Tag: unc 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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UNC stuns top-seeded Duke in comeback victory, advances to ACC women’s soccer Title Game

The UNC women’s soccer team won an absolute thriller against archrival Duke on Thursday.

No matter how well the UNC women’s soccer team played during the regular season, there’s one thing it couldn’t do: beat archrival Duke.

North Carolina lost 1-0 at Duke back in September, then again on Halloween in the regular-season finale.

On Thursday night in the ACC Women’s Soccer Tournament semifinal, the Tar Heels finally enacted revenge.

After trailing 1-0 heading into halftime, UNC staged a second-half rally, scoring its second goal with under 10 minutes left for  2-1 victory over the top-ranked Blue Devils.

North Carolina (16-4) dealt Duke its first loss since August 15, when Duke lost 1-0 at Ohio State.

If you didn’t watch Thursday night, let us take you through the exciting comeback.

The Tar Heels allowed their lone goal of the game 28 minutes in, when Blue Devils defender Cameron Roller converted on a penalty kick. UNC goalkeeper Claire Gagne was solid otherwise, saving four shots.

When the second half started counting down, North Carolina started firing up.

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The Tar Heels‘ first goal looked extremely similar to Stanford’s goal in the men’s tournament. Not even five minutes into the second half, Linda Ullmark sent a long shot into the box, with the ball bouncing off Duke keeper Leah Freeman’s outstretched arms and rolling slowly into the net.

UNC only was able to earn three corner kicks against the Blue Devils’ tough defense, but made one of those pay off. With approximately 10 minutes left in the second half, North Carolina defender Trinity Armstrong scored her first goal of the season, pushing a header into the goal for a 2-1 advantage.

When the final seconds ticked off, the Tar Heels piled on goalie Claire Gagne.

North Carolina will try for its 23rd ACC Tournament Championship – and first since 2019 – at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10 when it faces Florida State.

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Carolina’s leading goal scorer named Third Team All-American

Quenzi Huerman’s offseason transfer to UNC was a blessing in disguise. He ended his lone season in Chapel Hill an All-American.

The UNC men’s soccer team used a strong run through the ACC tournament to earn a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Carolina entered the ACC tournament with just seven wins, then proceeded to rattle off consecutive victories against Georgia Tech, consistent ACC contender Wake Forest and Syracuse, the 2022 National Champions. UNC lost in penalty kicks of the ACC Championship to Clemson, who played Notre Dame for the 2023 National Title on Monday evening.

The Tar Heels continued their late-season momentum, downing Memphis and Hofstra at home in the NCAA Tournament’s first two rounds. Carolina hosted Oregon State on Saturday, Dec. 2 for a trip to the College Cup, but lost 1-0 to a team with an ineligible player.

Regardless of how UNC’s season ended, it wouldn’t have advanced to the Elite 8 without the leg of graduate transfer Quenzi Huerman.

Huerman’s 10 goals in 2023, tied for the team lead with Sweet 16 hero Martin Vician, earned himself Third Team All-American honors.

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Huerman was the only Tar Heel on any All-American team, which was saturated with fellow ACC opponents. There’s a case for Vician to be on there, too, but he was left off.

It’s safe to say the Tar Heels will miss their two graduate transfers next season, who both utilized their final year of college eligibility in Chapel Hill.

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Oregon State soccer player discovered ineligible AFTER Elite 8 win over UNC

The UNC men’s soccer team saw its strong season come to an end on Saturday, Dec. 2 in the Elite 8 round. Controversy emerged the week after.

Saturday, Dec. 2 was a sad night for UNC soccer fans, with the men’s team losing a tightly-contested, 1-0 defensive battle at home against Oregon State in the Elite 8.

The Beavers scored a first half goal and, despite a couple of solid Tar Heel chances, held on and advance to the College Cup. Oregon State has since seen its season come to an end, losing 1-0 to Notre Dame in a semifinal match.

What resulted long after UNC’s loss to the Beavers, however, is what’s frustrating.

Oregon State midfielder Javier Armas, a Pac-12 First Team selection this past year, was later discovered to be ruled ineligible for the UNC matchup.

