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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's soccer drops second straight with loss to N.C. State

After being shut out by Southern California last weekend, the North Carolina women’s soccer team's scoring drought continued against N.C. State at home Friday night. 

Despite many scoring opportunities, the No. 7 Tar Heels lost to the Wolfpack, 1-0, for their second-straight loss of the season.

What happened?

Through much of the game, several scoring opportunities for both sides resulted in neither team being able to find the back of the net. Headed into half time, both teams were even at 0-0. 

But in the 66th minute that all changed. Capitalizing on a defensive miscommunication between several North Carolina defensive players, N.C. State was able to stun the home team with a goal that proved to be the game-winner.

After getting the wind knocked out of them, the North Carolina offense continued to put pressure on the N.C. State defense for the rest of the match, but to no avail. The team took eight shots on goal in the game and had several other missed opportunities.

Who stood out?

While the offense was unable to score, the North Carolina defense was able to keep the team in the game by forcing N.C. State to make each shot count. The Tar Heel defense limited their opponent to just two shots on goal throughout the contest, and only four shots at all throughout the game. The starting back line was able to provide enough defensive traction that, despite giving up a score, still gave the team a chance to win.

Midfielder Dorian Bailey was also a bright spot in the game, as she was able to stay aggressive in the spaces between the defense and the midfield to win balls for her team. Bailey’s hard work to keep the ball in the Tar Heels possession allowed the team to muster eight shots on goal, though they never resulted in any scores.

When was it decided?

The Wolfpack goal in the 66th minute proved to be all the team needed to defeat North Carolina. But, when the score occurred, a lot of time was still on the clock. Ultimately, the game was not decided until the final seconds of the match, as the N.C. State defense held off the home team’s scoring effort. While the Wolfpack essentially tried to play keep away by running the clock in the last 10 minutes of the game, North Carolina continued to put pressure on them to try and grab a score of their own.

Why does it matter?

North Carolina lost its second-straight game of the season, and has now failed to score in 201 minutes of game time. Friday’s loss to their unranked rival from indicates that improvements in offensive execution are needed to get the the Tar Heels back on track. With ACC play only getting tougher from here, a slump in the next few games against ranked Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Virginia could break the team's season.

What’s next?

The Tar Heels will be back in action at home on September 22 against Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.

@_JACKF54_

sports@dailytarheel.com 

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