When most people take into consideration ladies’s school soccer, they consider the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — this system that has produced numerous U.S. nationwide staff standouts and has extra nationwide titles than anybody else. No coach in any NCAA Division I sport has gained as many nationwide championships as former Tar Heels’ coach Anson Dorrance’s 21, and UNC added one other to that whole final yr when Damon Nahas took the reins and captured one other title.
Many anticipate the Tar Heels to contend for an additional championship this yr, as they had been voted the preseason No. 1 within the United Soccer Coaches Ballot.
The Tennessee Volunteers, nevertheless, are forcing of us to readjust their projections.
Behind a pair of objectives from Shae O’Rourke, Tennessee defeated North Carolina 2-0 on the opening day of Division I ladies’s soccer on Thursday evening, marking the primary time ever that the Vols have defeated the No. 1 ranked staff within the nation. It’s additionally the primary time since 2002 that the reigning NCAA champion misplaced its season-opener — Santa Clara beat Stanford that yr.
The Girl Vols broke the scoring open within the 57th minute when O’Rourke — a redshirt junior switch from South Carolina — acquired a exact go from Jenna Stayart that despatched O’Rourke into the ultimate third with a defender and the goalkeeper to beat. After slicing by UNC’s charging keeper and outrunning the defender, O’Rourke lofted a right-footed shot from outdoors of the field that landed softly contained in the far submit for her first purpose in a Tennessee uniform.
And that rating would have been sufficient, however O’Rourke added yet another within the seventy fifth minute by redirecting Sarah Kate Rath’s low cross from the correct wing and tucking the ball simply contained in the far submit. O’Rourke, who missed final season with an damage, scored 11 objectives in two years with the Gamecocks.
“We didn’t change something tonight for UNC,” Tennessee coach Joe Kirt mentioned. “We had been ourselves. This staff has been linked all yr. We discuss it on a regular basis—our voices, our power, taking care of teammates they usually did precisely that tonight. They coated for each other, stepped up and made performs.”
UNC bought off 14 photographs and put six of these makes an attempt on-frame, however couldn’t get a ball previous Tennessee sophomore goalkeeper Cayden Norris.
The Tar Heels suffered a pair of shutout defeats final season — to Duke and Stanford — earlier than occurring to win the nationwide title.
Tennessee didn’t obtain a single vote within the preseason coaches ballot. That’ll probably change when the subsequent one is launched.
