No. 11 UNC Dominates No. 16 Notre Dame For A 2-0 Win

Friday, September 20

Chapel Hill

6 p.m.

North Carolina

4-1-2

#16 Notre Dame

3-2-1

UNC

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 20, 2019 | Men's Soccer

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By: T.J. Scholl

CHAPEL HILL --- No. 11 North Carolina (4-1-2) held No. 16 Notre Dame (3-2-1) to one shot on goal on Friday night for a dominant 2-0 win in front of the home crowd in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels out shot the Fighting Irish 15-7 in the game as Jelani Pieters recorded the game-winning goal in the 14th minute while Blake Malone doubled the lead in the 68th minute with his first collegiate goal.

North Carolina was dialed in from the opening whistle as the Heels came out of the gates clicking on all cylinders. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Heels led the Irish 3-0 in shots and 4-0 in corners as they barraged the Notre Dame back line. In the 5th minute, Jack Skahan almost opened the scoring with an absolute wonder strike from 30 yards out, but it didn't have quite enough dip on it as it banged off the crossbar.

It wasn't until the 14th minute that UNC got what they had been looking for as they took a 1-0 lead thanks to determined Pieters. After a shot by Raul Aguilera was saved by Notre Dame goalie Duncan Turnbill, the ball bounced around the box and Pieters was able to find the ball and tap it into the back of the net for his second goal of the season.

After scoring, North Carolina continued to control play during the first half. Skahan and Martin Salas both had good looks to double the lead, but they couldn't beat Turnbill. UNC held Notre Dame to only one shot in the first half and managed a total of 11 of its own. Although the Tar Heels had a few other opportunities, the score remained 1-0 after 45 minutes.

At the start of the second half, the Fighting Irish came out strong and almost tied the game in the 56th minute with a 30 yard half-volley that collided off the crossbar and bounced out of bounds.

With some back and forth play for the next 12 minutes, it was the Tar Heels who found the back of the net in the 68th minute to take a 2-0 lead. Off a Skahan corner kick, Malone climbed the ladder and soared over his defender to punish the ball to the back post. The freshman's first collegiate goal was the insurance the Tar Heels needed to finish off the game.

Both teams traded possession for the remainder of the game with Notre Dame recording its only shot on goal in the 88th minute, for Alec Smir's only action of the night, as the Heel won 2-0.

The Tar Heels are now 2-0 in ACC play after defeating No. 8 Virginia Tech and No. 16 Notre Dame. Next up, the Tar Heels welcome the No. 15 Duke Blue Devils to town on Friday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.