In their first match of the 2020 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship, the No. 2 North Carolina Tar Heels (10-0, 8-0 ACC) were able to send the No. 7 Virginia Tech Hokies (5-8, 4-4 ACC) back to Blacksburg, defeating them by a score of 1-0.
What happened?
The first exciting moment of the game came not even three minutes in, when first-year midfielder Talia DellaPeruta went on a long run outside the box that ended with a shot sailing over the crossbar. Virginia Tech responded with a shot of its own a few minutes later, which comfortably fell into the arms of junior goalkeeper Claudia Dickey.
The chances kept coming for the Tar Heels, including a staggering eight corner kicks in just over eight minutes, but they couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. With about 20 minutes left in the first half, the Hokies earned a corner of their own, sending a ball sailing across goal before going out, untouched, for a goal kick.
This goal kicked jump-started a quick build-up play for the Tar Heels. Soon enough, senior defender Emily Fox got the ball to the outside left of the Hokies’ box. She cut out left, before sending a low cross in that was deftly headed into the bottom-left corner of goal by junior midfielder Brianna Pinto. As the halftime whistle sounded, that scoreline remained the same: UNC one, Hokies nil.
The second half got off to a quick start for the Tar Heels. Just over a minute in, a cross into the box found the head of sophomore striker Isabel Cox, whose header shot up into the air. A Pinto header off the rebound seemed to double UNC’s lead, but she was ruled off-sides. UNC’s next good chance, a 63rd-minute cross from the right, was also met by Pinto’s head, with the shot barely missing the left goalpost.
Headed shots continued to be the Tar Heels’ most potent weapon. With 15 minutes left in the half, sophomore striker Izzy Brown had a crossed ball rocketed towards her. Her header went wide right, but UNC’s attack didn’t let up and kept playing just outside Virginia Tech’s box. The Tar Heels’ next chance was another cross swung onto the forehead of Cox, who was ruled off-sides.
Though the last few minutes of the game did feature some roughhousing, including a yellow card to Virginia Tech’s Caroline Cipolla and a hard foul on the Hokies’ keeper by Cox, the score didn’t change, and the Tar Heels ran out 1-0 winners.
Who stood out?
