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Black bear next to soccer player
College soccer is a bit unique due to the use of a clock that can be paused at any time. Goals and injuries are usually responsible for those stoppages, but we were treated to an incredibly unique reason during a college soccer game in North Carolina that was temporarily put on hold due to a bear delay.
There’s only so much you can do to prevent wildlife from causing an issue when a sporting event is held outdoors, and there have been more than a few instances where a contest was momentarily disrupted because some sort of animal made its way onto the field.
In most cases, those creatures do not pose much of a threat, like the squirrels that have managed to invade a number of different MLB stadiums over the years.
Teams can usually keep playing despite the presence of an unexpected intruder, but there are also situations where the game has to come to a halt until they’re attended to, which was the case with a raccoon that invaded the pitch during an MLS game a couple of years ago.
No animals actually made their way onto the field when the women’s soccer teams representing Winthrop and UNC-Asheville faced off on Wednesday, but play did have to be suspended due to some bears that got a bit too close for comfort.
Five bears crashed the first half of a women’s soccer game in North Carolina
North Carolina is home to an estimated 20,000 black bears with a documented range that comprises around 60% of the state. The bulk of the population roams the eastern half, but there’s also no shortage in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the surrounding areas.
That’s where the women’s soccer team at Winthrop headed on Wednesday for a showdown with UNC Asheville in a game where the latter had the opportunity to punch its ticket to the Big South conference tournament with a win.
The Bulldogs were able to do exactly that with a 2-1 victory in a game where neither team scored until the second half, but we were still treated to a notable moment midway through the first one when five bears decided to make their way toward Greenwood Field, including one that was spotted taking in the action from a hill above it.
HALF | Scoreless but not without a 🐻 sighting
🦅 0 | 🐶 0
📺 https://t.co/QS7L4gZd72
📊 https://t.co/dPQstfIZJC#ALLinAVL https://t.co/FFz74sEXgW
— Asheville Women’s Soccer (@UNCAvlWSoccer) October 28, 2026
Winthrop at UNC Asheville Women’s Soccer had a BEAR DELAY tonight. There were five black bears that showed up to the match late in the first half (college soccer clock counts down).
You can see all five bears in the second pic. Two are behind the bleachers.
— TK from the Paper (@pipedreams.blog) October 28, 2026 at 9:56 PM
According to a recap, there was “a short bear delay” after the referee decided to stop the clock with around 15 minutes to go in the first half, but things got back underway after the animals decided to move on.