Throughout Saturday’s NCAA first-round contest against William and Mary, it seemed something was missing from the usual game day atmosphere at a North Carolina women’s soccer match.
That enormous pressure — the one that comes with playing for a program that’s won this tournament 20 of the 29 times it’s been held — had blown away with the autumn leaves.
After an unprecedented three consecutive losses, the last of which was a never-before-seen first-round exit from the ACC tournament, it seemed no one was expecting much from the Tar Heels.
But out of the spotlight and fresh off a 13-day break, No. 19 UNC erased the memory of the squad that faltered mightily in the final stretch of its season with a 4-1 win against the Tribe.
Entering Saturday, the Tar Heels had gone six of seven games without a first-half goal. But just more than nine minutes into Saturday’s game, UNC junior Alyssa Rich side-volleyed Kealia Ohai’s headed feed into the bottom left corner of the net, giving UNC a 1-0 advantage.
For Rich, the Tar Heels’ leading scorer a year ago before injury, the goal — her first in 2011 — was a huge step personally, as well as for the team going forward.
“I think we kind of got in our own heads, and that’s why we were having a lot of trouble (scoring early),” Rich said.
“I think if we can score early in these games, it will help us keep our confidence in the first half.”
The Tribe answered quickly, evening the score in the 15th minute, and the score remained tied heading into the game’s final third — the portion of the game where the regular-season Tar Heels so often wilted. Of UNC’s 14 goals conceded this season, nine had come after the 65th minute.
