By R.L. Bynum
After thousands of miles of travel that included a trip to Dublin and a pair of victories in Arizona, No. 9 North Carolina finally heads home.
The Tar Heels closed out the road trip with stingy defense and a clutch penalty kick, escaping a match they controlled with a 1–0 victory Sunday over Arizona State at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
UNC (5–1) finished the trip 3–0, including a 3–0 victory on Aug. 28 in Dublin over Shelbourne FC in a friendly and a 2–0 victory Friday at Arizona.
The goal, as it has so often this season, came on a boot from graduate Georgia transfer Summer Denigan.
The midfielder converted a penalty kick for the second consecutive match, this time in the 34th minute, and the third time this year, burying it in the top right corner to extend her scoring streak to five games.
The Sun Devils tried to answer early in the second half, testing goalkeeper Peyton Trayer just three minutes into the second. Trayer was equal to it, however, coming up with a save on a shot from Amy Medley in the 48th minute.
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The match settled into a defensive standoff, with both sides content to feel each other out before committing to anything resembling an attack. Carolina finally got a good chance in the 18th minute when Lilliah Blum ripped a shot that sailed just over the crossbar. Nine minutes later, the Tar Heels won their first corner kick of the day, though that chance came up empty as well.
The breakthrough arrived in the 33rd minute. Scottie Antonucci drew a foul inside the box, and Denigan stepped up to the spot with the poise that has defined her season so far. She placed the penalty kick just inside the far post, giving Carolina a lead it would never relinquish.
From there, the Tar Heels leaned on the defense that has carried them all year. Arizona State managed just one shot in the opening 45 minutes, and UNC took a 1–0 halftime lead.
Notes
— Carolina returns home Thursday at 7 p.m. to face California in the ACC opener for both teams. The Bears (2–2–3) beat Columbia 2–1 at home on Sunday after scoring only three goals in their first six games, including being shut out three times.
— This was the first meeting between UNC and Arizona State.
— Nine Tar Heels played the full 90 minutes.
— UNC could only muster four shots, and the Sun Devils had three.
No. 9 UNC 1, Arizona State 0
| 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 Shelbourne FC | Friendly |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | at Arizona | 4–1 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | at Arizona State | 5–1 |
| 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. 12 Virginia | |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 25 Notre Dame | ACCN |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 15 Florida State | ESPNU |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at 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
