STANFORD, Calif. - No. 7 Stanford struggled to break through on the offensive end, dropping a 2-1 contest to No. 11 North Carolina on Sunday evening.
The Cardinal moves to 8-3-4, 3-2-3 ACC on the season, having been left out of the win column in five consecutive games. After Sunday's win, North Carolina jumps to a 9-2-4, 4-2-1 ACC mark on the year.
"Another night of frustration," head coach Jeremy Gunn said "It's easy to be upset when you're not playing well but for us, it's frustration because I feel we're getting the better chances in the game."
Stanford paced the game with 13 shots to the Tar Heels' seven, with four attacks on target. The Cardinal also held a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks.
"It's all about the mindset of the attacking players," Gunn added. "It's all about attitude and that just has to change because I think we're doing so many things correctly with so many positive performances, but it amounts to nothing if the end of the sword is blunt."
North Carolina got on the board in the 38th minute when Bertil Hanson collected a turnover in the Cardinal's defensive midfield and snuck a shot past Rowan Schnebly's left glove.
The Tar Heels doubled their lead at the 68-minute mark when Luke Hille collected an Andrew Czech crosser that deflected off the crossbar and buried it home to give North Carolina a 2-0 lead.
Zach Bohane found the back of the net with 74 seconds left, scoring on a Nik White dish to cut the lead in half, but it was too late for the Cardinal as North Carolina melted out the final moments to secure the 2-1 win.
Bohane led the Cardinal with a pair of shots on frame, while Will Cleary and Will Reilly also put an offensive attack on target. Noah Adnan, Fletcher Bank, Shane De Flores, and Dylan Hooper were the remaining Stanford shot takers, while Schnebly tallied a pair of saves between the posts.
Stanford closes out the regular season on Friday, November 1 when it welcomes California to Cagan Stadium at 7 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra.