Kelly Smith's first-ever goal defines career day in win over Boston College

Kelly Smith jumped into the air. Once. Twice. 

Then, she leapt into the arms of a beaming Ciana Riccardo, who embraced the senior back and spun her around. Her teammates huddled around the duo. The bench screamed. Head coach Erin Matson, jaw dropped then grinning, shared a look with assistant coach Romea Riccardo.  

It was an emotional celebration following a career moment — the center back’s first ever goal. 

“We joked [and] we were like, ‘We kind of acted like we won something big there,’” Ciana Riccardo, a fifth-year back, said. “But as you can see, Kelly means so much to the team, just in our reaction right there because we were all so happy for her. She deserved it.”

On Sunday and during UNC’s Senior Day, Smith’s goal as time expired in the first quarter put No. 2 North Carolina on the board, propelling the Tar Heels to a 4-0 victory over No. 9 Boston College. “A brick wall” in UNC’s circle, Smith also added her 23rd shutout to her career resume on the Tar Heel backline and North Carolina’s ninth of the season. 

With BC knocking on the door for a goal, UNC secured its fourth penalty corner of the afternoon with only two seconds left on the clock. 

Riccardo inserted the ball to sophomore forward Charly Bruder at the top of the circle. But instead of taking a big wind-up shot, like Bruder had in the earlier attempts, she passed it behind her back to senior midfielder Jasmina Smolenaars on the left side. 

Smolenaars swept the ball towards the goal, in perfect timing for Smith to guide the shot between the legs of the Boston College goalkeeper and into the back of the cage. 

The play is a blur to Smith. The celebration after? That she remembers. 

“I am so happy,” she said. “After I was jumping up and down, I literally didn’t know what to do with myself. I was just really happy.” 

It’s a move Smith has been practicing. During the team’s last drill, Riccardo joked that Smith’s shot was bound to go in soon. According to Matson, every time it does roll across the goal line, the reaction is the same, even in practice.  

But there was another moment that also elicited a similar reaction. 

With UNC up 2-0 in the third quarter, Boston College earned its first corner opportunity. After the insert, BC’s Peyton Hale swooped the ball to her teammate in the middle of the circle, who attempted to tip the ball up over the heads of the Tar Heels. It was just out of reach for graduate goalkeeper Abigail Taylor. 

But Smith was there. 

In front of the goal line and as the last line of defense, she held her stick up, batting the ball away from the cage. 

Smith did a smaller jump, held her fist up and hugged Taylor. 

“She’s one of the best defenders in the country, which we are lucky to have her in the backfield for us,” Matson said. “But she comes up in big moments, whether that’s scoring like she did today or with some goal-line saves. It’s not her first one, and we hope it’s not going to be her last.”

After the final buzzer, Smith ran through a tunnel of her teammates to meet Matson at mid-field. The head coach waited with a bouquet of flowers. 

Matson wiped the tears from her eyes. Once Smith was in reach, she hugged her for a long time.

For one more emotional moment. 

@carolinewills03

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