GoHeels Exclusive: Championship Vibes

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

CARY, N.C. — This time a year ago, all Emily Fox and Alessia Russo could do was watch.

Days before the 2018 ACC Tournament began, Fox received a call from Anson Dorrance, who told her she had been named to the U.S. women's national team's roster for a pair of matches in Europe. Both would cause her to miss a few of North Carolina's postseason matches. But all her teammates knew she had to go and that they needed to step up in her stead.

Navigating the ACC Tournament without her initially didn't seem too daunting. It became that much harder, though, when Russo broke her right leg in UNC's regular-season finale against Wake Forest.

Even without two of their best players, both first-team All-ACC honorees in 2018, the Tar Heels reached the ACC Tournament championship game. But they fell just short of adding another trophy to their impressive collection, losing 3-2 to Florida State. Russo was forced to watch from the stands. Fox had to follow along via Twitter.

In Carolina's return to the ACC Tournament championship game on Sunday, though, both juniors made their presence felt.

Less than two minutes into the second overtime period against No. 1-ranked and undefeated Virginia, Fox fed a long ball over the top to Russo from the right side of the pitch. The English forward ran onto it and maneuvered her way past a defender and into the penalty area. Then, she fired. Cavalier goalkeeper Michaela Moran did all she could to stop Russo's right-footed shot. But it whizzed past her and into the back of the cage, far post, low, the perfect spot to drive a strike with pace to win a game.

"I don't really remember it, to be honest," said Russo when asked moments later to describe the goal that sealed UNC's thrilling 2-1 victory.

But surely she won't forget the ensuing celebration.

Before the public address announcer could even shout "Tar Heel goal" over the Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park sound system, Russo, Fox and all their teammates had their hands on UNC's 22nd ACC Tournament trophy. The championship marked the second of three captured by Carolina teams Sunday, as field hockey won the ACC Tournament earlier in the day and women's tennis senior Sara Daavettila clinched the Oracle ITA Fall National Championship singles title a few hours later.

As joyful as the Tar Heels were, their most boisterous cheers came when Russo, who also scored two goals in the ACC semifinal win over NC State, was announced as the tournament MVP. The significance of that wasn't lost on her, considering where she was at this time last year.

"Injuries are horrible, but they're part of the game," she said. "And I think being sidelined was tough, but it makes the highs so much better when you come out."

For Russo and her teammates, there have been several highs this season – such as their first game at the new soccer and lacrosse stadium, Dorrance Field Dedication Day, beating rival Florida State in the regular season for the fourth straight year, and securing the program's 23rd ACC regular-season championship, just to name a few.

Still, their latest accomplishment is in its own tier.

Entering the game, Virginia was one of only two undefeated teams in the nation, the other being BYU, and had spent the past eight weeks atop the United Soccer Coaches poll. Carolina hadn't defeated a top-ranked team in that poll since November 30, 2012, when it knocked off Stanford in the NCAA Tournament semifinals. Nor had it faced the Cavaliers this season.

"It was a big stage and an opportunity to prove ourselves," Maycee Bell said, "and I think that's what we did."

Bell played a crucial role in that, scoring her second goal of the season just 5:47 into the match. Lotte Wubben-Moy launched a corner kick into the box, and the 5-foot-11 defender leapt up and redirected the ball over the defensive line and into the back net, giving UNC a 1-0 lead.

"Before the game, Anson challenged me to go up and win the balls in the corner," said Bell, the ACC Freshman of the Year. "So, I just took the challenge, and it was awesome."

"Gosh, I wish it was that simple all the time," Dorrance chirped.

Even with the early lead, the Tar Heels continued doing what they do: relentlessly attack. They tallied 13 shots and 10 corner kicks in regulation. No Virginia opponent had recorded more than six corner kicks this season. Carolina's 16 shots for the game also proved to be the most against the Cavaliers this season.

UNC, however, couldn't find a second goal in the first 90 minutes. And in the 68th minute, Virginia knotted the score at one when Diana Ordonez, the team's points leader, pounced on a deflected free kick and buried a shot from 12 yards out into the back of the net.

That was the Cavaliers' only shot in the second half. But it was also the only one they needed to send their sixth match of the season to overtime.

"What was extraordinary is the number of chances we created against a great team," Dorrance said. "In the first half, I was overjoyed with our performance. But one of the risks we take by playing a high-pressing game is the prospect of us losing our legs eventually, which started to happen, certainly in the second half."

For that reason, Dorrance said he and assistant coach Damon Nahas discussed the prospect of setting a deeper line of confrontation heading into overtime. Their conversation was brief, though. Instead of changing their approach, they elected to try to win the game "the way we play."

And they did, as if there was ever any doubt.

After watching Virginia rally for a 2-1 overtime victory over Florida State in the ACC semifinals on Friday, Dorrance said he knew the Cavaliers were resilient. He thought Sunday's win proved his team is, too.

"In these huddles, it's not like in between the game and the overtimes we (the coaches) are saying anything to them, not really," Dorrance said. "And what I'm sensing is an incredible energy. They're on their own mission, and I'm along for the ride."

"The thing I'm most happy with is they're playing for each other," he added. "There is no more powerful motivation than playing for the person on your left and on your right, behind you and in front of you. And you could see that today. For me, I've coached a lot of championship teams, and that ingredient is critical. And I'm seeing it in this team."

Back in August, Russo said "a dream season" would consist of winning the ACC regular-season championship, the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels have accomplished two of those tasks. Now, they'll look to complete the sweep.

Announced as one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon, Carolina will have the opportunity to play at Dorrance Field until the College Cup in San Jose, California, should it advance that far. UNC can take a step toward that with a win over Belmont in Saturday's first-round game at 6 p.m., the team's first NCAA Tournament match since the 1-0 loss to Florida State in last season's national title game in Cary.

Russo watched that match from the stands, too. This time, she'll be able to make a difference, as she has shown throughout this season and demonstrated again Sunday.

"It's a new season and it's hopefully time to put things right," Russo said. "We've been working so hard since the final four (last season). We kind of drew a line under it, and it's a new season and it's a new group of girls. And we're ready to go attack the NCAA Tournament."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Maycee Bell

Emily Fox

Alessia Russo

Lotte Wubben-Moy

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