Kate Faasse's brace ignites UNC women's soccer 2-0 win against VT in ACC tournament

The No. 8-seeded North Carolina women’s soccer team (15-4, 7-3 ACC) beat No. 12-seeded Virginia Tech (11-5-3, 6-3-2 ACC), 2-0, on Sunday night at Dorrance Field to advance to the second round of the ACC championship. 

After a 66 minute long stalemate, junior forward Kate Faasse kickstarted the Tar Heels' offense with two back-to-back goals within a minute of each other in the second half. This marks the top-goal scorer's fourteenth goal of the season. The forward ranks third in goals and tenth in points within the ACC. 

“We’re going into the postseason, the stakes are high, so we just wanted to get back to having fun, enjoying ourselves and enjoying each other,” junior defender Tessa Dellarose said. “So, this is a really good response, I think we did that in the second half especially, scoring the two goals.”

The beginning of the game was spent around midfield, with neither team able to penetrate the offensive zone. 

On one of UNC’s longest possessions of the first ten minutes, the Tar Heels passed the ball from the right side of the field to the left, then found first-year midfielder Linda Ullmark at the top of the box. Her shot sailed to the right of the goal. 

Virginia Tech found a bit of momentum after a UNC pass out of bounds gave the team possession. After working their way down the field, the Hokies had a good look on the right side, but junior defender Tessa Dellarose slid in to kick the ball out of bounds, and the two subsequent corner kicks proved to be fruitless. 

With about 17 minutes left in the first, the two teams traded their best chances of the game. On a cross from the right, Virginia Tech’s Natalie Mitchell headed the ball just right of the goal. Then, junior forward Maddie Dahlien got a good look from the left side of the box, but also missed the goal wide right. 

The game was scoreless at the half, but North Carolina had the slight edge on offense, recording six shots to Virginia Tech’s one with two of them being shots on goal.  

“First half we were just a bit individual out there, a little bit too predictable,” interim head coach Damon Nahas said. “And that was really our message, to unify and play more as a unit.”

The second half started off physical, with a yellow card being awarded to the Hokies in the first minute, but the game quickly settled into a slower pace. 

UNC got its first good chance of the half when graduate midfielder Aria Nagai crossed left to Dahlien. Her shot was saved by Virginia Tech and sophomore forward Olivia Thomas rebounded close to the goal, but a Hokie defender nudged it out of bounds. 

A few minutes later, the Tar Heels got close again. Dahlien connected with Ullmark as she ran up the middle of the box, but her shot went wide to the right. 

Then, in the 67th minute, UNC was awarded a penalty kick after a Virginia Tech foul in the box. Junior forward Kate Faasse took the penalty and sailed it into the back left side of the goal. 

The Tar Heels immediately doubled the lead. Dellarose sent a long pass into the box, where Faasse jumped and tapped the bouncing ball with her head to redirect it past Virginia Tech’s goalie, who had come out to try and grab the ball. 

“I saw [Dellarose] winding up, and I also saw the keeper waiting for the ball, so I was just like ‘take your chance,’” Faasse said.

Virginia Tech had a few good chances to try and get back in the game, including a free kick that went wide. But UNC shut the door, only allowing two shots in the final 20 minutes. 

North Carolina will play Duke in the semifinals of the ACC championship at noon on Thursday, Nov. 7 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.

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