The UNC women’s soccer team’s flare for the dramatic continued on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 7 Tar Heels found themselves in yet another sudden-death overtime period, this time with the No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was Carolina’s second straight match to head to overtime, following their tie with No. 1 Florida State the previous Thursday.

There would be no tie this time, though, as Avery Patterson headed in the golden goal to secure a 2-1 win for the Tar Heels. The win was UNC’s 11th of the season, and the 900th in the storied career of head coach Anson Dorrance.

Dorrance has been the head coach for the UNC women’s soccer program for its entire 43-year existence. His 900 career wins are the most in NCAA history, and 330 more than second place.

Carolina nearly missed out on the celebration, though, as Notre Dame struck first and held a 1-0 lead into the final 15 minutes of regulation. After several UNC shots either hit the post or were denied by the Irish defense, freshman Emily Colton finally equalized for the Tar Heels in the 78th minute. Colton tapped a cross from teammate Mollie Baker into a wide-open net for her team-leading sixth goal of the season. It was also Baker’s first assist of the year.

The Tar Heels nearly won the match in regulation time, with chances from Sam Meza and Emily Moxley missing by just inches. Moxley’s attempt came with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second half.

The first 10-minute period of extra time remained scoreless, but Patterson wasted no time in the second period, with her header hitting the back of the net after just 38 seconds of play. Moxley picked up her sixth assist of the year on the goal, which leads the team. Dorrance named Patterson and Moxley UNC’s players of the match.

“In a critical moment, Avery made the difference,” he said. “That goal was sort of my dream. A ball from the right midfield… to the left midfield for a header back post is something I felt we could do with this lineup [and] with those players. Avery and Emily played maximum minutes today and they were absolutely extraordinary.”

Moxley and Patterson were two of four Tar Heels to play the full 101 minutes on Sunday, along with defender Abby Allen and goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. Dickey made two saves on the afternoon, including a critical one in the second half on a Notre Dame breakaway which kept the game at 1-0.

UNC is now 11-2-3 on the season and 4-2-3 in ACC play. They have played in seven overtime matches this season, winning four of them and playing to a draw in the other three. Only one regular season match remains for the Tar Heels: a road tilt at Miami on Thursday, October 28. Carolina currently sits in seventh place in the ACC standings, and will need to break into the conference’s top six to qualify for the ACC tournament next week.

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics

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