Arizona couldn’t defeat No. 9 North Carolina (4-1) on Thursday evening, but there were still a lot of small victories for the Wildcats (2-2-1) in the 2-1 loss. One of them was drawing 1,678 fans, a record for the UA soccer program.
“We haven’t played a top 10 team in a while, and I feel like we held our own,” said Arizona goalkeeper Sofia Cortes-Browne. “This is a good game for us, knowing we can play any team. They’re one of the most famous, like biggest programs in the NCAA, and we held our own…I
think it definitely showed something we had already believed as a team, that we can compete at this level.”
It didn’t hurt to have the support of a record crowd that included members of numerous other Arizona teams.
“It was just such a great environment being here with everybody, seeing all the fans,” Cortes-Browne said. “It definitely helped us compete.”
The Wildcats became just the second team to score on the Tar Heels this year, joining No. 5 Michigan State. The Spartans beat UNC 3-2 on Aug. 23 in Chapel Hill. North Carolina outscored its other three opponents 14-0. When its exhibition against Irish pro team Shelbourne FC is included, that jumps to 17-0.
Arizona did it by keeping an aggressive mindset. The Wildcats didn’t fall back and pack the box. They pushed forward.
“The team just continues to build and build their confidence,” said Arizona head coach Becca Moros. “I’ve said a few times how gritty they are, and I think they were gritty and aggressive and brave tonight. I don’t think there was anything tentative or holding back about them. Had we needed to drop into a lower block at some point, then we would have, but we didn’t need to. And I think we were still competing to try to get another goal even late into the game. So I think we didn’t need to do anything more defensive than we did.”
She was pleased with what the team did defensively when it needed to, though.
“I thought they worked extremely hard,” Moros said. “They’re very organized. We worked a lot on the cover positions. Carolina likes to dribble one to one from the flank, but cut inside. And the temptation is to feel like you are close enough to cover, but if you get flat, then they they kind of pinpoint that vulnerability. So it’s something we do all the time, anyways. It’s the way we defend naturally. But you have to be that much more aware of their their tendency to to dribble through things. A lot of time you can defend passing, but with them you have to be very aware of the dribbling lanes as well.”
The offensive aggressiveness earned the Wildcats several good chances, including an opportunity to go up 1-0 when a shot by Ally Brown went off the post in the 16th minute. It was the first shot by either team.
It looked like the Tar Heels might impose their will and run away with it when they created a number of chances midway through the first half. Leading into the 30th minute, they took four shots and kept Arizona under constant pressure. Two of the shots were on goal, but Cortes-Browne turned them back.
Two years ago, Arizona traveled to Chapel Hill and played a close 2-0 match against the Tar Heels. A big part of the Wildcats’ success that day was due to former goalkeeper Olivia Ramey. Cortes-Browne rose to the occasion just like her former teammate did.
Neither Cortes-Browne nor junior forward Jessica Bedolla played in the game at Chapel Hill. Cortes-Browne was away at the World Cup at the time, so she didn’t even experience being on the sidelines. Bedolla felt like this game was much different than the experience last time, though.
“It was an amazing difference,” Bedolla said. “Our first year, we knew they were gonna be good and whatever. We were a bit scared…but today our coach was like you just go out there and have fun and that’s what we did. We had each other’s backs. We knew that it was gonna be a tough game and we stuck with each other. We played well…We went after it.”
Cortes-Browne has been splitting time with fellow goalkeeper Laurynn Ziller, but she didn’t come out of the match at the half this time. It’s difficult to remove a player who turned away five chances in the first half, including saving a penalty kick.
“It felt so good to make that save to keep us in it early on,” Cortes-Browne said about the PK. “I think it definitely changed a little bit of the momentum.”
Up Next for Arizona Soccer
Dartmouth Big Green (2-1-2) @ Arizona Wildcats (2-2-1)
When: Sunday, Sept. 6 @ 1 p.m. MST
Where: Mulcahy Soccer Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
Streaming: ESPN+
Stats: Arizona Live Stats
The defensive miscues in the box hurt the Wildcats. While their keeper kept the match scoreless in the first half, she was put in the position of facing a second penalty kick in the second half. She couldn’t find the magic a second time, and the Tar Heels took a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute on their second penalty kick of the match.
UNC got itself into some defensive hot water when Caitlin Mara took out Cortes-Browne as she was trying to make a save in the 75th minute. Mara got a yellow card and the officials reviewed it for a possible upgrade. Ultimately, Mara was allowed to continue on. Just 14 seconds later, Arizona’s Leilani Cortez-Ramirez was also given a yellow card.
Overall, there were three reviews in the match. Both of the penalty kicks were also reviewed, but they were allowed to proceed in each situation.
“I think they’re soft,” Moros said about the PK calls. “I mean, I trust the refs reviewed them and looked at them, and if they’re fouls, they’re fouls. You know, it is what it is. They’re good at 1v1 dribbling, and if they got us wrong footed or something, and we stepped on them or did whatever, I mean, I can call it soft, but it’s still a foul, right? So at the end of the day, would I like them not to have two PKs? For sure, but I can’t say whether I disagree or not. But the refs are there, and they looked at it on the review, so I have to trust them.”
UNC scored its insurance goal in the 76th minute, less than 60 seconds after the offsetting cautions. It didn’t take the wind out of Arizona’s sails.
The Wildcats responded quickly. Bedolla put Arizona on the board in the 80th minute with an assist from Lainey Swanson. It was Bedolla’s second goal of the season, tying her with Mireya Stephenson for first on the team in both goals scored and points.
Bedolla has scored her two goals on just five shots. Four of those shots have been on goal for a team-high .800 SOG percentage.
Swanson’s assist was the first of her Wildcat career. She also has one goal, giving her three points this season. That ranks third on the team.
The Tar Heels outshot Arizona 19-5, but the Wildcats put all but one of their shots on goal.
Arizona will return to the field to face Dartmouth on Sunday. The Big Green salvaged a 1-1 draw against Arizona State on Thursday afternoon to improve to 2-1-2 on the season.
