UNC women's soccer's Evelyn Shores scores breakthrough goal against Minnesota

Five seconds cost Evelyn Shores 384 days. 

The then first-year midfielder tried to tackle Wake Forest's Anna Swanson on the near sideline in October last year. She got tied up with the Demon Deacon instead. Shores fell on the pitch, holding her right knee. She started sobbing. She couldn't get up on her own. 

Five days later, Shores announced her first season at North Carolina was over. Before that, she recorded a brace in her second match with the Tar Heels. She had two game-winning goals. But the potential for a breakout rookie season was over. 

Shores began to count the days until her return.

The counting came to an end in late October. And on Sunday evening at Dorrance Field, Shores scored in the 44th minute to put the Tar Heels up 2-0 and contributed an assist in an eventual 3-0 win against Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA tournament. With Shores' performance, the sophomore helped send the Tar Heels to the quarterfinals in the program's 150th NCAA tournament win. 

Shores' last two years playing soccer have been a series of peaks and valleys. 

Before coming to UNC, her senior season was cut short due to a torn labrum. Although she missed the final chapter of her high school career, the injury wouldn't prevent her from missing much of UNC's regular season. 

She posted a picture on Instagram in the hospital room. Two thumbs up. She was smiling.

She came to terms with the injury. It gave her the opportunity to learn about herself before going to the most-decorated collegiate soccer program. 

"It's definitely been a tough journey," Shores said.

After missing the first two games of her rookie season, Shores started seeing a steady increase in playing time as the year progressed. Deep into ACC play, it was typical for Shores to play 60 minutes or more. Against Florida State — one of UNC's biggest soccer rivals — she played the entire 90 minutes. She started the last five games before her injury.

Still, those five seconds came — the counting began. 

But this injury she found harder to reason. A partnership between family, teammates and coaching staff began to help Shores return to the field.

She had two surgeries, the most recent being in April. Shores often wanted to go back home to Atlanta, Georgia. And while she was given that space to be with her family for a few days, Shores had to battle through the rehabilitation process in Chapel Hill, even on the days she didn't want to. 

"Sometimes you want to get away from the rehab," interim head coach Damon Nahas said. "We want to remind her, 'Nope, we're not going to stop now.' So, sometimes it was just reminding her she's OK."

When it became too serious, Shores turned to sophomore forward Olivia Thomas. 

The then first-year forward went through a hamstring injury last year. Although the injury wasn't as severe as Shores', the two bonded while missing part of their rookie seasons. 

Shores laughed all the time with Thomas. The forward helped ease Shores' desire to go home and leave it all behind for a few days.

"We just connect on the same wavelength a lot of time," Thomas said. "I don't know. It's just simple." 

As Shores slowly returned to the field, the full-scale collaboration continued.

Nahas and his team reminded Shores not to be afraid. They never stopped encouraging her. When she was scared to tackle, they reassured her. 

Shores become a part of the game again. She made her return against Duke in late October. 

"[Those] first minutes she stepped on the field I remember, and you're just kind of anxious," Nahas said. "You just wanted her to get through those minutes healthy. And then just slowly but surely, you see her confidence build."

Her playing time has continued to increase, reaching a season-high 56 minutes. But a goal still evaded her. She hadn't scored in a Carolina Blue uniform since late September 2023.  

In the 44th minute, UNC up 1-0, first-year defender Aven Alvarez placed a low cross to Shores in front of the goal, who finished it with her left foot. She ran into the arms of junior forward Maddie Dahlien before more players joined the group hug. 

"It was just my teammates that lifted me up, and really pushed me through," Shores said. 

Three hundred and eighty four days off the field. Four hundred and twenty one days without scoring but the smile that Nahas saw after the goal was worth the hardship. 

"You need a moment to validate the work we put in," Nahas said. "And that goal symbolizes exactly who she is and who we want to be as a team."

@_emmahmoon

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