No. 2 seed UNC women’s soccer opened its 2024 NCAA Tournament with a win Thursday, scoring the most goals in a single match for this season and tying its tournament record for goals in the first round.

The Tar Heels ran roughshod over the USC-Upstate Spartans at Dorrance Field, earning an 8-0 victory headlined by two pairs of goals from junior Kate Faasse and freshman Linda Ullmark. It marked the highest goal total in competition for Carolina since an 8-0 win over UNLV in 2019.

Senior Bella Sember got UNC onto the scoreboard in the 18th minute, slotting home a penalty kick earned by Maddie Dahlien. Faasse’s goals followed in back-to-back fashion in the 18th and 21st minutes, the first of which was an impressive individual effort. The star attacker drove to the edge of the penalty box and buried a shot into the left netting — before quickly scoring the second off a through-ball fed past Faase’s defender by Tessa Dellarose. The brace marked Faasse’s 18th goal of the season, extending her lead within the team.

Carolina’s Olivia Thomas scored her sixth goal of the season after halftime, with the forward firing a low shot through USC-Upstate’s goalkeeper’s legs in the 60th minute. The scoring methods were diversified when freshman defender Caitlin Mara earned her first career goal as a Tar Heel, as she headed in a corner kick on the far post in the 67th.

The scoreline then turned gaudy in the span of four minutes thanks to a trio of Carolina goals. It started with a long-distance shot from freshman Bella Gaetino, who lifted the ball in a high-arching shot just over the USC-Upstate keeper’s hands and off the left post in the 74th minute. Ullmark’s strikes followed in the 76th and 78th minutes, capitalizing on a pair of Spartan mistakes — first by being unmarked in the penalty box off a cross, and secondly when collecting a dispossession earned by Alexa Wojnovich off a goal kick.

When the final buzzer sounded, UNC had outshot USC-Upstate 29-2, including 16-2 of shots on target. The win moved their record in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to 25-1 all time, and extended Carolina’s record of appearing in all 43 NCAA Tournaments.

The last time UNC scored eight goals the tournament’s opening round was in 2003, when the Tar Heels shut out High Point 8-0. Carolina would go on to win its 18th national title.

As the program seeks its elusive 22nd NCAA championship, Carolina will face Santa Clara in the second round — as well as host the second-round matchup of No. 3 seed South Carolina and No. 6 seed Minnesota. The winners of each match will play each other in Chapel Hill for the tournament’s third round. As of 11 p.m. on Friday, game times for the second round matchups had not yet been announced but they will be held the upcoming weekend (Nov. 22 – Nov. 24).

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics Communications.

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