UNC women's soccer downs Wake Forest in championship with Olivia Thomas' free kick

CARY, N.C. — Olivia Thomas took quick, shallow breaths. She fiddled with one of her ponytails. She started singing in her head. 

Thomas ran track in high school before she committed to playing soccer full-time in college. The sophomore  forward used to sing songs silently to "mask the pain" while running. So, with UNC's best chance to score on the line in the national championship, Thomas began to sing "2 You" by Mariah the Scientist. She wasn't even sure why it was stuck in her head. She just needed something to help her fight through it. 

"That's an issue," Thomas said. "It wasn't a good hype song at all."

It didn't matter. After Thomas drew the foul right outside the box, giving North Carolina a set piece opportunity, she bent the shot into the far corner to score the goal in the 62nd minute. 

"And then, I blacked out," Thomas said. "I don't really remember the goal, but I remember us being up 1-0. That's all I got. Really happy." 

And it proved to be the title-winning goal the No. 2-seeded UNC women's soccer team needed to defeat No. 2-seeded Wake Forest, 1-0, in the national championship. Thomas' goal was her fourth of the NCAA tournament and ninth of the season. It's the program's 23rd national title and the first since 2012. It's also the first under interim head coach Damon Nahas.

But during the first half, the title looked out of North Carolina's reach after recording only one shot to Wake Forest's five.

Players were quiet when they entered the locker room. 

Wake Forest recorded three shots on goal in the first half. The Demon Deacons applied such pressure that the Tar Heels were surprised to come out unscathed.

"We talk a lot about how do you feel comfortable being uncomfortable?" Nahas said. "And when you are under stress and all that kind of stuff, and when you're playing against a high-level team at this stage, it's going to happen."

So, he rested in the discomfort, and then he made his team comfortable. Nahas told his players first and foremost they needed to raise their energy. They needed to take a breath. 

It's no secret Wake Forest dominated North Carolina in the first half. Nahas knew it. His team knew it. But that was irrelevant. 

"Being 0-0 on that half time was a win for us based on how that performance went," Nahas said. "And that to me was the biggest message."

His players took to the sentiment. The worst part was over. Now, it was time for them to bring the intensity. 

"It was a really good halftime talk," redshirt junior defender Emerson Elgin said. "There was no blaming. No negativity. It was all positive going into the second half." 

The Tar Heels outshot their first-half performance just over 10 minutes into the second. In the 56th minute, junior forward Kate Faasse recorded UNC's first shot on goal. UNC found another opportunity five minutes later. Thomas received the ball from Elgin inside the box. The shot went wide. 

Wake Forest failed to record a shot in those opening minutes. North Carolina applied the pressure. 

And then came the 62nd minute. Thomas felt the discomfort Nahas preached about. She stepped up for the free kick.

She had the same opportunity against Duke in the ACC semifinals on the same field a month ago. Although UNC ended up winning 2-1,Thomas admitted she embarrassed herself by "skying it" way over the goal, and said she's been working on it after practice. 

First-year defender Trinity Armstrong approached Thomas. Armstrong told the forward she could do it. 

"You know what?" Thomas said. "You're right, Trin. I do got this."

This time, she placed it perfectly. Wake Forest never found the equalizer. 

The white confetti eventually came, and the Tar Heels made snow angels. They received their trophies and national championship garb. Every player brought their trophy with them to the postgame press conference.

And it all happened because of what they have been doing all season. They found comfort in the discomfort. 

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