Armas’ ineligibility resulted from his eighth yellow card accumulated in the Sweet 16, when the Beavers beat 2024 ACC newcomer SMU (Southern Methodist University).

Though it’s tough to find any good news for Carolina in this situation, Armas never scored in the Elite 8 contest. Soccer is one of those sports, however, where you don’t need to score to positively affect the game.

While there are a lot of what ifs in this situation, I’m sure this wouldn’t be talked about if UNC had emerged victorious. The Tar Heels did nothing wrong – it’s just simply not fair when an opponent’s best player, despite being ineligible, is allowed to play.

It’d be nice to see a replay, or even UNC in the College Cup, but we’re already at the Championship round. An ACC program will win it all regardless, as Notre Dame faces Clemson, on Monday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

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Soccer loss to Oregon State continues long trend of misfortune against Beavers

Regardless of what sport, UNC always seems to struggle with Oregon State. That proved true on Saturday night in a huge men’s soccer clash.

In sports, every team has an opponent that they can’t ever seem to beat.

The Denver Broncos can’t ever seem to get by the Kansas City Chiefs (snapped a 16-game skid this year). The Atlanta Braves seem to struggle against the Philadelphia Phillies in postseason play. In recent years, particularly since Tom Brady retired, the New England Patriots struggle against the Miami Dolphins.

In the collegiate sports landscape, UNC has its own version of kryptonite – Oregon State.

The Tar Heels’ latest misfortune against their cross-country rivals came on Saturday night, when the UNC men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 home contest in the NCAA quarterfinals. This was Carolina’s best finish since 2020, when it lost in the College Cup semifinals to Marshall.

The visiting Beavers scored in the 36th minute, then were able to keep Carolina off the board despite six Tar Heel corners. Saturday night was UNC’s first time failing to score since Friday, Oct. 27, when it lost a low-scoring, 1-0 contest at rival UVA.

Saturday’s lost continued a long string of misfortune for the Tar Heels – not in men’s soccer, but in general against Oregon State.

Between baseball, women’s basketball and men’s soccer, UNC drops to 4-7 all-time against the Beavers.

The most memorable Carolina-Oregon State matchups have come in the College World Series, where UNC has only won twice in seven tries (Saturday, June 24, 2006 and Saturday, June 16, 2018. Carolina made both the 2006 and 2007 CWS finals – only to lose to the Beavers in the finals both times.

UNC’s 2018 win had baseball fans hopeful the streak was over, only for a loss four days later to re-start the pain.

Regardless of when the next UNC-Oregon State matchup is, let’s just say the Tar Heels may not want to schedule the Beavers.

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Isabel Cox ends UNC soccer career with program record

Isabel Cox was one of seven seniors on this year’s UNC women’s soccer team. She set a pretty historic career milestone.

The UNC women’s soccer team saw its successful season come to an end earlier than expected, watching a 3-goal, second-half lead disappear in a 4-3, Elite Eight loss to BYU.

Carolina had title aspirations, especially coming off a runner-up finish to UCLA the year before. BYU, however, was top seed for a reason.

Despite the disappointing end, UNC saw several players earn honors.

One of those players was forward Isabel Cox, a Greensboro, N.C. native who played in 21 of Carolina’s 23 games. Cox set a UNC record with 110 career matches played, which also ranks third all-time in NCAA history.

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UNC will definitely miss Cox next year, as she is one of seven Seniors set to graduate. Cox helped anchor a defense that only allowed multiple goals three times.

The Heels’ best stretch of 2023 play came in October, when they only allowed multiple goals in their first-round, ACC Tournament loss to Pitt.

Despite Cox and several of her senior teammates leaving, Carolina’s current roster lists 22 returners. 10 of those will be rising juniors, eight will be rising sophomores and four will be juniors.

Will 2024 finally be the year UNC snaps its championship drought? The Tar Heels have won an NCAA-record 21 titles, but haven’t captured one since 2012.

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Vician saves Tar Heels’ season in regulation, helps them advance to Elite 8 in shootout

Martin Vician, the Harvard transfer who’s now an integral part of the UNC men’s soccer team, tied Sunday’s game and scored a shootout goal.

