Softball On SI

Viral Video Shows USA Women’s Hockey Winning Gold During Anthem at North Carolina Softball Game

Sophomore pitches no-hitter against NC Central.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
North Carolina's LIlly Parrish pitched her first career no-hitter against NC Central on Thursday.
North Carolina's LIlly Parrish pitched her first career no-hitter against NC Central on Thursday. | UNC Athletics/Dalton T. Wainscott

The North Carolina Tar Heels went viral yesterday, and it wasn't because Lilly Parrish tossed the 59th no-hitter in program history against the NC Central Eagles on a Thursday night at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill.

As the National Anthem played before the two teams took the field before the first of two games, UNC's sports information director Alex Funderburke captured the moment when the United States women's ice hockey team won its gold medal at the Milano Corntino Winter Olympic Games.

The 30-second clip was posted on X and has been seen more than a million times and been shared by more than 1,000 people.

"Team USA just won gold mid-national anthem at UNC's softball game," Funderburke wrote. "Electric."

As the anthem came to a close, Team USA's Megan Keller dangled past Canadian defenseman.Claire Thompson and put the puck in the net on a backhand shot that snuck in under the blocker of goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens.

Keller's goal secured a 2-1 overtime victory and secured the third U.S. gold medal in women's hockey at the Olympics — and first since 2018.

While the press box was celebrating a gold medal, the Tar Heels were cooking up something special of their own on the field below.

After a 13-0, five-inning victory to start the doubleheader, Parrish dominated Game 2 with nine strikeouts and recorded her first career no-hitter. The 10-0 win for the Tar Heels clinched an 11-0 start to the season, making it the best start to a season in program history.

How It Happened

For the seventh time in 11 games, the Tar Heels scored at least 10 runs. It was also the seventh consecutive game that UNC scored first.

Regan Jennings, who transferred to the Tar Heels after two seasons with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, paced the offense by hitting her third home run of the season. She finished the game 2-for-3 with a run scored and three runs batted in.

Shelby Barbee and Kiannah Pierce also had multi-hit efforts.

Sanaa Thompson extended her hitting streak to 11 games preserved the no-hitter by making a diving play in centerfield in the fourth inning.

The sweep of NC Central also extended a shutout streak to six games and UNC pitchers have not allowed a run in 35.2 innings.

Parrish's gem marked the fifth no-hitter under head coach Megan Smith-Lyon and notched the sophomore's second straight complete-game shutout.

UNC is hosting the Tar Heel Invitational and will play Rider, Appalachian State, and Princeton on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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