Cox’s Goal Sends Tar Heels Past Wolfpack In Rivalry Game

Thursday, September 26

Chapel Hill, N.C

7 p.m.

North Carolina

9-1, 2-0ACC

NC State

5-4-1, 0-1-1ACC

NC State

North Carolina

Isabel Cox struck for the first game-winning goal in her career.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

September 26, 2019 | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (pdf)Photo Gallery Play by Play (pdf)Watch Highlights On YouTube Dorrance Post Game (mp3)

Lois Joel records her sixth assist of season

By: Dave Lohse

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – University of North Carolina freshman forward Isabel Cox scored in the 52^nd minute of the game to lift the Tar Heel women's soccer team past NC State 1-0 before 1,536 fans at the UNC Soccer Stadium.

The win lifted the Tar Heels to 2-0 in the ACC and 9-1 on the season while NC State fell to 5-4-1 overall and 0-1-1 in league play.

Cox and junior transfer Lois Joel completed a supremely executed give-and-go on the only goal of the match. Cox pushed the ball wide on the left side to Joel who returned it to the Greensboro first-year player who drove the ball from 15 yards out on the left side of the box inside the near post past NC State goalkeeper Jessica Berlin.

It was a night in which both teams had trouble putting the ball on frame. UNC outshot the Wolfpack 15-4, including an 11-0 margin in the first 45 minutes of play. But the Wolfpack did not put a shot on goal and the Tar Heels put only two. Alessia Russo forced a save by Berlin at 19:13 of the match and Cox's game-winner at 51:18 was the only other shot on frame.

The only other shot that almost found the back of the net was off the head of Brianna Pinto at 14:04. Russo sent a perfect ball from the left side goal line extended that Pinto ran on to, bouncing her shot off the underside of the bar. It ricocheted to the ground conveniently for the Wolfpack, bouncing into the field of play and out of danger.

The Tar Heels finished with a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Berlin played all 90 minutes for NC State and made one save. Marz Josephson played the first half for Carolina and Claudia Dickey played the second 45 minutes. Dickey faced all four shots by the Wolfpack.

Next up for Carolina is a 1 p.m. meeting with Notre Dame on Sunday. The Fighting Irish evened their record at 1-1 in the ACC on Thursday with a 4-0 drubbing of Pittsburgh at South Bend.

Sunday will also be dedication day for Dorrance Field as the UNC Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium turf will be named for the Tar Heels' legendary soccer mentor.

GAME NOTES

UNC improved to 46-2-2 all-time against the Wolfpack. This is the fourth game in a row in the series the two teams have played to a one-goal margin and third successive 1-0 game. The Wolfpack won 1-0 in 2016 at Chapel Hill and UNC won 1-0 in the ACC Tournament semifinals in 2017 in Charleston, S.C.
Cox's goal was her third of the season and the first game-winning goal of her career.
Lois Joel, a junior transfer from West Virginia, recorded her sixth assist of the year, the most of any Tar Heel. She is two assists ahead of Bridgette Andrzejewski and Ru Mucherera on the UNC scoring chart.
The clean sheet was the eighth shutout of the season for Carolina.