No. 13 Panthers outclassed in ACC clash with No. 5 Tar Heels, fall 4-0 on the road

No. 13 Pitt women’s soccer (11-2, 4-1 ACC) traveled to Chapel Hill on Thursday and faced off against the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels (10-3, 3-2 ACC). North Carolina shut out the Panthers 4-0 for their seventh all-time win in seven tries against them.

The Tar Heels pressured the Pitt defense immediately out of the gate, with two near-chances in just the first five minutes. A Pitt turnover in the third minute led to a deflected shot in the UNC attacking third, and Pitt senior goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini came across her net to stop a header from UNC redshirt first-year forward Ally Sentnor in the fourth minute.

The Panthers had a chance to clear a UNC corner kick in the 11th minute, but they didn’t set their feet and UNC junior forward Sam Meza collected the loose ball and shot it from 25 yards out. Lazzarini didn’t get to the shot in time and UNC took a 1-0 lead.

The difference in pedigree shone through in this game. UNC, a program that won 13 of the first 15 NCAA women’s soccer championships, looked much faster in the first half. Pitt tried to bounce back with an offensive push in the 17th minute, but senior forward Landy Mertz’s shot bounced weakly into UNC redshirt first-year goalkeeper Emmie Allen’s hands.

Pitt only registered four shots in the entire first half while the UNC offense took over for the rest of the half. Lazzarini made all six of her saves in the initial 45 minutes, but Tar Heel senior defender Tori Hansen scored on a header from a corner kick in the 32nd minute, doubling her squad’s lead.

The Heels struck again six minutes later, as junior forward Talia Dellaperuta took the ball after a Pitt turnover and picked the top right corner from 17 yards away. Lazzarini had no chance to save the long-range shot and UNC took a 3-0 lead. Despite some faint chances from sophomore forward Mackenzie Evers, the half ended with UNC outshooting Pitt 13-4.

The Pitt offense, which had scored 40 goals in the season up to this point, remained stagnant in the second half. But the Panthers didn’t really have much of a chance with only four shots on goal on the night.

As if three UNC goals weren’t enough, the Tar Heels scored one more goal in the 60th minute. Sophomore midfielder Emily Colton found first-year forward Maddie Dahlien breaking away from the defense. Lazzarini came out of her net to try and challenge, but Dahlien poked it right over her shoulder and into the net for her first ever collegiate goal.

The game ended with that 4-0 score, but not before Pitt had a chance to break through with a penalty kick. Sophomore forward Sarah Schupansky drove towards the net when UNC senior forward Emily Moxley pushed her to the ground in the 18-yard box. Despite Mertz and Schupansky having an opportunity to take the shot, senior defender Ashton Gordon took the penalty kick. Her shot stayed too close to the middle of the net, and Allen made the easy save.

Both teams started subbing in their bench players en masse around the 70th minute, and the Pitt offense still couldn’t muster a shot after the missed penalty shot. The final whistle sounded as UNC handed Pitt their first shutout loss of the season. 

The Panthers will stay in North Carolina for their next game, a matchup with No. 7 Duke on Sunday, Oct. 9. The game will air at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.