 on Sunday, open ACC play at 6 p.m. Friday at No. 9 Duke.
No. 5 UNC 2, Richmond 1
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent/event (current ranking) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Winston-Salem | |||
| 28 | Friday | L, 2–1, OT | Michigan | 0–1 |
| 30 | Sunday | L, 3–2, OT | No. 9 Iowa | 0–2 |
| September | ||||
| 4 | Friday | W, 7–0 | Penn | 1–2 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0, OT (3–2 shootout) | No. 8 Princeton | 2–2 |
| 11 | Friday | L, 5–4, OT | Old Dominion | 2–3 |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | at Richmond | 3–3 |
| 20 | Sunday | L, 2–1 | vs. No. 19 Virginia | 3–4, 0–1 ACC |
| 25 | Friday | W, 8–1 | at Stanford | 4–4, 1–1 |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 4–0 | at No. 17 California | 5–4, 2–1 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Louisville | 6–4, 3–1 |
| 9 | Friday | W, 8–0. | at Saint Joseph’s | 7–4 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 2–1 | at No. 12 Liberty | 7–5 |
| 16 | Friday | W, 4–0 | vs. Boston College | 8–5, 4–1 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 2–1 | vs. No. 13 Syracuse | 9–5, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | L, 4–3 | vs. No. 7 Wake Forest | 9–6, 5–2 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | at Appalachian State | 10–6 |
| 30 | Friday | 6 p.m. | at No. 6 Duke | ACCN |
| November | ACC tournament | |||
| 3–6 | Tue.–Fri | At Karen Shelton Stadium | ACCN | |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 13 | Friday | TBA | First round Campus sites | |
| 15 | Sunday | TBA | Second round Campus sites | |
| 20 | Friday | TBA | National semifinals Louisville | |
| 23 | Sunday | TBA | Championship Louisville |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
