By R.L. Bynum
Needing a win to secure a bye in the ACC women’s soccer tournament, sophomore midfielder Hope Munson ensured that No. 2 Carolina wouldn’t be denied.
Munson’s first career hat trick, the last two breaking ties, carried the Tar Heels to a 3–2 victory at Louisville on Thursday night, overcoming two crazy Cardinals goals.
Carolina will be the No. 2 seed if No. 6 Notre Dame beats Miami and the No. 1 seed if the Irish loses.
It wasn’t all good for UNC (15–2, 8–1 ACC), as freshman midfielder Sealy Strawn drew a red card in the final minute, meaning that she can’t play in Carolina’s semifinal game Thursday in the ACC tournament. UNC coach Damon Nahas drew a yellow card protesting the red card.
No. 24 Louisville (10–4–3, 4–4–3) needed a victory to qualify for the ACC tournament.
UNC goaltender Payton Trayer made a nice diving save on a goal-kick shot by Louisville’s Betsy Huckaby in the 16th minute. Strawn tipped a ball off the crossbar from in front of the goal in the 17th minute, then Louisville goaltender Brielle Baker made a diving save on a Bella Devey penalty kick in the 21st minute.
On Carolina’s fifth corner, Munson, who had only five goals on the season entering the game, fired a left-footed shot just inside the right goalpost in the 37th minute.
Trayer kept it 1–0 in the 62nd minute, saving a transition shot by Louisville’s Liz Eddy. But in the 60th minute, on a corner, defender Grace Maddox headed the ball to the ground. It bounced over the goal line to tie it.
Just over three minutes later, Munson sent a rocket from 20 feet out in the 64th minute as UNC retook the lead at 2–1.
Louisville tied it in bizarre fashion. Trayer cleared the ball with a kick that went off of the head of Louisville’s McKalie Ball, injuring her. But the ball deflected back into the net in the 73rd minute.
Munson came through again with an 18-foot shot by two defenders and to the left of a diving Baker for a 3–2 lead in the 80th minute.
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Notes
—Freshmen Amari Manning (two goals, three assists) and Deus Stanislaus (two goals, one assist) returned Tuesday to Chapel Hill after playing for the United States team at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. The team lost 3–1 to North Korea in the quarterfinals on Sunday. Manning played Thursday.
—Part of that U.S. team was UNC signee Maddie DiMaria, but she signed Thursday with the NWSL’s Angel City team and could make her pro debut on Saturday.
—Devey returned after missing the Oct. 29 2–0 victory over SMU.
—UNC leads the all-time series with Louisville 6–1–1. The Cardinals’ only win was 2–1 in overtime in the first meeting in 2015 when the Tar Heels were No. 1. It’s the only win over a top-five team in program history.
No. 2 UNC 3, No. 24 Louisville 2
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 12 South Carolina | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 4–0 | vs. Fairfield | 1–0 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 8–0 | vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | at Arkansas | 3–0 |
| 23 | Sunday | L, 3–2 | vs. No. 5 Michigan State | 3–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Shelbourne FC | Friendly |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | at Arizona | 4–1 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | at Arizona State | 5–1 |
| 10 | Thursday | W, 3–0 | vs. California | 6–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. NJIT | 7–1 |
| 17 | Thursday | W, 4–2 | vs. No. 15 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 14 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 4–1 | vs. No. 6 Notre Dame | 11–1, 4–0 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | at Clemson | 12–1, 5–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | L, 3–1 | at No. 4 Wake Forest | 12–2, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 17 Stanford | 13–2, 6–1 |
| 29 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | vs. SMU | 14–2, 7–1 |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 3–2 | at No. 24 Louisville | 15–2, 8–1 |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 12 | Thursday | 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. | Semifinals | ACCN |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | |||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun. | First round | ||
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | ||
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | ||
| December | ||||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Photo via @uncwomenssoccer
