The North Carolina women's soccer team defeated Wake Forest on Thursday night 4-1 in the first game of the season.
What happened?
The Tar Heels started the game off strong, with two shots against Wake Forest in the first 10 minutes of the game. The first shot was an upper right shot by forward Isabel Cox, followed by a bottom right shot by forward and midfielder Talia Dellaperuta that was saved by the Deacon's goalkeeper Madison Howard.
However, Wake Forest played strong defense, leaving the game scoreless until over 21 minutes into the game, when UNC midfielder Brianna Pinto scored a goal. Her efforts were matched by forward Rachel Jones, who scored less than two minutes later, bringing the score to 2-0 Tar Heels.
UNC goalkeeper Claudia Dickey didn’t fail to play her part on defense either. In the first half alone, she saved two goals, one from Wake Forest forward Olivia Stowell and the other from midfielder Faith Adams. Despite her strong efforts, one goal got past her in the first half, scored by midfielder Sophie Faircloth, with the Tar Heels ending the first half up 2-1.
The second half, which began in heavy rain, quickly led to an injury for sophomore defender Maycee Bell, who was then substituted out for midfielder and fellow sophomore Maggie Pierce.
Pinto continued to make her mark, making an out top shot seven minutes into the second half. Jones persisted in standing out as well, scoring off a penalty kick that provided UNC with the first goal of the half.
With less than 30 minutes left of playing time, starters were replaced by several sophomores, including forward Hallie Klanke, midfielder Libby Moore and defender Tori Hansen. Klanke managed to score with an assist by Aleigh Gambone.
