By R.L. Bynum
In North Carolina’s first match as the nation’s No. 1-ranked women’s soccer team, the Tar Heels certainly played like it in seizing control early.
Sophomore forward Bella Devey scored two goals in 26 seconds, both in the first 9½ minutes, as the Tar Heels, playing their backup goaltender, held on for a 3–1 victory over No. 16 Virginia to remain unbeaten in 18 all-time meetings in Charlottesville, Va.
UNC’s seventh consecutive victory put the Tar Heels (10–1, 3–0 ACC) alone atop the ACC standings after their third consecutive victory against the Cavaliers (5–2–2, 1–2).
Lilliah Blum fed Devey in the eighth minute, slipping it near the far post, then Devey earned a brace by firing in the second score on a Bella Gaetino assist in the 10th minute.
UNC midfielder Summer Denigan buried a penalty shot after a handball call in the 12th minute to make it 3–0.
Virginia played well in the second half but could only muster one goal. That came after a UNC handball when Virginia’s Addison Halpern scored on a penalty kick in the 57th minute.
Carolina goaltender Hannah Johann made five saves, playing in place of usual starter Peyton Trayer, who was sick, according to the TV broadcasters.
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Notes
— UNC is off until hosting No. 15 Notre Dame (4–0–6, 2–0–1) at 6 p.m. Friday (ACC Network). The Irish will have more than a week between matches after a 1–1 draw with No. 4 Duke in Durham on Thursday.
— Carolina extended its lead in the series to 42–5–5, including 16–0–2 in Charlottesville.
— Virginia outshot UNC 12–11 and had a 6–5 edge in shots on goal, but the Tar Heels had a 7–4 edge in corners
No. 1 UNC 3, No. 14 Virginia 1
ACC standings
| Team | Points | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Notre Dame | 25 | 8–1–1 | 10–1–6 |
| No. 2 North Carolina | 24 | 8–1–0 | 15–2–0 |
| No. 4 Wake Forest | 22 | 7–2–1 | 14–2–1 |
| No. 10 Florida State | 17 | 5–2–2 | 9–3–3 |
| No. 14 Virginia | 17 | 5–3–2 | 9–3–4 |
| No. 15 Duke | 16 | 4–2–4 | 9–2–5 |
| No. 17 Stanford | 16 | 5–4–1 | 11–4–2 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 15 | 4–3–3 | 10–4–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | 4–4–2 | 8–5–5 |
| Miami | 14 | 4–4–2 | 10–5–3 |
| N.C. State | 13 | 4–5–1 | 11–5–2 |
| Boston College | 11 | 3–5–2 | 10–5–2 |
| Clemson | 10 | 2–4–4 | 6–5–6 |
| California | 8 | 2–6–2 | 5–8–5 |
| SMU | 6 | 1–6–3 | 6–7–5 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | 1–7–2 | 7–8–3 |
| Syracuse | 3 | 1–9–0 | 4–11–2 |
Thursday’s results
No. 2 North Carolina 3, No. 24 Louisville 2
No. 4 Wake Forest 2, Clemson 0
No. 17 Stanford 2, Boston College 1
No. 14 Virginia 0, No. 15 Duke 0
Virginia Tech 2, No. 10 Florida State 1
Pittsburgh 2, SMU 2
No. 6 Notre Dame 1, Miami 0
California 2, Syracuse 0
ACC tournament
Sunday’s first round
No. 6-seed Duke at No. 3-seed Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ESPNU
No. 5-seed Virginia at No. 4-seed Florida State, 8 p.m., ACCN
First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary:
Thursday’s semifinals (ACC Network)
No. 1 seed Notre Dame vs. FSU-Va. winner, 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.
No. 2 seed North Carolina vs. WF-Duke winner, 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15, championship
Semifinal winners, noon, ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 11 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. 4 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 | W, 3–0 | vs. California | 6–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. NJIT | 7–1 |
| 17 | Thursday | W, 4–2 | vs. No. 12 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 10 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 4–1 | vs. No. 4 Notre Dame | 11–1, 4–0 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | at Clemson | 12–1, 5–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | L, 3–1 | at No. 6 Wake Forest | 12–2, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 16 Stanford | 13–2, 6–1 |
| 29 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | vs. SMU | 14–2, 7–1 |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 3–2 | at Louisville | 15–2, 8–1 |
| ACC tournament | Cary | |||
| 12 | Thursday | 2 p.m. | Semifinal: vs. No. 12 Duke | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | noon | Final (with win): No. 10 Virginia or No. 4 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 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
