North Carolina women’s soccer to play for national title
The University of North Carolina’s women’s soccer team might have won the NCAA College Cup on twenty-one occasions, but coach Anson Dorrance still thinks they’re the underdogs heading into Sunday’s national championship game against Stanford University in San Jose, California.
Hamstrung by a number of injuries, especially that of star midfielder Emily Fox, UNC is “juggling” and “trying to change things in the lineup in order to be competitive,” Anson said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s going to be one of the rare moments for us to be the underdog, and we’re going to play that card to what extent we can,” he added. “This is pure opportunity; we’re playing with house money.”
The Tar Heels will be playing in their second national championship game in a row, the team having lost 1-0 to Florida State in last year’s final. According to sophomore Brianna Pinto, that loss has motivated them all season. “This has been a huge conversation we’ve been having,” she said. In the end, she thinks that the team learned that they need to “devote every ounce of your being to leaving it all on the field,” in order to avenge last year’s result.
The team will be facing a star-studded Stanford team that Anson described as a “juggernaut” of women’s soccer. Specifically, Anson said that the Cardinal has “one of the best front lines of all time in college soccer,” led by star forward Catarina Macario.
As such, he’s relying on his team’s stellar defense to subdue the threat. “If we can dodge bullets and counter-attack effectively, maybe we can steal one or two,” he said.
Despite their setbacks, Anson says that his team is “excited for the challenge,” and his confidence is buoyed by their strong freshman class and resilient group of seniors.
He’s particularly impressed with forward Bridgette Andrzejewski, whose resurgence has helped transform the group’s mentality. “Bridgette’s evolution as a soccer player and a human being has been remarkable,” Anson said.
According to Anson, Bridgette “would be the first one to admit that she thought the universe revolved around her when she first came in as a freshman.”
“I had a conference with her in January and I let her know that I thought she has huge potential but she hasn’t really achieved it,” he said. “What she’s realized is how much her relationships with the kids on her team are important to her. All of a sudden… you saw this 180 in every respect.”
That resiliency helped push the team past Washington State in Friday night’s semifinal game. The Tar Heels went down 1-0 early on but managed to rally back to win 3-2 courtesy of goals from junior Alessia Russo and freshman Alexis Strickland. It was the second consecutive game in which UNC came back from behind, a track record that Anson credited to their “good habits” and “hard work.”
With all odds against them on Sunday, that mental fortitude will most definitely be key for the Tar Heels.
This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 1:20 PM.