Women’s soccer: No. 7 UVA plays No. 16 North Carolina to 1-1 draw

Two overtime periods couldn’t break the stalemate between two storied programs on Sunday as No. 7 UVA (8-2-2, 1-1-2 ACC) and No. 16 North Carolina (6-2-3, 1-1-2 ACC) played to a 1-1 draw at Klöckner Stadium.

Senior midfielder Alexis Shaffer (Cary, N.C.) got the Cavaliers on the board in the waning minutes of the first half, but Megan Buckingham found the equalizing goal for the Tar Heels in the final 10 minutes of regulation to set up the overtime periods.

Neither team could find the net as the defenses answered the challenge down the stretch for the draw.

“It’s disappointing that we had the lead at home with eight minutes to go and we lost focus for a minute,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “North Carolina has kids that can hit the ball and Buckingham hit it. We had our share of quality chances and we did a good job of limiting their chances. They are a good, athletic team and they will come at you. They did that today. We lost our focus and a young team has to learn from that. We had some chances to put the game up 2-0 and we didn’t shut the door. That makes a difference as well.”

It looked like North Carolina grabbed the early lead in the 16th minute when Madison Schultz dribbled deep into the box and tapped the ball ahead to Bridgette Andrzejewski. The Tar Heel forward knocked it in from two yards out, but was offside to create the one-on-one opportunity and the goal was waved off.

Morgan Beans (Atlanta, Ga.) entered the game in goal for the Cavaliers in the 40th minute as starter Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) had to leave the game to get treatment after a scrum in the box that was cleared following a Tar Heel corner kick.

Virginia got on the board in the 42nd minute when Shaffer took a pass from Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) at the top of the box and fired it from 20 yards out. The ball slipped in past the near post to give the Cavaliers the 1-0 lead.

North Carolina tied the match in the 82nd minute, taking advantage of a free kick just outside the far corner of the box. Annie Kingman tapped the free kick to Megan Buckingham 25 yards out near the far top corner of the box. Buckingham fired the long shot in past the near post for the equalizing score.

At the end of regulation, the Cavaliers held a 12-to-10 edge in shots over the Tar Heels.

Neither team could find the net in the overtime periods as both sides notched four shots in the extra time. Stearns notched the only save of the overtime periods for either keeper as both sides turned away the few chances each offense produced.