University of North Carolina Athletics
Green Means Go
September 10, 2015 | Women's Soccer
Note: This article originally appeared in the Sept. 8 issue of CAROLINA, the official magazine of the Rams Club and TarHeel athletics.
by Alex Zietlow
North Carolina women's soccer has been synonymous with certainty and dominance since the beginning of the college sport. With the expectations rolling high as they do every year, the seniors on this squad are intrinsically motivated to get back to the place where they ended their freshman year: on top.
Forward Summer Green is currently second on the team in scoring with four goals through North Carolina's 5-0-1 season. The senior wants nothing more than to give her teammates the experience of winning it all. “When we were freshmen, I didn't quite know what it was to even win a national championship, but over the years it has become more apparent how special it was,” Green said.
And the Heels are due.
The Tar Heels have never gone three consecutive years without a national championship, and the last time they won it was in 2012. But battling expectations can be challenging. With expectation comes pressure, and with pressure comes uncertainty – something North Carolina hasn't had to deal with all that much, ever. And on the current team, arguably no player has had to combat these expectations more than Green.
Prior to the 2014 season, the senior was put on the Hermann Trophy Watch List. While she had a solid season, she received less attention and fewer accolades than experts predicted at the beginning of the season. Green tries not to look at last year as a failure, but rather a year filled with “rewarding” “little victories” including the team's ACC co-championship.
“Yeah we didn't play as well last year. We didn't create as many goals last year. But we still tied with and beat some good teams,” Green said. “Personally, I always wish I could do better. I wish I could do more,” Green said. “I'm still very happy with what we did with the players we had.”
Historically, the Tar Heels have prided themselves on having a staunch, formidable defense as their most powerful asset. Before Friday's game against California, North Carolina allowed only 16 combined shots, and had outscored opponents 17-0. Head coach Anson Dorrance, pleased with his team's defensive performance thus far, shared that North Carolina's depth may be their greatest weapon. “We are going to play a very aggressive and pressing defense which is exhausting,” he said. “For us to play that way, we have to have a good bench – and this bench is superb.”
Friday, September 4th, North Carolina gave up their first goal in a 1-1 draw against the California Bears. All of a sudden, the Heels' assured dominance this year has been followed with uncertainty.
And the uncertainty is not unwarranted following the double-overtime battle against California, as the Heels faced questions regarding the health of cornerstone players and the team's ability to score goals.
Katie Bowen, New Zealand national team defender and preseason All-ACC selection, appeared to suffer an injury Friday. Two days later, the leader from the back played and contributed in the Heels' 2-1 victory over Southern California.
More notably, however, Alexa Newfield was unable to play last weekend because of a nagging knee injury that kept her from playing in 2013 and 2014. The sixth-year senior and co-captain leads the team with six goals, and having her on the sideline and not on the field proved to be significant in the Duke Nike Classic.
“The injury that took her out the last two years is raising its ugly head, so we're going to try something else,” Dorrance said. “We can't win games at the sacrifice of her health, so we're always going to have keeping her healthy a priority first . . . I'm just hoping we can get something out of her this year.”
Thus the pressure increases.
With Newfield day-to-day, a lot of the offensive responsibilities fall on Green, a player whose self-assessed role is primarily being a creator rather than a goal-scorer. As a playmaker, she looks to put “more and better balls in the box” for her teammates to convert on.
The health of leaders on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball is in question, but the high expectations remain in place. While Green holds a considerable amount of the offensive burden currently, she holds the talent to possibly speed up the development of potential that comes with the Heels' great depth.
And while great expectations creates great pressure; great opportunity breeds great moments. The Heels are accustomed to accumulating these great moments through their tradition of certainty and dominance; and while this is not the story this year, the Heels are nevertheless due for some great moments in 2015.
