UNC Field Hockey: Tar Heels’ 47-game win streak snapped

UNC field hockey loses 47-game win streak in 3-1 defeat against Louisville

The North Carolina field hockey team had its record-breaking win streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to the Louisville Cardinals on Friday afternoon. Prior to the game, the Tar Heels had run off 47 consecutive victories, including a 23-0 mark in both 2018 and 2019 that led to back-to-back national championship victories.

"“Congratulations to Louisville,” UNC coach Karen Shelton said after the game. “Their defense was very cohesive and they did a nice job on Erin (Matson). They were more organized and composed than we were, and they put us under a lot of pressure – credit to Louisville for the way they played today.”"

The streak was longest in the history of the program, and in the Atlantic Coast Conference. It was also the longest winning streak in all of Division I sports. Now, though, the Tar Heels will look to begin a new streak when they travel to Durham on Sunday to play the Blue Devils.

They’ll have to play better than they did in the first half against Louisville, when they trailed the game 2-0 at the intermission. That’s something we don’t often see from the Tar Heels, who rarely face a multiple goal deficit against any opponent. The Cardinals simply played better on Friday, evidenced by their advantage over the Tar Heels on shots (12-7) and corners (4-2). The Cardinals were also able to score goals with under a minute of play remaining in both halves.

Louisville improved to 3-0 overall, and 2-0 in ACC play, while the Tar Heels fell to 1-1 both overall, and in conference play.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the UNC field hockey program.