By R.L. Bynum
The Tar Heels played well and were unrelenting on defense. But Wisconsin fifth-year goalkeeper Erin McKinney, clad in shorts and a jersey that were light blue, made terrific saves all afternoon as the teams played to a scoreless draw on a steamy Thursday afternoon at Dorrance Field.
“There was Plexiglas barrier in front of their goal. I’m going to walk over there and see if it is still there,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance joked after the game. “Their goalkeeper played well, and their defense made it very hard for us to get a good shot on goal.”
McKinney made eight saves for Wisconsin as both teams moved to 1–0–2, but there was no mistaking which team was dominant, with UNC outshooting the Badgers 16–1 and possessing the ball 67% of the time.
“They do it regularly,” Dorrance said of opposing goalies wearing light blue. “And maybe there’s a method to the madness or maybe it’s just such a popular color. So, tip my hat to her; first of all, she was wearing a wonderful color, and she played incredibly well.”
Carolina played much better than during its opening-match scoreless draw against now No. 8 Penn State. But Dorrance says that while his team is full of potential, it needs to convert that into goals.
UNC is working to improve as teams continue to pack as many players as they can behind the ball to counteract all of the Tar Heels’ talent.
“My guess is that we’re going to have to learn to deal with that,” Dorrance said of the defensive strategy his team has faced. “We’ve got to get better with our final ball. We’ve got to get better with striking balls low, and on frame. And we’ve got to be better at shooting across the frame — all the elements of fundamental finishing, we’ve got to bring into our attacking character.”
Carolina took advantage of its superior depth on a hot day that tested the endurance of both teams. An adjustment here or there will no doubt produce dominant victories.
“With that sort of dominance, now we have to figure out a way to convert that into goals when a team is playing a low block,” Dorrance said.
“I’m just excited about our potential still,” he said. “And potential is an interesting word. The way I defined the potential is that we’re basically not worth much right now. So, right now we have great potential, but until we convert that into consistent goal-scoring, that’s all it is. We have to solve that element in our game.”
Speedy freshman forward Olivia Thomas could have had the best chance of the game in the 28th minute after breaking free with the ball. Wisconsin defender Hailey Baumann tackled her as she entered the final third of the field, drawing a yellow card.
“I was upset with that one,” Thomas said with a heavy inflection on the last word. “I thought I was finally in on that. And it just got taken out from under me.”
Thomas and redshirt sophomore Ally Sentnor each had a team-high four shots, with Thomas and redshirt senior right back Maycee Bell (top photo) each getting two shots on goal.
Thomas kept peppering McKinney with good chances but couldn’t break through. Her header in the 77th minute went just off the crossbar.
“I just got unlucky and I know going forward, it will go in the back of the net, and it will come,” Thomas said. “I think it’s definitely a lot more frustrating because we know that we can win this. And then when we have that outcome, it is very frustrating knowing that we were able to put so many shots on frame and we just got unlucky with none of them going in.”
In one of many second-half chances, but perhaps the best, McKinney made a terrific save on a spinning shot in the 86th minute after taking a cross from senior forward Avery Patterson.
“I saw the defender was in front of me, so I kind of let [the pass] run across and got a shot up,” Sentnor said. “But again, the goalie made an excellent save.”
While Sentnor is frustrated that the Tar Heels couldn’t finish offensively, she knows the team will keep improving.
“It’s the third game, so I know we’re not at our peak yet,” Sentnor said. “And I know we have so much potential and so much talent on this team, so it’s just finding those connections and really trusting each other with the ball and just getting into the final third. So I can see, even in practice, where this team can be and where this team is going. So this isn’t the end process of the peak. It’s just beginning.”
McKinney stopped a shot from feet away by an all-alone Tori Dellaperuta in the 43rd minute for the Tar Heels’ best chance during the scoreless first half.
Carolina got off five shots in the first 12 minutes of the second half, and the Badgers finally took their first shot (and only) in the 61st minute. McKinney made a terrific save on Bell’s header in the 65th minute.
