UNC women's soccer rolls past Virginia Tech, maintains unbeaten ACC record

The No. 3 North Carolina women’s soccer beat Virginia Tech 2-0 on Saturday, Oct. 13, for its seventh victory in a row.

What happened?

North Carolina had two early corner kicks and a shot in the 10th minute of the game — but those opportunities didn't turn into goals. Alessia Russo put the Tar Heels on the board in the 22nd minute of the game. Bridgette Andrzejewski delivered a free kick to Julia Ashley, who then passed it forward to Russo for her fifth goal of the season, giving UNC a 1-0 lead. 

The Tar Heels took two more shots before Virginia Tech finally took its first shot, a kick wide in the 38th minute. UNC took one more shot in the 44th minute before going into halftime with five shots and three corners to show for its efforts. 

In the 81st minute, Dorian Bailey scored off an assist from Rachel Jones and Morgan Goff to cushion the Tar Heels’ lead. At the end of the game, in the 87th minute, Ashley received a yellow card. 

The Hokies had an opportunity to put one in the net at the end of the game with a shot in the 89th minute, but they were unsuccessful. UNC (12-2-1, 7-0-0 ACC) left Virginia Tech (7-5-3, 3-4-0 ACC) with a victory in hand, but not many scares at the Hokies coming back. 

Who stood out?

The win was a multi-player affair, with many Tar Heels contributing to the win.

UNC’s first goal of the game was scored in the 22nd minute by Russo — who had four shots in total in the game. Russo was assisted by Andrzejewski. Bailey took a shot in the 25th minute of the game. 

Andrzejewski took a shot herself in the 58th minute of the game which went wide.

Goff assisted Bailey in the 81st minute on her second shot of the game which became the second goal for the Tar Heels. Goff also had her own shot at a goal, a header in the 76th minute, but that was saved by the keeper.

When was it decided?

The Tar Heels had six shots on goal and put two of them in the back of the net. They also held a 13-6 shot in the advantage, doubling the opportunities that Virginia Tech had.

The game was decided when Bailey scored the second goal of the game, and made it clear that the Hokies would be unable to come back.

Why does it matter?

The Tar Heels came into the match on a six game winning streak. This victory became their seventh consecutive victory and second shutout of the season — keeping the team the only undefeated team in the ACC. 

When do they play next?

UNC will try to hold onto its top spot in the ACC as it hosts Boston College (5-1-1, 13-1-1) on Thursday, Oct. 18. 

@savannahhuntt | @DTHSports

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