The post season began with another run to the ACC tournament finals. After defeating Virginia Tech 2-0 at Dorrance field, the semifinals held at Wake Med, would mark the third match up of the season with that school down the road. Yes I know it's Duke. They were excellent this season. I can admit it. They were the tournament's and nation's number one team. They were also losing their long time Coach. Robbie Church had announced this would be his final season leading the Blue Devils. That had to be extra motivation. Carolina/Duke is the biggest rivalry in sports and it's more fun when both teams are good anyway. Duke had gotten two wins; but the Tar Heels were rising. This semifinal also marked the return of Trinity Armstrong to UNC's lineup. That's an important detail. The team was finally intact and she definitely announced her presence. The Tar Heels won 2-1. Videos courtesy of the ACC Digital Network.
The finals meant another match up with the Florida State Seminoles. They were always a problem. The Tar Heels played great; but in the end, we departed Wake Med Soccer Park the runners up again. When we were walking back to the car, my son said, "I prayed about it. I think God has something bigger in store for the team." I'd gone from hoping to believing it. Moving on!
The next day, the brackets were revealed. There are four brackets with sixteen teams each. North Carolina was a two seed in one section and looking ahead if the seeds held (meaning no upsets) the road to a National championship was paved with match ups with both the Seminoles and the Blue Devils. Before any of that though, the NCAA tournament set up for soccer is that the first round games are played on the home field of the higher seed, rounds 2 and 3 at the home of seeds one and two; and round four on the home field of the highest seed left. So, that two seed meant at least three home games as long as they remained in the tournament.
Round one: It was fun. One goal each for Olivia Thomas, Bella Gaetino, Bella Sember and Caitlin Mara and two goals each for Kate Fasse and Linda Ullmark.
What a game. So grateful for that win in regulation. First, I am honestly not a big fan of the golden goal overtime in which the first score wins. Second, we were freezing. The temperature wasn't that low at forty-five; but the wind was swirling making the real feel thirty-five degrees. We had left our blanket in the car. Fortunately another fan loaned us an extra one they had and I wrapped it around my son. Then to add to the excitement of the evening, my son checked his phone on the way home and saw that Vanderbilt and Florida State were in overtime. He watched the rest live. Vanderbilt won in a penalty kick shootout. The number one seed in our section of the bracket was out, which meant UNC, as the two seed, would be able to play at Dorrance field until the College Cup.
Round three was against the six seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers who had upset the three seed South Carolina Gamecocks in round two. This one was a bit easier on my heart. Moving on! Just like that the tournament was down to eight teams.
After three rounds, one thing was clear if it had not been before. The ACC has amazing women's soccer programs. Despite defending champion Florida State's early departure, of the eight teams remaining, six were members of the ACC. North Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and new ACC member Stanford had all survived the first three rounds. We were halfway to the end.
Round four required extra time. The one had something no other game in the tournament did so far and no other game would, a goal against the Tar Heels. The Penn State Nittany Lions scored the game's first goal. After more tense minutes they thought they'd scored again; however after a review that seemed to take forever, it was determined there was an offside violation. Deep breaths...deep breaths. The good thing was, other than those two moments, UNC was playing really well. At halftime I looked at my son and said. We need the tying goal quickly. Bella Gaetino gave us a highlight scoring the goal four minutes into the second half. It was number six on Sports Center top 10.
That was it for regulation though. Upon request, I explained the overtime rules to some folks around us. In a few words, a goal wins the game. In more than a few words, the teams would get two ten minute overtime periods but if someone scored, the game would end. If no one scored, there would be a penalty kick shootout. With just under three minutes to go in the first overtime, Olivia Thomas attempted a shot that hit a Penn State player before going over the end line; so UNC got a corner. Tessa (Dellarose) sent in a beauty. I only breathed long enough to say, "Whoa that's a good ball." Next thing I saw was the back of the net shaking. I honestly didn't know who had put it in. Of course my son immediately yells "Yes Kate!" The fans around us asked me to confirm it was over. Then we celebrated. Moving On!
I logged into Ticketmaster to buy College Cup tickets before we even left Dorrance field. This was what I always did when UNC made it that far. But the tickets were gone. The only ones available were for the finals. The next morning, I tried logging in to my Rams Club (UNC Alumni) account thinking each school would be allotted some tickets. Nothing. Only resale sites had tickets and they wanted hundreds of dollars for them. I tried for days. Eventually it sunk in that we would be watching the semi-finals from home. My son took it well. I know he was disappointed as we'd always missed a game or two in previous seasons due to his own soccer obligations. This was our first chance to see every post season game.
I purchased tickets for the finals and we waited. It was an all ACC College Cup. Wake Forest defeated Stanford in the first game. In the second game, UNC won its fourth and final match up with Duke 3-0. I saw the first and third goals; but I was not in the room when the second goal was scored. Olivia Thomas got behind the defense pursuing an amazing ball over the top from Bella (Gaetino) and was one on one with the goalie. Finished with a great strike as the goalie came charging out of her area to try to stop it. While I didn't see it until later, I was certainly entertained with my son's narration of it. I wish I'd had a camera.
