The No. 2-seeded UNC women’s soccer team (18-5, 7-3 ACC) defeated Santa Clara (13-3-5, 6-1-3 WCC, 1-0, on Friday evening at Dorrance Field in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Tar Heels seemed disjointed offensively in the first half, unable to connect for consistent ball movement on the offensive end. North Carolina outshot Santa Clara 15-1 in the final 45 minutes, after amassing just four shots in the first half. Junior defender Tessa Dellarose snuck in a swift goal off of a missed shot that gave the Tar Heels the lead with seventeen seconds remaining.
“That's a great example of, exactly of fighting and believing until the last second,” interim head coach Damon Nahas said. “All 0f them crashed the box and obviously Tessa was there to poke it in.”
Each team exchanged close blows in the first half, but both defensive units remained stalwart under any offensive attacks. Graduate goalkeeper Clare Gagne had three clutch saves in the first half to keep the Broncos off the scoreboard while the Tar Heels struggled offensively.
“We had so many chances, we had so many looks on goal,” Gagne said. “It takes an entire team to defend and get a shutout as well.”
The first shot of the match for the Tar Heels came in the fifth minute on a strike by sophomore forward Olivia Thomas that sped towards the bottom right corner of the goal, but was stopped just short by Santa Clara graduate goalkeeper Marlee Nicholos.
On the ensuing possession, the Tar Heels penetrated the defensive line of the Broncos, resulting in a wide open field for junior forward Maddie Dahlien, who sped down a clear path for a close attempt deflected by Nicholos.
Dahlien’s shot was the last for the Tar Heels for twenty minutes of gameplay. A defensive back-and-forth ensued, each team aggressively pursuing bouts of offensive momentum, but coming up empty.
Despite North Carolina’s inability to get on the scoreboard, they held Santa Clara to zero shots in the first 30 minutes, dominating ball possession for the majority of the first half.
