By R.L. Bynum
DUBLIN — Carolina may have been playing thousands of miles away against a professional team, but the friendly with Shelbourne FC felt like a home match for the Tar Heels.
From the busloads of UNC fans who attended the game to the marching band performing at halftime to the Carolina blue skies, Dublin felt like home.
The Tar Heels played like they owned Tolka Park, quickly taking control with a dominant first half in a 3–0 victory Friday night, not allowing a shot on target until the second half. The crowd of 1,867 was the largest for a women’s game in stadium history.
“Just the whole scene of the band and all the fans? The anticipation, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time, so I had an idea of the support we were going to get, and obviously Carolina travels pretty well,” UNC coach Damon Nahas said. “The atmosphere was so cool. The venue is an old venue — 1895. So it’s a really cool appreciation for the history of their club here. We thought that this was just an amazing experience that will benefit us moving forward.”
It all came against a Shelbourne FC team that is in second place in the League of Ireland Premier Division, although only two-thirds of the Reds’ regulars played in the game. The Reds had only been shut out once this season, in a scoreless draw with Galway United.
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In the lineup, though, was former UNC star Maggie Pierce, who said the match reminded her of her days in Chapel Hill.
The atmosphere clearly meant something to her too, with so much Carolina blue filling a stadium an ocean away from Chapel Hill.
“It was awesome. At least for me, it kind of felt like home again, having all the Carolina blue in the stands. I loved it,” she said. “It was exciting. It’s never something you think you’re going to do, to play against them here alone.
“But it was such a fun night, and I was really happy to see everyone. I’ve known Damon since I was probably 14, so it was great to see him and all the guys on the staff again,” Piece said.
It was the program’s first trip abroad as a team in 15 years. The Tar Heels last ventured overseas in 2011, when they traveled to Germany and played matches against Leipzig and Bayern Leverkusen.
Nahas admitted that facing an unfamiliar opponent made preparation difficult.
“This was one where you’re going in blind, really. You see a little bit. The surface is a little bit different than we have. It plays slow, and it makes it more compact,” Nahas said. “So, you don’t know. You talk about it, give them some ideas, and the girls go out there and execute. I thought they did a great job. They came out really, really well.”
UNC did what it routinely has done this season in jumping out to an early lead, this time 2–0 in the first 10 minutes thanks to a productive high press.
Right after midfielder Summer Denigan missed high on two shots, the second off the crossbar, midfielder Scottie Antonucci was in the right spot to slide it into the goal in the fifth minute. Five minutes later, Denigan didn’t miss, taking advantage of defensive lapses, and it was 2–0 Tar Heels.
Forward Bella Devey slid in a close-in score in the 42nd minute to make it 3–0, and Nahas began to put more substitutes into the game.
“This is kind of a rarity to be at this point in Ireland during our season. We have to take care of ourselves because the season doesn’t stop,” Nahas said. “But we’re going to enjoy this tonight, enjoy the football team [Saturday], and then we’ll fly out on Sunday.”
After the usual starting goaltender, freshman Peyton Trayer, played the first half, junior Hannah Johann took over for the second half and was more challenged.
Shelbourne FC applied more pressure in the second half and hit a post around the 54th minute. Nahas put four players back as defenders toward the end of the match, an adjustment he said was more about managing depth than reacting to danger.
“They’re playing pretty expansive, and we weren’t taking care of the ball enough, which was threatening us on the outside,” Nahas said. “If you don’t take care of the ball, you’re going to get threatened in transition, and we did that.”
Devey hit a crossbar in the 80th minute.
Nahas pointed to the first half as evidence of what his team can do when it controls possession.
“We took care of the ball in the first half,” he said. “That was the thing. You take care of the ball, you dominate, you play in their half, and those are good things.”
He also made clear he wasn’t taking the result lightly, given Shelbourne’s standing in the league and the presence of a familiar face on the other side.
“That’s a good team. I was talking to some of the players afterward,” Nahas said. “I’ve never really watched them play. I follow Maggie, obviously, for obvious reasons, and that was a highlight for me, to see Maggie here. She’s happy. She loves it here.”
Pierce, for her part, said Carolina’s dominant opening stretch didn’t come as a surprise, even if Shelbourne wanted a stronger start of its own.
“We always expect that another team we play is going to be good, and I knew the level of UNC coming in, but I think we made a few tweaks at halftime and leveled up in the second half,” Pierce said. “Obviously, we kind of wish we started stronger, but I think we played better in the second half, so we’re happy overall.”
For Nahas, the celebration will be brief. The travel that follows the trip is nearly as demanding as anything his team saw on the field in Dublin, flying to Phoenix on Sunday, with a layover at Washington Dulles.
“Not ideal. It’s not what you write up, not what you plan for, but it is what it is. We’re not going to make any excuses. We’ll do our best to get there on Sunday and recover the two days, with Sunday and Monday off, and just take care of their bodies, get them sleep acclimated,” he said.
Notes
— Carolina started the same lineup as in previous games except for Amari Manning starting at a midfield spot instead of Hope Munson.
— Munson, defender Aven Alvarez and forward Sealey are with the U.S. U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland. The team’s opener is Sept. 6 against Italy in Łódź, Poland. Nahas said that they could miss as many as six matches. UNC confirmed that Munson was fine, and it was only cramps that kept her out for the last 30 minutes of the loss to Michigan State.
— Sophomore midfielder Riley Kennedy went down late in the second half and left for the bench on her own power but with a limp
— International and professional timing rules with the clock counting up and stoppage time were used. But college substitution rules allowed players to go in and out.
— In a different setup than Carolina is used to, both benches were on one half of the sideline, with UNC’s bench farther away from midfield.
— UNC plays at 10 p.m. ET Thursday at Arizona and at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 6, at Arizona State, with both games streaming on ESPN+.
— The Wildcats are 2–1, with a 2–0 opening-match loss to Grand Canyon, a 2–0 home win over New Mexico State and a 2–1 road win over Gonzaga. Before facing UNC, Arizona hosts LSU on Sunday.
— After Sunday’s 3–2 home loss to Michigan State, the Spartans moved up two spots in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 to No. 3, and the Tar Heels fell two spots to No. 9
— The Sun Devils are 3–0–1, with a 1–1 draw against Texas, a 3–1 road victory at New Mexico State, and home wins over Buffalo (5–0) and LSU (1–0). Before meeting the Tar Heels, Arizona State hosts Cal Poly on Sunday and Dartmouth on Thursday, Sept. 3.
— Legendary UNC coach Anson Dorrance, former UNC star Heather O’Reilly and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips were at the match.
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. South Carolina | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 4–0 | vs. Fairfield | 1–0 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 8–0 | vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | at Arkansas | 3–0 |
| 23 | Sunday | L, 3–2 | vs. No. 3 Michigan State | 3–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Shebourne FC (Dublin friendly) | |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | 10 p.m. ET | at Arizona | ESPN+ |
| 6 | Sunday | 1 p.m. ET | at Arizona State | ESPN+ |
| 10 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. California | |
| 13 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. NJIT | |
| 17 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Duke | ACCN |
| 20 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Alcorn State | |
| 25 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 13 Virginia | |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 25 Notre Dame | ACCN |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 16 Florida State | ESPNU |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at No. 24 Clemson | ACCN |
| 18 | Sunday | 3:30 | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 23 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 1 Stanford | ACCN |
| 29 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. SMU | |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Louisville | |
| 8, 12, 15 | Sunday, Thur., Sun. | ACC tournament | Semifinals, final in Cary | |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | |||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun | First round | ||
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | ||
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | ||
| December | ||||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
