The No. 2 North Carolina women's soccer team found a way to do it again.
The Tar Heels (10-0-1, 3-0-0 ACC) continued their undefeated run Sunday night at Wake Forest (4-5-2, 1-2-0 ACC), dominating the game in every fashion as they rolled to a 1-0 victory.
Senior forward Summer Green scored the lone goal of the match — which marked her sixth of the season. She credited the goal to Cameron Castleberry, a junior midfielder for North Carolina. Castleberry played in a ball to Green, whose initial shot was saved before she capitalized on the rebound.
The one goal didn't tell the story of the game. The Tar Heels controlled possession, firing off 20 shots. A heroic effort by Wake Forest goalkeeper Lindsay Preston, who had nine saves, prevented the score from being more lopsided and kept her team in the game.
Although North Carolina’s offense has carried the team this season, Coach Anson Dorrance pointed to the defense as the key of the game. UNC only conceded four shots during the 90 minutes, none of which were on goal.
Every player for the Tar Heels played a part in the shutout of Wake Forest. One player did stick out on the defense, though. Senior defender Paige Nielsen had several big plays on the defensive end, including one of the biggest moments of the game.
In about the 14th minute, Wake Forest had a strong attack and an open net when Nielsen came in and took the ball from Demon Deacon Maddie Huster. This turned out to be the difference for North Carolina, and one of the only true chances for Wake Forest.
Dorrance appreciated the complete game his team played on Sunday. Against Syracuse on Thursday, UNC dominated the first half, outscoring the Orange 2-0. But the second half was a more even affair with both teams scoring once.
But against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels were focused from start to finish and managed to seal their 10th win of the season.
