The Oregon women’s soccer team had its work cut out for it as it faced off against No. 1-ranked North Carolina at Papé Field on Sunday in front of a record 1,558 screaming fans.
The Tar Heels walked off with a 3-0 win in their first meeting with Oregon
since 2000.
“It’s the kind of game we’ve got to get better from,” Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. “Sometimes we got a little bit excited once we got to the attack, and we just have to build off of this.”
Oregon (1-5-1) was outplayed by North Carolina (8-0-2) from the start, despite the Ducks’ strong effort on defense.
The Tar Heels had a commanding presence from the beginning. Their first shot came only four minutes into play. On North Carolina’s second attempt with 34:50 on the clock, sophomore forward Anne Morrell scored from within five feet to put the team on the scoreboard.
The Ducks continued to play hard and match North Carolina’s intensity, and momentum swung their way as they pressured the goal with 27 minutes left.
Four minutes later, forward Sarah Denner broke away to give senior Amanda Orand a shot at a header which fell short of the goal for Oregon’s first shot attempt.
“We played really hard,” Orand said. “It shows us what level we can play at, and it helps us step up to their level.”
North Carolina soon regained control, and goalkeeper Sarah Peters was put to the test as she had two more shots come her way with 20 minutes to go, but didn’t let them pass.

Peters had a season-high 10 saves, with nine of them coming in the second half.
“She’s the best goalkeeper we’ve seen all year,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said. “She has the potential to play in the WUSA. She’s that good.”
The Tar Heels fired off four more shots before Oregon found life again with 14 minutes left in the first half. Forward Valerie Mayer had a golden opportunity in the 32nd minute but was called offsides.
The Ducks seized momentum towards the end of the first half, holding the
powerful Tar Heels and sending the game to halftime, still 1-0.
Oregon held its own to start the second half but soon lost focus when the Tar Heels came charging
to score two goals in less than
a minute.
Forward Alyssa Ramsey took a pass from freshman Lindsay Tarpley and dribbled through an Oregon defender, then got past Peters to tap her shot in off the left post.
The Tar Heels soon regained control, and Tarpley got past Oregon’s left side unassisted to deliver a line-drive from 25 yards out into the right side of the net to finish the scoring for the day.
The Ducks made one last charge with 10 minutes left. With nine minutes on the clock, Oregon had its only corner kick soar far over the goal. Two minutes later the women saw their only other two shots blocked by the North
Carolina defense.
“As a team we played really well. We came out hard, and we showed them as well as ourselves that we can play with a team that’s ranked number one,” Peters said.
North Carolina out-shot the Ducks 28-3 and had 13 shots on goal to Oregon’s none. Freshmen Carlie Ashcraft and Cristan Higa, along with Mayer, each tallied one shot
for Oregon.
The Tar Heels also attempted seven corner kicks to Oregon’s one, which added to the defending
national champion’s success over the Ducks.
“They capitalized on a few of our mistakes, but you always want to play the best opponent you can,” Orand said. “This is like a preparation for Pac-10s.”
Oregon begins Pacific-10 Conference play Oct. 11. They return to Papé Field to host Portland State on Friday.