There were just under five minutes left in the UNC men’s soccer season on Sunday night, with the Tar Heels trailing Hofstra 2-1.

The visiting Pride, who won the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament, clung to its 1-goal advantage for most of the game.

Here came Martin Vician to save the day for Carolina.

In the 86th minute, Vician head home a Quenzi Huerman free kick to tie the game at two. Vician was also one of five Tar Heels to score in the shootout, helping his team capture a 3-2 victory and advance to host Oregon State – in the Elite Eight – on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

After both teams failed to score in the two overtime periods, despite plenty of chances to do so, UNC went a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout. Huerman, Vician, Andrew Czech, Ernest Bawa and Sam Williams all netted goals for the Tar Heels.

With both Williams and Hofstra’s Eliot Goldthorp converting on the shootout’s first two chances, UNC star goalkeeper Andrew Cordes needed to make a crucial save. He did exactly that, which seemed to be the offensive momentum boost Carolina needed to end things.

The Tar Heels lost via shootout to Clemson in the ACC Tournament Final, so I’m sure they were thankful to win Sunday night. They’ll be hosting Oregon State, who is coming off a 7-1, Sweet 16 domination of future ACC school SMU, on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m.

If you can’t make it to the game, for which plenty of tickets are still available, you can watch on ESPN+.

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UNC men’s soccer squad hosting Hofstra for spot in Elite 8

After downing Memphis, 2-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, UNC hosts Hofstra in the Sweet 16 at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday night.

What happened to the UNC women’s soccer team at BYU was disappointing, but luckily, there’s another soccer team alive in Chapel Hill.

On Sunday, Nov. 26, the Carolina men host Hofstra at 5 p.m. on Dorrance Field for a Sweet 16 matchup in the NCAA Tournament

UNC made a run to the ACC Tournament Final, beating Virginia Tech, fellow conference power Wake Forest and Syracuse, the 2023 National Champions. This run put the Tar Heels in position to earn the at-large bid it’s currently enjoying.

Carolina, the number three overall seed in the NCAA Tourney, beat Memphis 2-0 on Sunday, Nov. 19 in its second-round, NCAA opener. Martin Vician, UNC’s 6’4″ graduate forward from Bratislava, Slovakia, scored both goals in the seventh and 48th minutes.

Despite having a pair of prolific goal-scorers in Vician and team leader Quenzi Huerman (10), Carolina’s trademark is defense. The Tar Heels have limited opponents to a max of one goal per contest, which has kept UNC in a lot of games.

Hofstra, which downed Monmouth in the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) Conference Tournament final to earn its postseason berth, beat Yale by a 2-0 mark in its NCAA Tournament opener last Sunday. The Pride have 14 wins on the year, with nine of those including multiple goals.

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UNC men’s soccer squad earns first-round bye in NCAA Tourney, will host Sunday

UNC made a run to the finals of the 2023 ACC Men’s Soccer Tournament, which netted them a high seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The UNC men’s soccer team finished fourth in the ACC’s Coastal Division this year, but an impressive run through the ACC Tournament gained it a strong seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Carolina beat Virginia Tech (4-1), ACC Atlantic Division winner Wake Forest (1-0) and 2022 National Champion Syracuse (3-1) en route to the ACC Championship. The Tar Heels tied Clemson through three overtimes, but lost 5-3 in penalty kicks.

That run was good enough to land UNC the third overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday with first-round games.

Carolina will play the winner of Memphis-SIU Edwardsville on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.

There’s a lot to be excited about as UNC prepares for a run at its third national title, with the last one coming in 2011.

Carolina is led offensively by double-digit goal scorer Quenzi Huerman (10) and Martin Vician (7), who combine for 57 percent of the goals.

Despite the offensive firepower, UNC’s foundation is on defense. Goalkeepers Andrew Cordes (13 starts), Quinn Closson and Collin Travasos (six combined) have limited Tar Heel opponents to just 12 goals, which is tied for fourth-best in the country.

Just how far will Carolina go this year? Watch Sunday’s opener on ESPN+, or buy tickets here.

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