Ohai, Sieloff lead youth movement for women's soccer team

Minutes into the second half of the North Carolina women’s soccer team’s Friday night match against Stanford, freshman forward Kealia Ohai netted the Tar Heels’ first goal.

The Cardinal replied with a shot just out of reach of UNC’s freshman keeper Anna Sieloff. Regulation time ended with a score of 2-2 and the Tar Heels’ first tie of the season.

Sunday afternoon, UNC faced Missouri, a game which also highlighted the efforts of freshman players. Ending 6-1, two of the six goals were scored by freshmen.

Coach Anson Dorrance pointed specifically to the underclassmen after his team’s success against steep competition.

“What I love are my young kids,” he said following the Stanford game. “The team that you saw tonight was freshmen and sophomores.”

“This is a new defense, a new goal keeper, and I think they played well against arguably the best strike forces in the country.”

Freshman defender Crystal Dunn recognized the pressure and nerves she felt before the anticipated rematch of last year’s national championship game against Stanford.

“Of course I was nervous and I had a lot to play for, but the other girls were right there with me,” Dunn said.

Consequently, Dorrance was forced to insert four freshmen into the starting lineup against both Stanford and Missouri.

Leadership on the field is often a struggle for green teams like the Tar Heels, who returned only five players who started from last year’s national championship squad.

Many of the freshmen that saw playing time were competing on collegiate turf for the first time and had to rely on the experience of the upperclassmen.

“Whether it’s through their work ethic or communication, there are a lot of different ways to exhibit leadership,” Sieloff said.

As a keeper, Sieloff orchestrates the movement of the defense, even when it includes veteran players like Meghan Klingenberg.

“In the back line we need a lot of leadership,” Dunn said. “We also need it in the midfield. That’s where Klingenberg comes in to play. But it’s really all over the field, not just with one person.”

The Tar Heels’ two most experienced players, Ali Hawkins and Rachel Givan, missed the games due to injury, so there was extra pressure on the rookie Tar Heels to step up and play.

“We have a lot of young players on this team, so to play top quality teams and get these results is awesome,” Sieloff said.

Dorrance seemed pleased with the way these players stepped up to the challenge.

“To lose two out of your three players in your front line and then to score this number of goals against quality opposition has me very excited about our potential,” Dorrance said.

“We are building for the future, and these young kids are excellent players, and they have an incredible collection of seniors to lead them.”

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