Junior forward Brianna Pinto–an All-American from Durham–scored the only goal Sunday afternoon at Dorrance Field, propelling the UNC women’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies.
Pinto’s goal came just under 15 minutes into the match on an assist from freshman Sam Meza, while the Tar Heel defense held strong for the clean sheet the rest of the way–improving head coach Anson Dorrance’s team to 2-0-0 (1-0-0) to begin the 2020 season.
“Virginia Tech always poses a tough threat and one of our points of emphasis was setting the tone early,” Pinto said afterwards. “We pride ourselves on bringing the energy from the whistle and I thought we did that today. Personally, I wanted to win as many fifty-fifty balls as I could and I wanted give myself the best chance to score. I was just thankful to be able to put one away.”
The Tar Heels had a 19-3 advantage in shots and earned a whopping 13 corner kick opportunities compared to just one for the Hokies (0-3-0, 0-2-0).
Virginia Tech managed to hold off a number of Tar Heel chances, but was unable to shake things up with a goal of its own.
“I am really happy to be 2-0. Virginia Tech is a really scrappy team and it is also nerve-wracking to play them,” Dorrance said. “Coach Adair does a wonderful job organizing his team and putting a gritty squad out there. They are a really aggressive team and we could feel them while we were playing.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels look to make it three wins in a row to begin the season on Sunday, Sept. 27, when they head to Durham to take on the rival Duke Blue Devils. That game is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Photo via Dakota Moyer
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