(Have photos to go with this story? Email pics to Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and also list the photo credit as well.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
MSN Presents the MIHSSCA All-State Dream Team Reveal Show: www.youtube.com/@MICHIGANSOCCERNETWORK
Michigan resident blasts home game-winner off free kick; Bella Gaetino logs all 90 minutes to aid championship shutout effort
BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
Michigan Soccer Network | Premier Media Group | National Soccer Network and affiliates
BUSINESS LINE: (248) 525-2349
CELL: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
CARY, N.C. — Olivia Thomas took the right time to put forth her first and only shot on goal Monday night.
The sophomore from Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., and talented forward from the University of North Carolina blasted a free kick from 19 yards out at the 61:36 mark, uncorking her shot into the back of the net for what proved to be not only her only shot on goal but the game’s only tally in the Tar Heels’ 1-0 victory over Wake Forest University in the NCAA Division I Women’s College Cup national championship game at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
Thomas, who scored four goals in separate games during North Carolina’s magical six-game run to the title, helped the Tar Heels (22-5-0) capture their 22nd national title in the 43 years of the NCAA national tournament. The school also won an AIAW national title (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics) in 1981 right before the NCAA took over women’s soccer as a sanctioned sport to extend their total to 23 national crowns overall.
It was North Carolina’s first national title since 2012. No other school owns more than four total national titles, as the Tar heels hold the all-time record by miles.
Thomas, a graduate of Grosse Pointe Woods University-Liggett School and a standout from the prestigious Michigan Hawks club soccer program, had four total shots in the game. She was tripped up just outside the box by Wake Forest outside back Dempsey Brown, who was given a yellow card after the play.
Thomas made the Demon Deacons pay dearly with her ninth goal of the campaign. Thomas’ nine goals was second on the team this season behind teammate Kate Faasse’s 20 goals – tops in the nation in NCAA Division I. Faasse was held in check for most of the game, as she recorded just one shot attempt which was on target but saved by Wake Forest goalkeeper Valentina Amaral (one save).
“I have been working on my free kicks a lot lately, especially after I hit the ball right over the fence against Duke in the ACC semifinals,” smiled Thomas. “I was like I can’t be embarrassed like that (again). I just decided to put it into the back of the net.”
North Carolina’s defense made the goal stand to help deliver the grand prize back to Chapel Hill.
“I came here to win championships,” noted Thomas. “Back in the day, (North Carolina was the) best program in the history of women’s college soccer. I came here to win and that’s exactly what we did.”
Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest was making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA women’s soccer final in program history. North Carolina defeated the Demon Deacons 1-0 in ACC regular season play back on Sept. 12, but Wake Forest sat one rung above the Tar Heels in the regular season standings.
Wake Forest (16-4-4) outshot North Carolina 7-6 overall in the championship match, including 3-2 with shots on goal, and even held a 4-2 edge off cornerkicks. The Demon Deacons applied plenty of pressure down the stretch but could not break down North Carolina’s defensive unit.
Graduate player Clare Gagne recorded three saves in goal for the Tar Heels, helping her team record their 16th shutout of the season and end the 12-year national title drought in the process. The Orono, Minnesota, product finished with a 22-5-0 overall record behind 27 starts, logged 2,387 minutes in net and registered 16 clean sheets (13 solo, three shared). She collected 74 saves in 96 chances and lowered her save percentage down to .771 while posting a goals-against-average of 0.84 playing about 26.5 games this season.
Backup keeper Hannah Johann logged 50 minutes in goal this season and provided relief late in three of those shutouts wins for UNC but did not play in the Final Four.
North Carolina entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed but put together a magical run in the postseason nevertheless. The Tar Heels finished fourth in the ACC out of 17 schools (7-3-0, 21 points) behind regular season champion Duke (9-0-1, 28 points), Wake Forest (7-2-1, 22 points) and Florida State University (7-2-1, 22 points) and just ahead of Virginia Tech University (6-2-2, 20 points). The Tar Heels lost in the ACC Tournament championship game to Florida State (3-2) but did not lose again in capping the incredible campaign with the 6-0 record in the NCAA Division I tournament where UNC outscored the opposition 18-1.
North Carolina recorded wins over University of South Carolina-Upstate (8-0), Santa Clara University (1-0), University of Minnesota (3-0), Penn State University (2-1, overtime), Duke University (3-0) and Wake Forest University (1-0) to earn the national championship. Penn State was the only school to score on the Tar Heels in the NCAA tournament.
North Carolina finished 8-2-0 overall in its final 10 games, with the other loss in that stretch coming against Duke (3-2) in the ACC regular season finale where the Blue Devils put the finishing touches on their regular season ACC championship. The Tar Heels avenged that loss with a 2-1 win over Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals on Nov. 7 and again with a 3-0 shutout over the Blue Devils on Dec. 6 in the NCAA national semifinals.
In the NCAA Division I tournament history, UNC has qualified 43 straight times and has never missed the NCAA tournament since its inception in 1982. The program has the national record with those 43 appearances and also hold the record by advancing to the NCAA Final Four 32 times in 43 seasons.
NOTEBOOK: Michigan resident Bella Gaetino shines
Olivia Thomas was not the only Michigan player on North Carolina’s roster. Freshman midfielder Bella Gaetino, who comes from Dexter, Mich., and was also a standout with the Michigan Hawks on the ECNL club level growing up, logged all 90 minutes in the game. She did not record a shot in the contest but did not leave the field, as the Tar Heels only played 13 players in the national finals.
Gaetino logged 2,077 minutes this season, collecting 20 shots, 10 shots on goal, five goals, two assists, 12 points and two game-winning goals.
North Carolina interim head coach Damon Nahas is the second coach in NCAA women’s soccer history to win a NCAA national championship in their first year as a head coach, joining UCLA’s Margueritte Aozasa from 2022 as the only coaches to earn the rare feat.
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / Michigan Soccer Network / National Soccer Network
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group, National Soccer Network and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
WATCH THE MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK YOUTUBE CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/@MICHIGANSOCCERNETWORK
— All Rights Reserved, Premier Media Group / Michigan Soccer Network / National Soccer Network
(MSN will compile a random sampling of game results from around the state each day. To send in results from high school varsity, club, amateur, pre-pro, semi-pro or professional soccer, email all pertinent details to Communications Specialist / Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com or submit information right on the correct link on the MSN website at https://www.michigansoccernetwork.com/reportascore. Please submit the competing teams, location and date of game, final score, overall and league records, goals, assists, goalkeepers and saves, standout defenders, players of the match, and any other pertinent details of the game. If there are courtesy action photos available, feel free to submit them at the above-listed emails.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/misoccernetwork
Twitter/X: @MiSoccerNetwork, @msn_stickradt
Instagram: www.instagram.com/misoccernetwork/
(Have photos to go with this story? Email pics to Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and also list photo credit as well.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 41-50: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/boys-soccer-super-50-teams-positions-41-50
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 31-40: https://www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/boys-soccer-msn-super-50-teams-positions-31-40
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 21-30: BOYS SOCCER: MSN Super 50 Teams Positions 21-30:
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 11-20:
BOYS SOCCER: MSN SUPER 50 TEAMS POSITIONS 1-10:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Interested in internships in broadcasting, communications, journalism, public relations or sales and marketing in the sports world? The Premier Media Group is seeking applications for current college students or students entering their senior or junior years of high school that have a career interest in working in different capacity of a constantly-evolving media world.
Contact both Broadcast Director Jonathan Turner at 248-525-2083 or jonathan@thepremeiermediagrp.com and Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at (248) 525-2349 and dstickradt@thepremeiermediagrp.com.
Commenti