CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Second-seeded North Carolina will host No. 6 seed BYU in the third round of the 2022 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on Dorrance Field. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals next weekend against an opponent and site to be determined.The Tar Heels advanced to the third round with a 3-1 victory over No. 7 seed Georgia on Thursday night. Ally Sentnor scored two goals and Talia Dellaperuta added a third with Avery Patterson and Isabel Cox each recording an assist. UNC out-shot the Bulldogs 17-8 and limited UGA to just two shots on goal.
The Cougars advanced by upsetting No. 3 seed Stanford earlier Thursday on penalty kicks, 5-4, after playing to a 1-1 double overtime draw.
UNC has outscored its first two NCAA Tournament opponents 8-1with Sentnor scoring four goals and the Tar Heels out-shooting their opponents 32-12.
Sentnor ranks second on the team with nine goals behind Patterson’s 11. Senior defender Tori Hansen has scored seven goals this season.
BYU is unbeaten in its last 13 matches and owns an overall record of 11-2-7, including a 5-0-3 mark on the road. Brecken Mozingo is the Cougars leading goal scorer with 12 and leads the team in assists with 10. Allie Fryer and Olivia Wade rank second behind Mozingo with eight goals each.
The Cougars lead all Division I programs with an average of 25.85 shots per game and ranks second in shots on goal per game, 9.65. However their goals against average is 1.088 which ranks 116th nationally.
UNC, which is 9-2 at home and has won six straight at Dorrance Field, averages 17.32 overall shot attempts and 8.23 shots on goal per game, both ranking among the top 25 in Division I. The Tar Heels’ 0.585 goals against average is the best in the ACC and 14th nationally. Their 14 shutouts are the third-most in the country.
This wil be the second meeting of the season between the Tar Heels and BYU.
Carolina blanked BYU, 2-0, in an exhibition match on August 13 as freshman Tori Dellaperuta and Patterson each scored a goal. UNC took 20 more shots than the Cougars, 26-6, putting 11 shots on frame while holding its opponent to three shots on goal. UNC took 10 corner kicks compared to two for the visitor.
Prior to the exhibition match, the only previous meeting between UNC and BYU came during the 2012 NCAA Tournament with the Tar Heels posting a 2-1 overtime victory against the home standing Cougars to advance to the College Cup. A week later, Carolina won its 21st NCAA championship.
