Women's soccer's offense still potent after loss to pro ranks

The moments leading up to the second-half kickoff at Fetzer Field on Saturday set a familiar scene.

Trotting out of the McCaskill Soccer Center, members of the North Carolina women’s soccer team bounced and kicked their feet to the rhythm of Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” as it played on the stadium speakers.

Opposite them, a troop of heavy-legged orange plodded to the center stripe.

Starting with Kealia Ohai’s darting dash through a pair of Tennessee defenders for the opening score, North Carolina danced and weaved past a step-too-slow Tennessee defense in the first half, tearing off a trio of goals in a little more than three and a half minutes en route to a 5-0 halftime lead against the Lady Volunteers.

It’s the kind of offensive firepower that has become commonplace for UNC women’s soccer and not exactly what was expected after a loss of key players.

After the team lost three of its top four scorers from 2009, coach Anson Dorrance was not certain where the goals would come from this season.

But thus far, scoring hasn’t been much of an issue. Through five games, UNC has netted 21 goals — two more than the team total at the same point last season.

Without a go-to goal scorer, UNC has adopted a new offensive strategy in 2010.

“We had a mantra coming into the first couple games. The mantra was, ‘Feed the yeti,’” Dorrance said.

“We have these big girls that just want to be fed by our munchkins, and so the philosophy coming in on any set piece is to feed the yeti, feed the yeti, feed the yeti. And they’re feeding the yeti. Our big girls are going after it in the air.”

The tactic has gotten players from all over the pitch in on the offensive action and has brought in contributions from an entirely new cast of characters.

After failing to score in 1,591 minutes as a freshman, sophomore Amber Brooks has racked up three goals through only 375 so far this season.

Redshirt sophomore defender Rachel Wood, who missed all of last season due to illness, set up a UNC goal in addition to countless other chances against the Lady Volunteers as the Tar Heels’ featured long free-kick artist.

“We were commenting on the bench how consistently dangerous every ball Rachel Wood serves into the box (is),” Dorrance said.

Perhaps most promising of all has been the play of fleet-of-foot freshman Ohai, who has scored a goal in each of the past four games to lead the team in scoring.

These newfound scoring threats have provided added potency to a Tar Heel team that has looked dangerously deep in its opening matches.

“You can’t ask for more,” senior Meghan Klingenberg said.

“They’re going to shut down one person, and it doesn’t matter.”

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