Virginia learned a tough lesson on Sunday night against visiting North Carolina: when you don’t have the ball, it makes it hard to score. The Tar Heels won 23 of 30 faceoffs (77%) en route to a 15-12 victory, eliminating Virginia’s chance at making the ACC tournament - and effectively keeping them out of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
Joe French put the Hoos on the board first, but Virginia went 1-for-12 in the first half as North Carolina, the reigning NCAA champs, built a 9-2 halftime lead. If not for first year goalkeeper Griffin Thompson’s 11 first half saves, it could have been way worse for Virginia.