The following is a game story written for JOMC 191: Sportswriting, where I covered the UNC women's soccer team.

Carolina comes back to beat Virginia

It took some late-game heroics, but North Carolina won its first women’s soccer home game in 41 days.

Carolina overcame a sloppy performance with two goals in the game’s final ten minutes to edge Virginia 2-1 at Fetzer Field Saturday. It was the team’s first game in Chapel Hill since a 5-1 victory over Washington Sept. 8.

“We’re thrilled to be at home and to beat a good team and to beat them the way we did,” Coach Anson Dorrance said of his team’s late rally.

The game-winning goal came with less than seven minutes left when Anne Morrell’s high-arcing shot from 40 yards out drifted over the Cavalier defense and into the net.

With UNC forward Alyssa Ramsey chasing down a Lindsay Tarpley pass, UVa. goalkeeper Anne Abernethy ran out and hastily cleared the bouncing ball away from the box. It went straight to Morrell, who spotted her chance and took it.

“I saw the keeper out and thought ‘Oh my gosh, I can do it,’” Morrell said. “I got the ball, headed it down and just lofted it in there.”

Ramsey scored the other UNC goal and Tarpley had two assists for the Tar Heels (13-1-2, 3-1 in the ACC).

Virginia (7-5-2, 0-3) got on the board first when Carolina goalie Aly Winget got caught out of her net and could not get back time to stop Sarah Huffman’s 18-yard shot midway through the first half.

The Cavaliers would take the 1-0 lead into halftime and hold it until the 81st minute, despite intense pressure from the Tar Heel offense. UNC outshot Virginia 9-3 in the second half and 14-5 in the game. The Tar Heels had seven corner kicks to just two for Virginia.

When Tarpley got the ball off a corner kick she shot and hit the crossbar. The ball bounced to a waiting Ramsey, who knocked home her Atlantic Coast Conference-leading 12th goal of the season to tie the score.

“ It was lucky that the ball popped out where I happened to be standing because I was just hanging out at the top of the box in case something like that happened,” Ramsey said.

Virginia had two great chances to retake the lead shortly after Ramsey’s goal, but each time UNC goalkeeper Jenni Branam was there to make a diving save.

Branam and Winget shared time in net for the fourth straight game. Branam started, but was replaced by Winget after 20 minutes. Branam reentered at the 65:11 mark and finished with three saves while Winget had none.

Abernethy had six saves for the Cavaliers. The UVa. team was also credited with a save, as they cleared balls from the goal line on a few occasions.

Though happy with the win, the Tar Heels were not pleased with their play for most of the game.

“We didn’t even play well until the end of the game and we’re kind of making a habit of it,” Ramsey said. “That’s not a good thing to have as part of your team’s temperament to come out really slow and kind of lackadaisical.”

In the team’s only loss of the season, October 10 against North Carolina State, Carolina fell behind twice and was unable to come back. In the next game it took a second half comeback and a double-overtime golden goal for UNC to beat Clemson.

“We’re a team that plays by necessity. If it’s 0-0, we’re sort of on cruise control. If someone scores a goal, we amp it up a bit. If the game’s about to end we’re like a bunch of crazies,” Dorrance said. “We’re going to see if we can correct this a bit and start a game like we finish it.”

A crowd of 2085 showed up to watch the women’s game and the men’s match between Carolina and NC State that followed.

The Carolina women are in first place in the ACC with three games remaining. Their next match is Sunday at home against Duke.