Despite NC State women’s soccer’s impressive performance in its draw against then-No. 16 Duke, the Wolfpack had to deal with an entirely different beast in its rivalrous match against No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill.
As perennial powerhouse of college women’s soccer, the undefeated Tar Heels (8-0-4, 3-0-1 ACC) proved why they’re the nation’s best as they easily defeated NC State (1-5-5, 0-1-2 ACC) 4-0 in front of a record-breaking crowd at Dail Soccer Stadium.
Carolina used its superior speed, offensive prowess and stingy defense to win. After giving up early goals in the fifth and 29th minutes, the Pack had little chance of clawing its way back in. Once the Heels doubled down on their lead in the second half, those chances were eliminated entirely.
“Against anyone in this league, if you spot two goals, it’s a tough comeback,” said head coach Tim Santoro. “[Against] the number one team in the country — it’s not happening. So we didn’t give ourselves the best chance we could. The game fizzled out once it got to the second half.”
UNC’s first goal of the night came off a corner kick that ricocheted off the post and past junior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas. Despite the four goals given up, Pratapas had an impressive night in goal while frantically contending with Carolina’s offensive barrage of 24 shots — 12 times as many as the Wolfpack.
NC State’s two shots on goal both came in the first ten minutes of the match as immediate responses to UNC’s early goal. Both shots were engineered by senior forward Jameese Joseph, who missed a near-surefire goal just seconds after Carolina’s score.
Despite the lack of shots from the red-and-white, the home side held its own in the first half, providing a glimmer of hope to the hordes of Wolfpack faithful who filled Dail. However, UNC turned up the heat, striking an impressive, outside-the-box shot that once again reflected off the woodwork and into goal.
“I thought, up until we gave up the second goal, I felt comfortable with what we were doing,” Santoro said. “We were finding our outlets. We were breaking their pressure. We were keeping their shot count low.”
The Tar Heels started the second half just as strong as the first. Just seconds after the whistle, UNC forward Ally Sentnor ripped a shot into the top right corner of the goal for UNC’s third score.
Carolina hammered the final nail into the NC State coffin in the 72nd minute with a point-blank goal. Pratapas made saves left and right in the second half but was helpless against a second-effort rebound goal from the Heels after she made a diving save.
Despite the rout, fans flocked to Dail Soccer Stadium for the classic matchup. Just weeks after establishing a new attendance record of 2,506, the venue played host to a whopping 3,972 fans clad in light blue and red to shatter the record.
NC State looks to rebound in its next match — a road date at Virginia Tech on Thursday, Oct. 5. Kickoff in Blacksburg, Virginia is set for 7 p.m.
