Nigro’s game winner in double overtime capped an impressive second half comeback by the No. 9 North Carolina women’s soccer team (4-2-1, 1-0-0 ACC) to beat No. 18 Notre Dame 3-2 after trailing by two goals at halftime in the ACC opener.
“It was surreal,” said Nigro of her winning goal. “After I scored I was in disbelief. I turned around and the entire team was already on the field. It was an amazing experience.”
Just moments into the second overtime period, midfielder Joanna Boyles sent a pass down the right side to Cameron Castleberry. Castleberry attempted a deep cross from the right corner that bounced past the Notre Dame defense and allowed Nigro to finish neatly into the lower left corner.
Notre Dame isn’t used to losing when leading by two goals at halftime — especially since they never have. Notre Dame is now 350-1-1 in games when leading by two at the half.
Coach Anson Dorrance said the game plan was to beat the Fighting Irish (5-3-1, 0-1-0 ACC) with depth and the “Tar Heel style,” which is to play the game at a sprint for as long as possible. To utilize that style, a few different scenarios of patterned substitutions were used throughout the game.
The frequent substitutions led to Nigro seeing only 18 minutes of action.
“She sacrifices herself for her teammates at every opportunity,” Dorrance said. “When she got her shot, she stepped up and won the game for us. I couldn’t be happier for her.
“She’ll remember that goal for the rest of her life, as will I.”
