In a full day of soccer at Dorrance Field on Sunday, the UNC women’s soccer team moved to 4-0 on the season with a 2-0 win against Arizona. Later that night, the men dominated possession but settled for a 0-0 draw with California Baptist in the Tar Heels’ home opener.

The women looked bound for a scoreless draw of their own, controlling the ball but unable to find the back of the net for the first 75 minutes of action. Tessa Dellarose finally broke the deadlock by corralling a loose ball outside the 16-yard box and firing a rocket into the top of the Arizona net to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead.

The Wildcats nearly equalized in the final five minutes, but keeper Clare Gagne denied Arizona’s Brooke Ahern on a breakaway opportunity. Less than two minutes later, UNC’s Olivia Thomas netted her third goal in two games to seal the win.

Gagne’s heroics helped Carolina earn its first shutout win of the season. It was her only save of the afternoon, as UNC outshot Arizona 24-3 overall and 11-1 in shots on target. The Tar Heels also took 14 corner kicks to the Wildcats’ three. The team will be back in action on Thursday when it hosts North Dakota at Dorrance Field at 4 p.m.

On the men’s side, Carolina manufactured the overwhelming majority of the chances against California Baptist, outshooting the Lancers 25-4 overall and 9-1 in shots on target. But opposing keeper Hugo Do Rego stopped all nine of those shots to keep the Tar Heels off the scoreboard. It marks the second straight year in which Carolina has failed to win its home opener.

UNC will return to the pitch on Thursday when it hosts Florida International as part of the Carolina Nike Classic at 7:30 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter

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