Georgia’s football team went to Chapel Hill on Thursday night with an upset in mind. However, the No. 16 Bulldogs lost 4-3 to No. 5 North Carolina in a game where head coach Keidane McAlpine noticed a difference in energy.
“To be honest, it was disappointing,” said McAlpine. “I don’t think our effort and energy matched the level of our opponents.”
Georgia scored on all three shots on goal but was outscored 19-6 in the game. Despite conceding four goals, reigning SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week Jordan Brown made nine saves, the second-highest number of her career.
North Carolina controlled most of the first half, attempting nine shots on goal and limiting Georgia to just one. In the 35th minute, Kate Faasse fired a ball to the left of a sliding Brown to open the scoring.
Georgia tied the game in the second half when transfer Margie Detrizio lured Clare Gagne out of the crease and slid the ball in behind her for Georgia’s first goal of the season. The excitement didn’t last long, however, as North Carolina’s Olivia Thomas scored twice in a four-minute span to give the Tar Heels a 3-1 lead.
Within a minute of Thomas’ second goal, Hannah White fired a ball from the edge of the box to cut Georgia’s deficit to one goal. The well-timed shot landed just to the left of Gagne, who prematurely began moving toward the other side of the net. The movement left just enough room for White to fire the ball into the post.
The Tar Heels answered in the 71st minute, taking advantage of a free kick after a Georgia foul to bury the Bulldogs. White scored her second career brace with a long-range shot in the 90th minute, but it wasn’t enough to beat fifth-ranked North Carolina on its home court.
“There were some bright spots,” McAlpine said of the game. “Hannah’s goals were spectacular and you understand that more could have been done and we could have done more. It’s just disappointing that we didn’t put in a better performance today because we’ve got a really good team. We should have been better but we’ll learn from this.”
The loss was Georgia’s sixth straight loss to North Carolina, and the Bulldogs have yet to beat the Tar Heels. However, Georgia tripled its goal total, as the Bulldogs had only scored one goal against North Carolina before the game.
Georgia returns home on Sunday to face Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. The game will be the Bulldogs’ annual Senior Day, and seven athletes will be honored before kickoff.