"Oh! Good ball 'Tino! Get it "Liv! Yes 'Liv! Finish! YEEEESSSSSS! TWO NIL! TWO NIL!" He went running through the house like he'd scored a goal.
It was so cold out there it reminded me of a tournament my son has played in a few times called "The Beast of the East" where the temperature was usually between 20 and 30 degrees with wind chills in the teens. One year it even had the nerve to rain. I still wish we could have been at Wake Med that Friday. Soccer parent life is not for everyone. Scorching heat, freezing cold, crazy wind, or driving rain or any combination of those, you're outside. Thankfully the temperature would be significantly higher on Monday. Moving On!
Monday came fast. We proceeded through the school day and headed out to Wake Med Park after feeding our dog. We arrived well before the gates opened. They had this beauty on display.
We took seats on the bottom row so my son could have a field level view. We try to do that whenever possible to duplicate the view he has when he plays. My son turned to me with an incredibly serious face. He said, "This is for the national championship. Do you think they're nervous? How do you prepare for something like this?" As many times as I'd watched one Carolina team or another play for a National Championship, I wasn't sure how to answer him because I knew he was asking from an athlete's perspective. He was also asking out of his genuine care for them; so, I told him they probably prepare mentally the same as they do for other games because changing the routine would put too much emphasis on the largeness of the moment. "I think there's always nerves in a one and done situation; but focus on what's gotten them to that point is probably what they're doing. You pray and meditate before every game. If you've reached a championship of a tournament no need to change what's been working unless there is some outside force that requires it like an injury or illness or bad weather. We're fortunate. The injuries are behind us, the team is intact and it's around fifty degrees and just cloudy. They have made it this far being who they are and that is what is going to get them through tonight." Thankfully he was okay with that answer.
It was an intense first half. Wake Forest was super aggressive and got a couple of shots on goal early in the contest. Clare (Gagne) made some great saves. There was no score at halftime. It felt like a game one goal could win. In the second half UNC was definitely the aggressor. With just over thirty minutes left, Olivia (Thomas) was fouled when she turned to head into the eighteen yard box. This gave UNC a free kick just outside of it. We stood up. My son said, "It's in her range. She should shoot it." I said, "Well, you'd know." But then I asked if it was direct or indirect (something I'm trying to learn to recognize). If it was indirect, she would not be allowed to shoot it and score. He said she could shoot it. Thankfully, he was right again.
My goodness what a moment! In a game that had been grind, full of changes in possession, defensive stops, fouls and yellow cards, Carolina had broken through and Olivia (Thomas) continued what had been a fantastic tournament for her. In soccer they say you're most vulnerable after you score. We cheered hard to encourage them to keep going. Wake Forest was not going away and soccer is a sport where it just takes one moment to change the game. It was amazing to watch. UNC was first to almost every ball. There were some nerve wracking moments; but as always they had each other's backs. UNC did not allow any shots on goal in the second half.
For the entirety of the season most of the players on the field were in their first or second year of the program. The championship game was no different. Seven of the eleven starters fell into those categories. Four were freshmen, one a sophomore (who was injured most of her freshman season) and two were graduate transfers from the Ivy League. North Carolina had been in the championship game just two years prior; but while there were several players left that were on that team, there was only one player (Emerson Elgin) who saw significant time on the field during that game. But juniors Kate Fasse, Maddie Dahlien and Tessa Dellarose were excellent. Freshmen in 2022, they had grown into incredible players and leaders. The way this team came together was nothing short of extraordinary. The staff and Coach Dorrance completed an incredible task evaluating and composing this roster and Coach Nahas, Coach Ducar and Coach Bates Leone had steered the ship beautifully. As we counted down the last few seconds I thought about those previous teams, especially the 2022 group who was a few seconds away when the tide turned. I thought of the seniors. I thought of Coach Dorrance. I thought of Clare and Aria (the graduate transfers who were in the starting eleven). As a whole, fans have complicated feelings about the transfer portal; but those two will go down as two of the greatest gifts from it. I allowed myself to begin to celebrate with about ten seconds left because the ball was on our end. I could have stayed and watched them celebrate...well...for however long they were out there. Watching the confetti fly for them was everything. But so was this.
I took this photo moments after the clock ran out and the team began to celebrate. We shared a hug and then he slowly lowered himself down. I think the reality was slowly setting in on what he'd witnessed. I remembered his words three weeks prior when we stood in this same spot after the team had lost to Florida State in the ACC tournament finals. He looked at me on the walk back to the car and said he believed there was something bigger in store for the team. He was correct. I'm not sure this entire two part blog has the accurate words to describe what I felt watching him soak in this win. I'll always cherish these memories. Thank you son. Thank you UNC Women's Soccer.
Comments
Post a Comment