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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC women's soccer rights ship with 3-0 win against Virginia Tech

Expectations hung thick over Fetzer Field as the No. 18 North Carolina women's soccer prepared to take on No. 19 Virginia Tech.

The preseason criticisms had grown heavy after the Tar Heels dropped two games in a row. The best program in the history of college soccer was used to outside expectations — but not this.

The injuries. The redshirts. The youth. All of the criticisms seemed to be crushing down on the Tar Heels as they try to outrun history — and as the seniors avoid becoming the first four-year class at UNC to not win a championship. 

But as the players lined up in formation, before the referee could blow the whistle to start the game, the evening’s heavy rain lifted. And with that omen, the Tar Heels rose above the turbulence of the past week to defeat the Hokies, 3-0. 

Annie Kingman helped the Tar Heels (6-2-1, 1-1 ACC) get off to a quick start, scoring the first goal for UNC since the team’s 2-1 victory over UCLA nearly two weeks ago. The goal ignited an offense that needed to beat the threatening Hokies (8-3, 0-2 ACC) to prevent only the third three-game losing streak in program history. 

“We started out on the front foot,” Coach Anson Dorrance said. “Our last two games, the first 10-15 minutes we felt like we were punched in the face and we were rocking back.

"And in this game, we did the punching.”

One of the keys to busting through the burden of the last two games was a simple shake-up to the starting lineup.

“This was Bridgette Andrzejewski’s best game in a Tar Heel uniform,” Dorrance said. “And she was a starter until this game. But the famous Bobby Knight cliché, ‘There’s no better coach than the bench,' this is further proof of that wonderful sage saying.” 

Andrzejewski came off the bench and exploded for two goals off six shots — doubling her career scoring total thus far. The first-year might not have to be worried yet about missing her own opportunity to win a championship in a Tar Heel uniform, but she did everything in her power to lessen the weight on the seniors. 

“Honestly, I came in (to North Carolina) not feeling much pressure,” Andrzejewski said. “But when I heard that the seniors, it’s like their big thing … They have to win this year. I’m kind of doing it for the seniors, because they really deserve it.”

One of those seniors is goalkeeper Lindsey Harris, who redshirted her first year when the Tar Heels last won a national championship. 

Harris was one of the biggest factors behind Thursday's victory. She tallied 10 saves, just shy of her career record, and to help shut out the potent Hokie offense after giving up a combined four goals in the previous two games. 

As the goalkeeper, she often serves as a vocal leader on the field. Off the field, Harris had words that might have given the Tar Heels the perspective they needed to leave their slump behind. 

“We had some conversations and said how important this is and how we need to play with more heart and intensity,” Harris said.

“We were losing the fight the last couple games, so this game we just tried to play with heart and play with more fight than we had been.”

@James_Tatter

sports@dailytarheel.com

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