The #3 Clemson women’s soccer team (3-1-0, 2-1-0) was handed its first loss of the 2020 season, falling 0-2 to the #1 North Carolina Tar Heels (4-0-0, 4-0-0) in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“It was a learning game for us – being a young team,” said Head Coach Eddie Radwanski. “Our quality wasn’t quite where it needed to be, especially for playing a good team.”
With both sides splitting chances in the opening minutes of the nationally-ranked match up, North Carolina would find themselves on the board first in the 6th minute of play. A rushing Isabel Cox sent a centering ball from the goalline as freshman Sam Meza finished the play, just out of the reach of Clemson’s Hensley Hancuff.
Prior to Meza’s goal, the Tigers had accumulated 270 scoreless minutes across their opening three games while outscoring opponents 10-0.
In the 27th minute, a penalty kick was awarded to North Carolina following a handball in the box. Rachel Jones successfully converted the attempt to put the Tar Heels up by two, but neither side would find any additional scoring opportunities for the remainder of the half. Clemson showed a strong response in the second half of play, but the final 45 minutes would see no change to the scoreline, handing Clemson its first loss of the 2020 season.
Statistically, the Tar Heels held the advantage in shots (13-6), shots on goal (5-2), and corners (6-1). Megan Bornkamp led the Tigers’ attack with three shots while Hensley Hancuff played all 90 minutes and tallied three saves.
“This is part of our journey and we have to learn from it,” said Radwanski. “We will learn from it and get ready for our game against Duke on Sunday.”
