On a night where the UNC women’s soccer honored its former longtime coach who set a standard of dominance, the Tar Heels did just that on the field.

No. 4 UNC saw six players score and maintained a clean sheet against Clemson to win 6-0 on Thursday. The emotional game, which featured honoring Anson Dorrance in-person for the first time since his retirement in August, advanced Carolina to 14-2 on the season and 7-1 in conference play.

The lopsided victory began with a UNC goal 15 minutes in, as attacker Bella Sember scored a penalty kick drawn by Maddie Dahlien. An individual effort from Olivia Thomas doubled Carolina’s lead in the 38th minute, as the sophomore received a pass inside the penalty box, shielded the ball from two Tigers, and spun around to dribble and fire off a shot that deflected off Clemson’s keeper into the net.

Dorrance was honored at halftime with a ceremony that featured himself and family members on the field. His recognition ceremony fittingly overlapped with Alumni Day, which allowed several of his former plays to join him and hold the copious hardware earned by the program with Dorrance at its helm for 47 years — including 22 national titles. After the game, the current team paid additional homage to the Dorrances, unveiling two seats with plaques dedicated to Anson and his wife, M’Liss under the Dorrance Field sign at the stadium.

UNC broke the game open after the half in part thanks to a critical ten minute stretch. Carolina defender Bella Gaetino made a major stop on the line covering for keeper Clare Gagne, deflecting a Clemson shot away from the goal to keep the Tigers off the board in the 51st minute. Four minutes later, Linda Ullmark dispossessed a Clemson defender to feed Kate Faasse, who fired a shot up and over the keeper to make it 3-0. A penalty drawn in the 58th minute — again by Dahlien — saw the junior forward step up to slot home her first goal of the campaign.

Carolina’s final two goals came in the 70th and 87th minutes, each representing the first goals with the program for a pair of defenders. A UNC corner kick saw the ball headed out toward the edge of the penalty box, where Emerson Elgin stepped up to fire a one-timer shot that rocketed into the goal. Alexa Wojnovich — who played at Carrboro High School and returned to North Carolina as a grad student after four seasons at Villanova — made it 6-0 thanks to her own shot from the left side of the penalty box, which slipped between the keeper and left post.

The Tar Heels will have just more than a week off before their next matchup, which is the team’s final road game of the regular season. Carolina will take on No. 22 Florida State on Friday, Oct. 25 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

 

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter

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