Senior Crystal Dunn watched her teammates take the field Friday night from a much different vantage point than her usual commanding position in the center of the field.
Due to a hamstring injury, Dunn was forced to cheer from the bench in the Wake Med Soccer Park Friday night as the No. 4 North Carolina women’s soccer team fell to No. 3 Florida State 2-1 in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
“We’re going to have to close (Dunn) down, and with some rest, get her back eventually,” coach Anson Dorrance said.
UNC’s flatfooted start was not uncharacteristic of the team’s season- long performance, and Florida State immediately commanded possession. FSU strung together multiple passes, spreading the field and highlighting the absence of Dunn’s offensive pressure. Although the Seminoles maintained control of the ball, the Tar Heel back line held strong, allowing only two shots on goal.
“Defense played great the whole game,” senior goalkeeper Anna Sieloff said. “I was really proud of them. We tried to mess their rhythm up and impose our play on them.”
Senior forward Kaelia Ohai tracked back on multiple occasions to contribute to UNC’S cohesive, high-pressure defensive effort.
Similar to FSU, the Tar Heels experienced frustration in their attack. UNC’s best chance came when a Florida State player committed a foul at the top of their box resulting in a free kick for North Carolina. Junior Alexa Newfield stepped up to take the shot, but her attempt was easily handled by the Seminole goalkeeper.
The second half proved to be a stark contrast to the goal-scoring lull of the first. UNC immediately hounded the Seminole defense, with tactful playmaking and pass distribution in the midfield. Their tenacity was rewarded two minutes into the half when freshman Amber Munerlyn connected to sophomore Meg Morris, who was streaking up the sideline. Morris earned her first goal of the season when her shot from the right side of the box found the back of the net.
“The first half we didn’t really create anything,” Dorrance said. What I did like about the second half was, not only did we score, we created better chances. Our style causes a team to wear down because we play the game at a sprint.”
FSU responded with a vengeance. In the 82nd minute, FSU piled into the North Carolina goal box creating a mass of confusion that nearly resulted in the equalizer when Marta Bakowska-Mathew’s open shot pinged off the crossbar. The Seminoles struck again when a North Carolina foul handed FSU goalkeeper Kelsey Wys a free kick. She sent a lofting cross deep into the Tar Heel goal box, and a miscalculated clearance from the UNC defense resulted in an own goal header with three minutes of regulation time left.
Bad luck plagued the North Carolina defense yet again in overtime. Two minutes into the golden goal period, the Seminoles made a drive down the sidelines and executed a long cross. In an effort clear the play, junior Satara Murray got a touch on the cross that deflected off a fellow defender into the side pocket of the goal. This second own goal immediately ended the Tar Heels’ tournament run.
“We’re not a very sophisticated team,” Dorrance said. “We’re not very good at closing out games, and when you’ve got that as your nature, it’s going to be very difficult to sit on any type of lead. At the end, we were committing the most ridiculous fouls, and that’s just our lack of experience.”
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