Syracuse field hockey loses heartbreaker to No. 2 UNC

Syracuse field hockey stood in a circle with their arms wrapped around one another after a 4-3 loss to the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels. As head coach Lynn Farquhar spoke to her team, the players, many with blank expressions, nodded along. 

The Tar Heels scored the game’s first goal about 2 minutes into the contest, but the No. 9 Orange owned the rest of the half and took a 3-1 lead into halftime.

Goals from Bo van Kempen, Hattie Madden and Lieke Leeggangers blitzed UNC. The No. 2 team in the nation looked stunned. 

The halftime whistle blew, and the buzz around J.S. Coyne Stadium was palpable. Fans were eager to watch the Orange claim the program’s biggest win of the season. 

But at the start of the third period, something changed. When the teams swapped sides at halftime, it was as if the Orange and Tar Heels had also swapped jerseys. 

The fast, open, aggressive play Syracuse had used to earn their early lead was long gone. The team in blue was now on the attack, and the team in orange was desperate to cling onto their lead. 

The Tar Heels struck quickly. Under five minutes into the second half, Charly Bruder scored her second goal of the game to bring UNC within one. 

Later in the period, it seemed like UNC was about to find an equalizer. Freshman goalie Tane King made a close range save, but the ball was dribbling towards the open goal. Three Syracuse defenders dove at it, clearing the danger just in time. At that point, it felt like fate was on the side of the Orange. 

The universe had other plans.

Just over a minute into the final period, UNC’s Dani Mendez converted a chance on the back post off a penalty corner. The game was tied at 3, but it felt like Syracuse was on life support. 

The Orange were presented with a lifeline when Mendez was shown a yellow card with just under 10 minutes to play. SU played five minutes with an extra player but could not create enough to score. 

With less than two minutes in the game, Bo Madden was shown a green card. Syracuse played the remainder of regulation down a player, but they did not want to play an overtime period. 

“We play to win,” Farquhar said. “As a team, we’re going to say ‘have a go,’ because that’s who we are.”

Going all-in on trying to score while being down a player was costly. The Orange turned the ball over, and the space Madden would typically occupy was now vacant. Like lightning, Bruder bolted into the open space and found herself alone with King. 

King made the first stop, but for UNC, lightning struck three times. 

Bruder buried the rebound to record a hat trick. Nineteen seconds remained on the clock, and the game was all but over. The Tar Heels earned a dramatic, 4-3 come-from-behind win. 

Despite the loss, Farquhar still has belief in her team. She told them as much in that postgame huddle. 

“There was some incredible hockey,” she said. “The ball was moving, the defense was on point. How do you do that when you’re tested in different ways? You figure that out … and you’re in championship position.” 

If the Orange truly have championship aspirations, they will need to use Friday afternoon’s loss as a building block. They know they can outplay the Tar Heels for 30 minutes. Next time, it has to be 60.