By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — With scoring chances hard to come by, No. 10 North Carolina ground out a gritty victory over Wake Forest, and the young Tar Heels showed growth in Thursday’s ACC opener.
Both coaches drew yellow cards during the Tar Heels’ physical 1–0 victory at Dorrance Field on a night that the referees let the teams play.
“You want them to let things go a little bit and respect it, but then there are times where all you really want is a little bit of consistency,” UNC interim coach Damon Nahas said. “There were, sometimes, when you thought it should [be called], other times not. But that’s just the game.”
The savior for the Tar Heels (8–1–0, 1–0 ACC) was again junior forward Kate Faasse, whose team-leading sixth goal was enough to overcome a 9–3 shot disparity and a 3–0 deficit in corners.
“It was a pretty physical game. I will say it got dirty at some points, but staying calm, I really think, is what we need to do,” said Faasse, who had one of UNC’s season-low three shots. She said that “for people that are getting amped up, to just calm them and remind them that it’s better just take it and walk away and just use it as motivation to keep going.”
The chances were few, but the team’s progression in the game was substantial. Without three players who were expected to start, no starter against the Deacs (5–2–1) had started last season.
“Today, we had a few players grow up, and you can see they believe in themselves,” Nahas said. “So, what a great win.”
Still playing without expected starters Maddie Dahlien, Olivia Thomas and Evelyn Shores, Nahas only played two subs, and seven players played 90 minutes. The mass substitution patterns of last season aren’t happening, at least for now.
“In the end, you’ve got to make decisions,” Nahas said. “We have about three or four players that are not available necessarily; when they come back, that changes it. Right now, you’ve got to grind through it.”
Led by freshman defenders Trinity Armstrong, Aven Alvarez and Bella Gaetino, Carolina showed plenty of grit in battling the physical play.
“They were phenomenal,” Nahas said. “You can just see a confidence. You can see their lack of hesitation. In the last few games, a couple of them, you can tell they were a little bit hesitant. You couldn’t be hesitant today.”
Armstrong’s play in the back end was crucial to keeping Wake Forest off the scoreboard.
“I’m proud that we were able to grind through it,” Armstrong said. “In the first half, we were struggling a little bit to find our groove, but I’m glad we worked together with the team when we were able to persevere.”
After a Wake Forest turnover, UNC midfielder Makenna Dominguez delivered a long diagonal pass to the right of the goal. When Faasse initially fumbled it, Deacons goaltender Valentina Amaral pursued the ball, and Faasse easily tapped it by her.
“I saw [Dominguez] pick her head up, and I knew she’s gonna play it,” Faasse said. “And that’s the run that we’ve been having we make is the back-post run. I just saw her playing the ball; she had range and time. A little off-touch to the side, but I saw the keeper coming out and just slipped it to the far post.”
That shot in the 26th minute was UNC’s first and only one for the first 64 minutes. The Tar Heels struggled to connect on passes for much of the first half, after which they trailed 6–1 in shots. But the defense solidly dealt with Wake Forest’s first-half chances as the Deacs held possession for 60% of the time.
Carolina graduate transfer goalkeeper Clare Gagne stopped the Deacs’ best first-half chance, stopping a shot toward the middle of the goal mouth from former Tar Heel Emily Murphy.
Shortly afterward, Armstrong knocked aside a potentially golden Deacons chance just to the right of the goal. When Armstrong got tripped on a hard tackle on the play, drawing no card, Nahas drew a yellow card after protesting.
“I saw that the girl was dribbling in the midfield that she was gonna play out wide,” Armstrong said. “And I was like, OK, I’ve got to go track. Honestly, it’s you versus the ball. It’s like one v. one. You have to get there to stop that goal. And honestly, I was glad I got there. I knew I was gonna get there, making sure that I could get my foot on it, get a touch on it, and she fouled me. But you’ve got to move through the game.”
NOTES — Carolina has a week off before visiting Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Panthers (6–1–1) host Louisville at 7 p.m. Saturday in its ACC opener. … The previous season-low for shots was six in the 1–0 loss at Duke a week earlier. … Dahlien missed her seventh consecutive game while competing with the U.S. team at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Cali, Colombia. The Americans beat Mexico 3–2 in the round of 16 Wednesday, thanks to a goal by former UNC star Ally Sentnor, and will face Germany in Saturday’s quarterfinals. … Thomas missed her fourth consecutive game with a lower-body injury and Nahas said the goal for her and Shores, who hasn’t made her season debut because of an injury, is to get them back by October. … In addition to Murphy, Wake Forest midfielder Emily Colton is also a former UNC player starting for the Deacs. … Gaetino drew a yellow card in the 15th minute. … UNC is 32–6 in ACC openers, including 12–4 when the match is at home. … UNC is 22–1–1 against Wake Forest. … Carolina has outscored Wake Forest 120–15. … Every UNC opponent has been held to five shots on goal or fewer and 11 shots or fewer.
No. 10 UNC 1, Wake Forest 0
| 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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