Heartbroken for UNC women’s soccer and their coach.
The Tar Heels of Anson Dorrance were 16 seconds away from their first NCAA championship in 10 years, despite five trips to the College Cup since then. There have been some tough losses along the way, but nothing like this one.
Almost 80 minutes into the national championship match with UCLA, Carolina led 2-0 on a pair of header goals by junior Avery Patterson. It became clock-watching time when the Bruins risked giving up a meaningless third goal by pressuring all over the field.
And when they scored on a rebound kick with 10 minutes remaining, the clock was our enemy, especially for those who knew the Heels’ four losses this season all came after they had led. UCLA kept forcing the action and got a corner kick with 16 seconds left.
The ball swooped toward the net, where a New York City subway car during rush hour was forming. From my eyes, the ball was almost across the goal line as freshman goalie Emmie Allen was shoved to the back of the net by the charging Bruins.
I know very little about soccer, but that looked like goalie interference to me as a Bruin forward headed the ball to the back of the net. Carolina was 16 ticks away from giving Dorrance and his school their 23rd women’s soccer national title to end the drought.
The referee allowed the goal to stand, and the play was non-reviewable. A collision in the goal mouth in the NCAA final, for some reason, is non-reviewable and it counted to tie the game. Through the first overtime and into the second, UCLA had all the mojo.
The light blue crowd that dominated the sellout at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary was stunned and stayed that way until the Bruins scored on another rebound to win, 3-2. No one said so, but this one was going to be for Dorrance in his 44th season of taking women’s soccer from a club sport to a nationally dominant program.
He probably won’t complain and will compliment UCLA for being more aggressive down the stretch. And he’ll be back for a 45th season and try to reach his seventh College Cup in the last 11 years.
Heartbreaking for one and for all.
Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown
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