Two games into the season, the No. 3 UNC women’s soccer team now has two ranked wins under its belt. The Tar Heels beat the No. 13 Arkansas Razorbacks in overtime Sunday, ending the game on sophomore Sam Meza’s golden goal in overtime.

It’s the first overtime victory for the women’s soccer program since a November 10, 2019 victory over Virginia.

The Razorbacks nearly stole the game with under ten minutes to go in the second half, as the ball trickled past goalkeeper Claudia Dickey before preseason All-ACC member Rachel Jones cleared it off the line to keep Arkansas off the board.

A lightning delay pushed the overtime period back an hour before Meza’s goal ended the match. It’s a measure of revenge for head coach Anson Dorrance and the Tar Heels, who visited Arkansas as the No. 1 team in the country in 2019 before the Razorbacks dealt them a 2-0 loss. Sunday’s result drops Arkansas to 0-2 after they lost to No. 6 Duke in Durham on Thursday.

Carolina will take their 2-0 record to Illinois and Ohio State next week in a pair of road matchups against Big Ten opponents.

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics

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