Tar Heels Glide By Bruins 5-0 In NCAA First Round

Saturday, November 16

Chapel Hill, N.C

6 p.m.

North Carolina

20-1-1

Belmont

8-9-5

Belmont

North Carolina

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

November 16, 2019 | Women's Soccer

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Russo's brace leads Carolina into NCAA second round

By: Dave Lohse

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The second-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team was powered by a pair of goals by Alessia Russo and a goal and two assists by Emily Fox in downing the Belmont Bruins 5-0 in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament at Dorrance Field. A crowd of 1,076 fans was on hand in frigid conditions to watch the Tar Heels advance in its opening NCAA Tournament game for the 38^th straight year.

UNC will now host a pair of second round NCAA Tournament games next Friday with Texas Tech playing Michigan in the first game at 3 p.m. and North Carolina facing Colorado in the second game at 6 p.m.. The winners of the two second round games on Friday will play in the NCAA third round next Sunday at Dorrance Field at 1 p.m.

Carolina outshot the Bruins 44-0 in the game and had a 9-0 edge in corner kicks. The 44 shots tied the NCAA record for shots in a tournament game, matching the 44 shots by Oklahoma State in a 9-1 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 11, 2011. Lily Herman made 12 saves for Belmont Saturday, giving her 131 this season and establishing a new Belmont school record for stops in a single campaign.

The Tar Heels scored three goals midway through the first half in a span of just 6:27 to break the game open. Alessia Russo finished from close range at the 21:06 mark off assists by Isabel Cox and Bridgette Andrzejewski to put UNC up 1-0. It was Russo's 10^th goal of the campaign.

Just 1:40 later, Carolina went up 2-0 as Andrzejewski scored her sixth goal of the season on a header in the box off a long cross by Emily Fox from the right side. It was Andrzejewski's first goal since scoring against Clemson on October 5. Then at 27:33, it was Fox's turn to find the back of the net as she dribbled through the Belmont defense and finished with a blast from the top of the box. It was Fox's first career goal.

UNC added two more goals in the second half. Russo notched her 11^th goal of the campaign and her fifth goal in the last three games, turning in the box for a left-footed finish off assists by Emily Fox and Lois Joel. That goal came at 53:48. Carolina finished up the scoring right at the 63-minute mark as Ru Mucherera finished from close range in the left side of the box. After a scramble for the ball, Zoe Redei back heeled a pass to Mucherera through a couple of defenders for the put away.

UNC improved to 20-1-1 on the season with the win. Belmont, the champion of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, finished the year with a record of 8-9-5.

GAME NOTES
• Russo's two goals give her 11 on the season. That is a career high for goals in a season. She had nine in her freshman year in 2017.
• Emily Fox's two assists give her a team-leading nine helpers this year. She has 17 assists in her career. Fox's goal in the 28^th minute was the first of her career.
• Lois Joel recorded her eighth assist, one behind the team lead held by Fox.
• Russo now leads the Tar Heels in goals this season with 11, one more than Brianna Pinto. Pinto leads Carolina in points with 24 and Russo is second on the squad with 23.
• Ru Mucherera now has five goals on the season. She has two more goals this season than she did in her first three years combined.
• Bridgette Andrzejewski now has six goals and six assists this season for 18 points. Her 18 points are the third highest total on the team.
• UNC's defense held Belmont without a shot. The last team be held without a shot by Carolina was High Point on November 11, 2017.
• The Tar Heels took 44 shots, equaling the most in a game in NCAA Tournament history. Oklahoma State took 44 shots against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 11, 2011.
• Carolina improved to 132-14-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
• UNC reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight year. Carolina has won 20 or more games in a season 28 times in its 41-year history.
• Saturday's meeting was the first ever between UNC and Belmont.
• UNC's previous mark for shots taken in an NCAA Tournament game was 43 against Hartford in 1989.