“I think we had a lot of opportunities,” Sentnor said “So, I think our goal in the next couple of games is to kind of finish those opportunities and not save it for the last 10 minutes. But I was proud of the way that we still stayed in the game and you showed grit. So, hopefully, we can just get those in the back of the net and it’s a different game after that.”
NOTES — The Tar Heels face No. 24 USC (1–0–0) on Sunday in the third of five consecutive home games. Just as with Cal, Carolina’s previous Sunday opponent, the Trojans played No. 4 Duke on Thursday night before coming to Chapel Hill, beating the Blue Devils 3–1. USC went 12–3–3 last season, losing to UC Irvine 2–0 after upsetting No. 1 and eventual national champion UCLA 2–0 to win the Pac-12 tournament title. … Freshman midfielder Evelyn Shores and sophomore forward Maddie Dahlien made their season debuts after recovering from injuries. … UNC is undefeated in its last eight games that ended in regulation. … Carolina is undefeated, with seven wins, in eight meetings with the Badgers, with a goal margin of 22–2.
No. 3 UNC 0, Wisconsin 0
Tar Heels’ starting 3–2–2–3 alignment
| Goaltender | ||
| Emmie Allen | ||
| Defenders | ||
| RB Maycee Bell | CB Savy King | LB Emerson Elgin |
| Midfielders | ||
| Sam Meza | Emily Moxley | |
| Midfielders | ||
| Ally Sentnor | Emily Colton | |
| Forwards | ||
| Avery Patterson | Olivia Thomas | Talia Dellaperuta |
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Event/opponent (current rank) | Location | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||||
| 7 | Monday | W, 8–1 | College of Charleston | Home | Exhibition |
| 12 | Saturday | W, 2–0 | East Carolina | Home | Exhibition |
| 17 | Thursday | T, 0–0 | No. 5 Penn State | University Park, Pa. | 0–0–1 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 3–1 | Cal | Home | 1–0–1 |
| 24 | Thursday | T, 0–0 | No. 12 Wisconsin | Home | 1–0–2 |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 4–0 | No. 22 USC | Home | 2–0–2 |
| 31 | Thursday | W, 5–0 | Gardner-Webb | Home | 3–0–2 |
| September | |||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 3–1 | No. 10 Arkansas | Home | 4–0–2 |
| 7 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | No. 16 South Carolina | Columbia, S.C. | 5–0–2 |
| 10 | Sunday | T, 1–1 | No. 24 Alabama | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | 5–0–3 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 1–0 | Virginia Tech | Home | 6–0–3, 1–0 ACC |
| 21 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | Virginia | Charlottesville, Va. | 7–0–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 24 | Sunday | T, 3–3 | No. 1 Florida State | Home | 7–0–4, 2–0–1 ACC |
| 30 | Saturday | W, 4–0 | N.C. State | Raleigh | 8–0–4, 3–0–1 ACC |
| October | |||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | Miami | Home | 9–0–4, 4–0–1 ACC |
| 8 | Sunday | T, 1–1 | No. 25 Duke | Durham | 9–0–5, 4–0–2 ACC |
| 13 | Friday | T, 1–1 | No. 25 Wake Forest | Winston-Salem | 9–0–6, 4–0–3 ACC |
| 19 | Thursday | T, 1–1 | No. 9 Notre Dame | Home | 9–0–7, 4–0–4 ACC |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 6–1 | Syracuse | Home | 10–0–7, 5–0–4 ACC |
| 26 | Thursday | T, 1–1 | Boston College | Newton, Mass. | 10–0–8, 5–0–5 ACC |
| ACC tournament | |||||
| 29 | Sunday | L, 2–1 (2 OTs) | No. 11 Pittsburgh | Chapel Hill | 10–1–8 |
| November | NCAA tournament Link to bracket | ||||
| 10 | Friday | W, 3–1 | First round: Towson | Chapel Hill | 11–1–8 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 1–0 | Second round: No. 24 Alabama | Lubbock, Texas | 12–1–8 |
| 19 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | Third round: No. 4 Texas Tech | Lubbock, Texas | 13–1–8 |
| 24 | Friday | L, 4–3 | Quarterfinals: No. 6 Brigham Young | Provo, Utah | 13–2–8 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
tarheeltribune.com 
