The No. 2 North Carolina women's soccer team (5-0) outshot Northwestern (1-3), 17-1, en route to a 2-0 victory at Dorrance Field on Thursday night.
What happened?
Offensive production came early and often for North Carolina, who shot the ball four times before the 17th minute of play. During this stretch, the Tar Heels found the back of the net when senior forward Rachael Dorwart’s strike opened the scoring to make it 1-0.
Though the ball hardly went into their defensive third during the rest of the first half, the Tar Heels struggled to get a quick passing rhythm going, and only led by the one goal heading into the break.
To begin the second half, the Wildcats played a low block and pressed the ball to the midfield in order to prevent the Tar Heels from gaining early opportunities on goal. The ball remained stalemated in the midfield until the 84th minute of play, when first-year forward Emily Murphy trapped a pass from sophomore forward Avery Patterson and rounded it through a defender. Murphy then passed the ball to senior forward Rachel Jones, who two-touched the ball easily into the wide open net.
After UNC’s second goal, the speed of the game picked up, and the Tar Heels managed to get two more shots on goal by Jones and sophomore forward Emily Moxley before the buzzer sounded. Even battling a tough and prepared Northwestern defense, the Tar Heels still were still able to dominate the match to pick up a 2-0 victory.
Who stood out?
Dorwart clocked her third goal in the last three games, and finished the game with four shots.
Jones showed off her aggressive nature with two shots on goal and the team’s second goal of the night, recording her first goal of the season.
