CARY — It was a house divided on a cold night in Cary, as the No. 1-seeded North Carolina women’s soccer team unleashed their offense to take down No. 5 NC State, 3-0, in Friday night’s ACC quarterfinal.
Fans in Carolina Blue left WakeMed Soccer Park in higher spirits than their Wolfpack counterparts, after junior Alessia Russo led the way with two goals to advance UNC to Sunday’s ACC Championship against UVA, the No. 1 team in the nation.
What happened?
Despite the frigid conditions, head coach Anson Dorrance’s Tar Heels came out of the gates hot. It took a mere seven minutes for UNC to notch its first goal, as first-year forward Isabel Cox took her defender off the dribble and fired a cross to Russo.
The forward from Kent, England handled the pass and buried the goal to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.
From there, UNC continued to apply ample pressure on the Wolfpack backline. A couple of near misses and offside calls allowed N.C. State to survive the remainder of the half without any further damage, but the pace of play established heavily favored North Carolina.
The Tar Heel defense held up their end of the bargain, neutralizing any meaningful first half counter-attacks from their in-state rival. At the break the Wolfpack had yet to achieve a single shot on goal.
With a one goal lead as security, the second half allowed the Tar Heels to open up the field and demonstrate their offensive firepower. They continually forced the issue on their opponent's side of the field, and the levies finally broke open for good when first-year forward Isabel Cox sliced-and-diced her way through two defenders down the middle of the field.
She quickly passed off to a wide open Rachel Jones, who slotted the shot in the 75th minute to give UNC a 2-0 lead. The one-touch goal from sophomore midfielder all but solidified the victory for the Tar Heels, but Dorrance’s attack wasn’t done just yet.
