UNC women’s soccer loses NCAA championship game to Stanford in penalty kick shootout

In four decades, Anson Dorrance has seen just about every situation imaginable as the North Carolina women’s soccer coach.

But what transpired in rain-soaked northern California left Dorrance and his staff scrambling last weekend to equip the No. 2 Tar Heels for what became a dramatic showdown against top-ranked Stanford University in the College Cup finale.

Dorrance’s staff had to buy rain cleats Saturday and deliver them to Silicon Valley in time to prepare his team to stop one of the country’s most potent offenses.

The boots helped North Carolina (24-2-1) to shut down Stanford (24-1) over 110 taut minutes of hard-marking, strategic soccer. But in the end, the NCAA title went to Stanford in a heart-throbbing penalty shootout 5-4 in front of 9,591 fans at San Jose’s Major League Soccer stadium. The game drew the 10th largest crowd in history for a women’s final.

“We were much more secure against an extraordinary team,” Dorrance said of having the cleats on a cool, but rainless evening. “At least we were in a position to challenge these amazing one-on-one artists.”

Dorrance complained about the elements after the Tar Heels escaped with a 2-1 victory over Washington State on a rain-slick Friday night in the semifinals. He equated his players to ice skating across the pitch.

The rain was heavy much of Saturday before the storm retreated by Sunday morning. However, the field at Avaya Stadium was as slippery as an ice rink.

Sophomore midfielder Brianna Pinto said the new boots helped defenders handle the likes of Stanford striker Sophia Smith, who scored three goals from the right flank against UCLA in the semifinals.

Pinto’s aggressive play forced Smith to change directions and try to find a crease in the center of the field.

“She can go either way,” Pinto said. “You have to expect the unexpected. We were able to change direction a little bit better with the cleats.”

UNC shuts out Stanford's offense

It was not only Pinto. It took a collective effort from the Tar Heels to shut out Stanford’s offense for only the second time this season. And North Carolina began the College Cup at a disadvantage because it had lost injured midfielder Emily Fox, who is one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy given to the player of the year.

Without Fox running the show, the coaches took a gamble by changing the formation. Dorrance credited assistant Damon Nahas with recommending a 4-3-2-1 lineup that was foreign to the players.

“We did it on the fly,” Dorrance said. “We chatted about it on Saturday and talked to the players in the locker room. The first time they saw a 4-3-2-1 was yesterday and we didn’t train it.”

No matter. It was effective. Dorrance praised Morgan Goff for stepping in to help the central defenders stymie Stanford target forward Maddie Haley, whose father Charles Haley was an NFL star with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

“Her ability to hold the ball up, spin a central defender and slip balls through and go in on her own is remarkable,” Dorrance said. “We were spitballing because we lost a significant player before we got here.”

The Tar Heels’ plan worked perfectly as Haley could not find the charging strikers she usually feeds. She also could not hold the ball long enough to create a threat.

Tar Heels' history of success

North Carolina, which has won a record 22 national titles, appeared in position to add to its treasure chest. This year, the Tar Heels had to defeat three Pac-12 schools en route to the final. That included the riveting victory over Washington State in the semifinals and 3-2 triumph over USC in the quarterfinals.

But North Carolina could not get past the penalty shootout that started with Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer stopping Taylor Otto on the first attempt. It ended with Meyer blocking Tori Hansen just before Stanford fullback Kiki Pickett converted the game-winner with a confident kick that found the left side of the net.

But it was riveting to the end as Dickey, who made a huge stop with two minutes left in the second overtime, scoring a penalty of her own then blocking the next Stanford shot to give her team a chance.

It just was not quite enough.

“We called it ‘Redemption Year’ all year and that’s why it hurts more,” Dickey said of the defeat. “But we challenged one of the best teams.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 1:52 AM.