Louisville beat the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in program history.
LOUISVILLE, KY. - In the first ever meeting between North Carolina and Louisville in women’s soccer, the Cardinals scored the most impressive victory of their history beating the top-ranked Tar Heels 2-1 in overtime at Mark and Cindy Lynn Soccer Stadium.
The Cardinals capitalized for goals in the fourth minute of the second half and then again with nine seconds left in the first overtime period to improve to 7-5-1 overall and 3-2 in the ACC. North Carolina lost for the first time since November 23, 2014 when it fell to South Carolina at home 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament third round.
The Cardinals had several heroes in the game, only the 59th Carolina has lost since it became a varsity program in 1979. Goalkeeper Taylor Bucklin made eight saves for the Cardinals to lead the defensive effort for Louisville. Hannah Konnerman assisted on each of the two goals for Louisville.
Carolina outshot the Cardinals 30-6 but the Tar Heels placed only nine of their 30 shots on goal while Louisville placed four of its six shots on frame.
Carolina grabbed the lead at 34:31 on Alex Kimball’s third goal of the season, assisted by Emily Bruder. After a foul on Carolina in the fourth minute of the second half, Louisville tied the game on the ensuing free kick as Gabrielle Vincent scored on a header past UNC goalkeeper Lindsey Harris off an assist by Hannah Konermann.
That goal came on Louisville’s only shot of the second half. The Cardinals would not register another shot until nine seconds remained in the first overtime period when after another Carolina foul the Cardinals successfully scored again off another free kick. Caroline Kimble notched the game-winner for the Cardinals with assists by Hannah Konermann and Hannah Harris.
After having 16 first half shots, the Tar Heels were kept off the scoreboard for the final 65 minutes of the game despite launching 14 more shots at goal. Carolina’s best chance came on a free kick by with 3 1/2 minutes to played that was denied by a spectacular save by Bucklin.
Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to Louisville marked just the 14th time in UNC history in which the Tar Heels have led in a game only to end up losing. The last time that happened was November 8, 2013 when Florida State beat UNC 2-1 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament at Cary, North Carolina.
