UNC women's soccer defeats UCLA, 2-1, in first game of California road trip

The No. 8 North Carolina women’s soccer team defeated No. 9 UCLA on Friday evening by a final score of 2-1. This was the Tar Heels' first of two games in Los Angeles on the weekend.

What happened?

North Carolina (5-0-1) got off to a hot start despite dealing with the jet lag that comes with a West Coast road trip. Annie Kingman scored off a penalty kick in the 27th minute to give the Tar Heels the 1-0 lead. Despite UCLA’s (3-2-0) best efforts, the lead stayed at 1-0 heading into the break.

In the second half, the Bruin's Jessie Fleming equalized in the 55th minute. But early on this season the Tar Heels have shown the ability to respond quickly to goals by their opponent, and UNC did that again on Friday evening.

In the 69th minute, Megan Buckingham gave the Tar Heels a lead they would not relinquish. UCLA played hard but couldn’t find a goal to equalize in the final 20 minutes.

Who stood out?

First-year Annie Kingman and her first half goal were big for North Carolina. Kingman hails from Woodside, California, so this weekend is a homecoming of sorts for her. She certainly put on a strong showing in her home state Friday.

Kingman scored one goal in the Tar Heels’ first five games of the season and built on that performance Friday evening with her second of the year. She also has three assists this season and is establishing herself as a reliable contributor that Coach Anson Dorrance can count on offensively.

When was it decided?

Buckingham’s 69th minute goal put the Tar Heels ahead, but it didn’t decide the game one way or the other. Both teams played evenly Friday, each getting eight shots off and playing high-quality soccer.

The difference was UNC goalie Lindsey Harris, who had four important saves. Harris came into Friday’s game with 19 saves already this season and just two goals allowed. She has been the difference in a lot of close games, and did her part again Friday to make sure the Buckingham goal was the deciding one in the game.

Why does it matter?

This was another test for UNC, and another test that they passed with flying colors. UCLA was ranked 9th in the country, one spot behind the Tar Heels but still a very tough opponent. But UNC hung tough and pulled out the victory, improving to North Carolina improved to 6-0-1 this season. The only blemish on their resume came in a 0-0 tie against Duke last weekend.

Where do they play next?

North Carolina plays Southern California on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m., in its second game in Los Angeles this weekend.

@bauman_john

sports@dailytarheel.com