Category: Soccer

UNC women’s soccer program wins record 23rd National Championship

The UNC women’s soccer team snapped its long championship drought on Monday night, beating a fellow ACC rival.

Despite being the winningest program in women’s college soccer history, the North Carolina Tar Heels last won a National Championship in 2012.

That quickly changed on Monday night.

Only needing a free kick from sophomore Olivia Thomas in the 62nd minute, UNC captured their record 23rd National Championship in program history, winning 1-0 against in-state ACC rival Wake Forest.

North Carolina (22-5, 7-3 ACC) didn’t gain a ton of opportunities against a stout Demon Deacons (16-4-4, 7-2-1 ACC) defense, but made the most of its chance midway through the second half.

Thomas collected herself, curled a shot over Wake’s wall and past the outstretched arms of goalie Valentina Amaral. The Demon Deacons entered Monday’s championship match allowing just three combined goals in the NCAA Tournament, making Thomas’ goal against them a rarity – but one the North Carolina faithful expected of Thomas.

Speaking of goalkeepers, Tar Heels goalie Clare Gagne was a brick wall between the goal posts. Gagne made three saves on the night, including a couple point-blank ones early in the first half.

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UNC almost added a second goal in the closing seconds, but Amaral averted the threat.

Many outside of Chapel Hill wondered if North Carolina would even make the NCAA Championship, with longtime head coach Anson Dorrance retiring on August 11, after 45 seasons at the helm. The Tar Heels quickly tagged soccer mind Damon Nahas, an assistant coach with the program since 2015, as their interim head coach.

With Nahas leading UNC to a National Championship his first season as head coach, it’s time for him to be named the permanent head coach.

After yet another successful year, the Tar Heels are back at the top where they belong: the queens of college soccer.

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UNC Women’s Soccer advances to National Championship with second-straight win over Duke

It’s always a great day when North Carolina beats Duke.

Back on November 7, the UNC women’s soccer team dealt archrival Duke just its second loss of 2024.

On Friday, Dec. 6, North Carolina beat Duke again – but this time for a berth in the National Championship.

The Tar Heels overwhelmed the top-seeded Blue Devils, 3-0, in Friday’s College Cup semifinal from Cary, N.C. and advanced to their 28th National Championship game in program history.

How did second-ranked North Carolina (21-5, 7-3 ACC), win in such dominant fashion?

It all started early, with UNC scoring its first goal on Kate Faasse‘s penalty kick just 9:25 in. Faasse’s connection was her team-high 20th on the year. The Tar Heels didn’t even have to wait 15 minutes for their next goal, with Olivia Thomas scored her eight at the 23:55 mark in the first half.

North Carolina received its third goal from an unlikely source, Maddie Dahlein, who shot to the lower-left hand corner of the next for goal number three, tallied her second score on the year.

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UNC beat Duke, even with two key disadvantages: total shots and corner kicks. The Tar Heels registered nine total shots against Blue Devils goalkeeper Leah Freeman, while Claire Gagne saved all five Duke shots she face.

North Carolina only had one corner kick throughout Friday’s semifinal matchup, while the Blue Devils generated seven. Corner kicks are typically great ways to generate instant offense, so the fact UNC held Duke scoreless, is impressive in it own feat.

On Monday, Dec. 9, the Tar Heels will be playing for another National Championship, this time against in-state, ACC rival Wake Forest.

Can North Carolina leave Cary with its 21st National Championship in program history?

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Duke women’s soccer gets title dreams denied by North Carolina in national semifinal

Duke women’s soccer saw its remarkable 2024 season come to a close on Friday night with a X-X semifinal loss to North Carolina.

The Duke women’s soccer team came up just 180 minutes short of a national title after its 3-0 national semifinal loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday.

The Blue Devils entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed with a 14-2-1 record, and they shut out their first four tournament opponents to clinch their fifth-ever trip to the NCAA College Cup. With one game between them and a chance at the championship, they drew their rivals for the fourth time this season.

Duke defeated UNC in both regular-season meetings between the schools, but the Tar Heels knocked them out of the ACC Tournament last month, and they swept set on sweeping the postseason from the early stages of Friday’s match.

Kate Faasse beat Duke keeper Leah Freeman on a penalty kick in the 10th minute, sending her effort in the right direction for Freeman’s first goal allowed since November 7. The Blue Devils couldn’t even the match for the next 14 minutes, but UNC’s Bella Gaetino produced a dagger in the 24th with a phenomenal pass over the top of the Duke defense.

Her cross-field kick hung in the Cary sky for five full seconds before dropping at the feet of teammate Olivia Thomas, who managed to outrace Duke’s Nicky Chico and rifled a shot into the back of the net.

The deficit proved insurmountable from there. The Blue Devils managed to get 17 shots off before the end of the game, but only five ended up finding their target, and UNC keeper Clare Gagne managed to intercept all of those. Faasse set Maddie Dahlien up for another goal in the 59th minute, and the Tar Heels cruised to the title game from there.

Longtime Duke head coach Robbie Church, who announced ahead of the 2024 season that it would be his last with the program, ends his tenure with a 311-150-67 record and three College Cup trips over 24 years with the Blue Devils

Clemson men’s soccer falls in the third round of the NCAA Tournament

Clemson soccer falls in the third round.

Winston-Salem, N.C. – Wake Forest’s Dylan Borso scored just over one minute into overtime to give the Demon Deacons the 2-1, golden-goal victory on Sunday night in the third round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. With the win, Wake Forest advances to the quarter finals, while the loss ends the Tigers’ title defense.

ACC Freshman of the Year Ransford Gyan got the Tigers on the board first, perfectly striking a ball from Arthur Duquenne with his left foot to give Clemson the 1-0 lead in the 21’. The Tigers took nine shots in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize and extend the lead before Wake Forest evened the score in the 43’.

The teams were evenly matched in the second half, with Clemson taking three shots to Wake Forest’s four and both squads earning four corner kicks. After 45:00 of scoreless action, the match went to overtime where the first team to score wins.

On an assist from Basit Umar, Borso was able to end the match at the 91:07 mark to win it for the Demon Deacons.

Clemson finished the 2024 season at 15-3-4, 12-1-0 at Historic Riggs Field. This marked the Tigers’ 37th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the fifth time in six seasons the Tigers made it to one of the final 16 (third round).

– Via Clemson Athletic Communications 

Duke women’s soccer set to face North Carolina Tar Heels in national semifinals

Duke women’s soccer booked its first ticket to the national semifinals since 2017 on Saturday night, and an old rival awaits next weekend.

The Duke women’s soccer team punched its fifth ticket to the NCAA College Cup on Saturday night, a 1-0 victory over Virginia Tech that sent the Blue Devils back to the national semifinals for the first time since 2017.

While head coach Robbie Church’s final season in Durham has felt like something from a fairy tale thus far, the team from Chapel Hill wants a word before the journey takes another step. Duke will face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday, December 6, with a spot in the national title game on the line.

The Blue Devils defeated UNC in Durham for the first time ever on September 5, a 1-0 victory punctuated by a Maggie Graham goal in the final minute of the first half. Duke followed that up with a 3-2 victory over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on October 31, but North Carolina bounced the Blue Devils from the ACC Tournament with a 2-1 win on November 7.

That game is Duke’s only outright loss since August 15.

The Blue Devils have shut out each of their first four postseason opponents, defeating Howard, Texas Tech, the Michigan State Spartans, and the Hokies by a combined margin of 14-0.

Friday’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be broadcast on ESPNU.