Carolina dominated all night against No. 6 seed Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 on Sunday night at Dorrance Field, beating the Golden Gophers 3-0 to advance to the national quarterfinals for the third straight season and 35th time overall. The win is the program’s 150th in NCAA Tournament play. No other program has more than 83.

The Tar Heels didn’t wait until the 90th minute to score this time, taking the lead in the 17th minute on freshman Linda Ullmark’s sixth goal of the season and third of the NCAA Tournament. Evelyn Shores doubled the lead in the final 90 seconds of the first half, tapping home an Aven Alvarez cross from point-blank range. Olivia Thomas added Carolina’s third goal in the 57th minute.

On the evening, UNC held decisive advantages in total shots (16-7) and shots on goal (6-2), keeping the Gophers off the scoresheet despite facing six Minnesota corner kicks. Carolina goalkeeper Clare Gagne made two saves to keep the clean sheet, securing UNC’s third shutout in three NCAA Tournament matches.

Carolina is now 19-5 on the season and will host the national quarterfinals at Dorrance Field for the first time since the 2019 season. The Tar Heels will host No. 4 seed Penn State next weekend for the right to advance to the College Cup in Cary.

 

Featured image via UNC Women’s Soccer on Twitter


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