By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina’s quest for its 23rd women’s soccer national championship got off to a good start.
After a 12-day break, the No. 13-ranked and No. 3-seed Tar Heels rallied from a one-goal first-half deficit to beat Towson 3–1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill.
Redshirt sophomore midfielder Ally Sentnor (top photo) fired in the game-winner in the 60th minute, her eighth goal of the season, and assisted on a score from senior forward Avery Patterson in the 84th minute to put the game away.
The Tar Heels (11–1–8), who hadn’t played since losing 2–1 in overtime to Pittsburgh in the first round of the ACC tournament on Oct. 29, next play No. 6-seed Alabama (12–4–5) next Friday in Lubbock, Texas. The Tide beat Western Carolina on Friday 2–0.
Towson took the lead in the 25th minute when Jasmine Hamid’s shot got past the fingertips of UNC goaltender Emmie Allen.
After trailing in the shot total 7–2 early, a flurry of late first-half shots finally produced a result when Bella Sember broke through in the 44th minute.
Talia Dellaperuta nearly scored shortly after Sentnor’s goal, but Towson goaltender Riley Melendez just got her fingertips on the ball.
NOTES — UNC and Alabama played a 1–1 draw in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 10. … UNC outshot Towson 21–9 and had edges of 12–3 in shots on goal and 6–3 on corners. … Carolina is 145–17–5 in NCAA tournament games and is the only program that has earned berths in all 42 tournaments. … UNC is 24–1 all-time in NCAA first-round games, with the only setback a 1–0 home loss to South Carolina in 2021. … This is the third time UNC has been a No. 3 seed after 1982, when the Tar Heels won the first NCAA title and 2015, when they advanced to the second round.
No. 12 UNC 3, Towson 1
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | L, 2–0 | at Tennessee | 0–1 |
| 17 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Siena | 1–1 |
| 21 | Thursday | 6:30 | at Georgia | SECN+ |
| 24 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Rice | ACCNE |
| 28 | Thursday | 4 p.m. | vs. UNCG | ACCNE |
| 31 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee | |
| September | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Alabama | |
| 7 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. James Madison | |
| 11 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | |
| 17 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ACCN |
| 25 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | At Notre Dame | ACCN |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 5 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | |
| 12 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ESPNU |
| 17 | Friday | 6 p.m. | at SMU | |
| 23 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | |
| 26 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | |
| 30 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ACCN |
| November | ACC tournament | |||
| 2 | Sunday | First round: Campus sites | ||
| 6, 9 | Thurs., Sun. | W, 2–1 | Semifinals, final: Cary | |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | First round Campus sites | ||
| December | Women’s College Cup | |||
| 5, 8 | Fri., Mon. | CPKC Stadium Kansas City |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
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