A pair of sensational goals from redshirt freshman striker Ally Sentnor helped the UNC women’s soccer team reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 Thursday night, as the No. 2 seed Tar Heels defeated No. 7 seed Georgia 3-1 at Dorrance Field.
CAROLINA VICTORY!!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/CeAoxioQY1
— UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) November 18, 2022
Thursday night’s performance marked the second straight brace for Sentnor, who is now up to nine goals this season and challenging Avery Patterson (11) for the team lead. Sentnor’s first came in the 23rd minute, and saw her lose her Bulldog defender on a turn to the left, evade another inside the 16-yard box and beat the Georgia goalkeeper.
Carolina doubled its lead early in the second half when junior Talia Dellaperuta, herself a Georgian, scored her second goal of the season from just outside the box. Sentnor’s second goal of the night followed fewer than six minutes later, with the striker slotting home a perfect assist from teammate Isabel Cox. Sentnor’s performance is even more impressive when considering her journey back to the pitch: she missed her entire true freshman season with a potentially career-altering knee injury.
The Tar Heels made life hard for the Georgia defense all night, firing 17 shots (eight on goal) and taking six corner kicks. They’ve scored eight goals in two NCAA Tournament matches so far after scoring just one in a pair of ACC Tournament matches.
UNC will return to the Dorrance Field pitch on Saturday morning to face No. 6 seed BYU, who defeated No. 3 seed Stanford on penalty kicks earlier in the day in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have already faced the Cougars this season, having defeated them 2-0 in an exhibition in August. Saturday’s match will begin at 11:30 a.m.
For a full look at the tournament bracket, click here.
Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter
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