CARY — The No. 5 North Carolina women’s soccer team defeated the Syracuse Orange, 7-0, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park. Redshirt senior Joanna Boyles scored a hat trick by the 56th minute, and the Tar Heels (8-2, 4-0 ACC) cruised past the Orange (5-4-2, 0-2-1 ACC) in a lopsided victory.
What happened?
A 13 shot outburst, including ten shots on target, gave the Tar Heels a 4-0 first half advantage. The Tar Heels made some noise in the early minutes, registering its first corner after just five minutes of action.
In the 11th minute, the Orange had a breakaway after a defensive miscue from the Tar Heels, but junior Samantha Leshnak made a neat, diving save to keep the game scoreless.
In the 16th minute, the Tar Heels broke through, with a beautiful goal from first-year forward Alessia Russo. From the top-left side of the box, Russo curved the ball toward the back post. With junior midfielder Dorian Bailey lurking, the goalkeeper froze as the ball snuck just over Bailey’s head and into the corner of the net. Sophomore forward Bridgette Andrzejewski produced the assist on the early goal.
In the 22rd minute, Boyles was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty. Boyles promptly slotted the penalty home for her fifth goal of the season to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 advantage. Just two minutes later, Boyles found the back of the net again, scoring a heading goal on a beautiful cross from Bailey.
In the 35th minute, Bailey tapped in her sixth goal of the season on a volley, as first-year midfielder Emily Fox and redshirt freshman defender Taylor Otto picked up assists.
The second half it was much of the same. In the 56th minute, Boyles continued her phenomenal performance by converting her third goal to give herself a hat trick. Fox and junior defender Julia Ashley assisted on the goal. In the 70th minute, UNC scored yet again on a corner kick, with Bailey providing the assist for sophomore midfielder Morgan Goff. UNC scored its seventh and final goal in the 83rd minute, as sophomore forward Madison Schultz converted her first goal of the season.
