The shot was from a nearly impossible angle, and Harris was stunned it had found the back of the net. But there was nothing she could do — the game was over. Stanford forward Chioma Ubogagu had won it with a sudden death goal in the first period of overtime Friday night, to carry the Cardinal to a 1-0 victory over the No. 4 North Carolina women’s soccer team.
“It was right at her feet. She could have easily saved it,” said coach Anson Dorrance of his redshirt sophomore goalkeeper. “But you know what? She doesn’t have that much experience at our level yet, and I think what’s she’s learned tonight is to go for things she’s not sure about.”
But Harris isn’t the only one lacking experience, as the Tar Heels continue to find a replacement for eight lost starters. And, despite the loss, UNC found encouragement in an unexpected places — its freshman.
Five freshmen saw playing time, with Annie Kingman and Alex Kimball taking two and three shots, respectively. The Tar Heels outshot Stanford 18-12 and had multiple opportunities to score but could not find the back of the net.
“It was just great to see that when the reserves came on and stuff, we were actually creating the best chances,” junior Katie Bowen said. “You couldn’t differentiate between the Stanford seniors and our freshmen. Looking at that, they’ve got a great four years ahead of them.”
Kingman and fellow freshman midfielder Megan Buckingham took the momentum from Friday’s game into Sunday against Ohio State.
Kingman assisted Buckingham as she put away the deciding goal in the 73rd minute to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 victory.
Sophomore Sarah Ashley Firstenberg was also credited with an assist on the play, and it was the first points for all three women in a Carolina blue uniform.
