Women’s soccer knocked out of NCAA Tournament on penalty kicks

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — This season, the North Carolina women’s soccer team posted the lowest winning percentage in the history of the storied program.

But No. 3-seeded UNC’s 2011 campaign didn’t end with a loss.

After 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods resulted in a 1-1 tie between UNC (13-5-2) and Central Florida (13-4-6) on Sunday at James Pressly Stadium, North Carolina failed to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals after falling to UCF 5-4 in a penalty kick shootout.

North Carolina goalkeeper Anna Sieloff saved the Knights’ first penalty shot, but minutes later, UCF goalkeeper Aline Reis stopped UNC midfielder Crystal Dunn’s kick to even the field.

After successful penalty kicks from UNC’s Maria Lubrano, Courtney Jones, Alyssa Rich and Amber Brooks, midfielder Ranee Premji stepped up to take the sixth shot for the Tar Heels.

Premji scored the game-winning goal against Nebraska in UNC’s season opener, but ultimately it was her blocked penalty shot that ended UNC’s season.

A deafening silence broke when Premji sent the ball flying to the corner of the goal, but Reis, as if she knew exactly where the ball was headed, caught it in the air.

During regulation UNC held an 11-10 shot advantage but was unable to do much against Reis.

“She has an incredible vertical,” Jones said. “Their defense held us, but I think she was their key player on their defense.

“Our forward line, we’ve had some trouble scoring throughout the year. And when we face a goalie that’s the key player on their entire team, it’s difficult for us.”

After 45 minutes of scrappy defense from both squads, UCF and UNC went into halftime scoreless. In the 72nd minute, UCF forward Kristina Trujic saw her chance, shooting from 18 yards out to break the stalemate.

The minutes dwindled, and the UCF defense continued to stifle UNC. But in the 85th minute after a long throw in, Dunn tapped it in from eight yards out to get the equalizer.

Dunn’s strike kept UNC alive and sent the teams into overtime — a period that had not been kind to the Tar Heels during their 2011 campaign.

Prior to its match with the Knights, North Carolina was 1-4-1 in overtime games this season, a record that UNC coach Anson Dorrance said is a result of inadequate levels of physical fitness.

And in Sunday’s scoreless overtime periods, both teams seemed to be affected by diminishing endurance.

“It’s very tough to get behind defensively because the strikers need that extra burst of energy to get behind someone,” Dorrance said. “And in most overtime periods it’s tough to score just because everyone’s dead.”

UNC’s loss in the sudden-death shootout marks the second straight year that the Tar Heels have failed to advance to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals.

And though advancing on penalty kicks might not have been the desired route for advancement, UCF coach Amanda Cromwell couldn’t quite complain.

“It wasn’t a pretty soccer game by any means,” Cromwell said. “But it was definitely a hard-fought match.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.