Several UNC women’s sports programs were in action Sunday. The field hockey team earned a ranked win at home, while the volleyball team and the top-ranked women’s soccer team both fell on the road to highly-ranked foes.
In field hockey, a late goal from Charly Bruder broke a 1-1 tie with No. 13 Syracuse and helped the Tar Heels see out a 2-1 win against the Orange. The Tar Heels had led 1-0 on the strength of an Ella Barbacci goal in the opening minute of the second quarter and carried that lead into halftime, but Syracuse scored less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to tie the game. The Carolina defense buckled down after that, not allowing the Orange another shot — even after Bruder’s tiebreaking goal off a penalty corner with 4:40 to go.
There wasn’t much offense to be had on either side: the teams combined for only nine shots on goal. Merritt Skubisz made three saves in the UNC cage to keep the Orange at bay.
Sunday’s win improves the Tar Heels to 9-5 overall and 5-1 in ACC play, and the team will return to action Friday, Oct. 23 when it hosts No. 6 Wake Forest at Karen Shelton Stadium. It’s the final home game of the regular season for Carolina.
Good, complete weekend.
?️ @erinmatsonn pic.twitter.com/Rxq2BZS3zK
— Carolina Field Hockey (@UNCFieldHockey) October 18, 2026
On the volleyball court, the No. 23 Tar Heels visited No. 3 Louisville in a tussle between the two unbeaten teams remaining in ACC play. The match was tight throughout, with all three sets decided by three points or fewer. Unfortunately for UNC, the Cardinals won all those sets by 29-27, 25-22 and 25-23 margins.
Carolina had fought off two consecutive set points by Louisville after the Cardinals had led 24-22. Jackie Taylor and Zoe Behrendt combined for a block to deny the first set point, and Chelsea Thorpe recorded a solo block on the next to tie the set at 24-24. UNC would fight off three more set points at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26, but the dam eventually broke when Louisville blocked an attack by Safi Hampton to win the frame 29-27.
UNC led at multiple junctures early in the second set, but a 4-1 Louisville run gave the Cardinals at 16-14 edge which the Tar Heels ultimately could not overcome. Carolina closed to within 23-22 late in the set before consecutive kills by Louisville’s Brooke Bultema clinched it 25-22.
In the third set, UNC led 20-17 late and still clung to that advantage at 22-21 before Louisville finished strong, winning four of the final five points to clinch the 25-23 win in the third set and the sweep in the match. Hampton and Thorpe tied for the team lead with 13 kills apiece for UNC, which ended the day with more kills than Louisville but a slightly lower hitting percentage (.175 to the Cardinals’ .187).
The loss snaps UNC’s nine-match winning streak and drops the Tar Heels to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in ACC play. Carolina will be back in action when it hosts Cal in Carmichael Arena Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.
And in women’s soccer, the top-ranked Tar Heels held a decisive advantage in shots but ultimately fell to No. 4 Wake Forest 3-1 in Winston-Salem.
Carolina had taken the lead early thanks to a Bella Devey goal in the 13th minute, but the Demon Deacons countered with a pair of goals in just 81 seconds to equalize and then take a 2-1 lead. Wake’s Kyle Maxwell then extended that lead to 3-1 in the opening minute of the second half.
The Tar Heels did not lack for chances to get themselves back in the match, firing 12 total shots in the second half. Only three of those attempts were on target though, and Wake keeper Valentina Amaral denied all of them. Amaral finished the day with six saves.
By the final whistle, UNC had outshot the Demon Deacons 23-5 and had taken 13 corner kicks to Wake’s three, but the score still read 3-1. The loss snaps a nine-match winning streak for Carolina and is the team’s first in a true road environment this season. The Tar Heels are now 12-2 overall and 5-1 in conference action. They will return to the pitch Friday, Oct. 23 when they host No. 10 Stanford at Dorrance Field at 6 p.m.
Featured image via UNC Field Hockey on Twitter
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