Tar Heels choke in second-half, lose 3-goal lead to BYU

The UNC women’s soccer team was up three goals and a half away from the College Cup. Any guesses what happened next to the Tar Heels?

Any time a soccer team scores three goals in a game, it’s pretty likely that team wins, right?

Particularly when those three goal come in the span of 20 minutes?

The UNC women’s soccer team is the one mentioned in the graph above, jumping out to a quick, 3-goal lead against top-ranked BYU (Brigham Young University). Ally Sentnor scored two of Carolina’s early goals, leading a lot to believe the women in light blue were heading back to the College Cup.

Not so fast.

UNC went into cruise control during the second half, allowing BYU to score four unanswered goals and advance to the College Cup with an improbable, 4-3 comeback victory.

The fact Carolina was up 3-0 – against the top-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament – was impressive in itself. UNC hadn’t scored three goals in a game since Friday, Nov. 10, when it downed Towson by a 3-1 mark in its tourney opener, while BYU hadn’t allowed three goals in a game since the Big 12 final against Texas (Nov. 4).

It was only a matter of time before the host Cougars got on the board, shooting eight times in the second half before scoring in the 61st minute. There was a 20-minute break in scoring, then BYU scored its second and the game-tying goal a minute apart.

The final dagger came just before the 90th-minute buzzer, with BYU’s Olivia Katoa sending a low-arching shot past UNC goalkeeper Emmie Allen.

For a team that didn’t lose once in the regular season, Carolina lost twice in its final five games.

First, its ACC Tournament opener against Pitt on Sunday, Oct. 29.

Then, the heartbreaking collapse that occurred in Utah last night.