North Carolina Region Women's Soccer 2nd and 3rd Round Tournament Breakdowns
#2 North Carolina vs. Illinois
The Tar Heels controlled their first round match against Radford outshooting the Highlanders 29-3. The patience of the North Carolina attack paid off in the second half as Amber Brooks and Crystal Dunn scored in the second half to propel North Carolina into the second round once again. The Illini grinded out a 3-0 penalty kick shootout victory to advance after play Missouri to a 1-1 draw after 110 minutes of play. Goalie Steph Panozzo stepped up huge saving the first two Tiger shots to set the tone for Illinois in the shootout. The home field advantage at Fetzer Field should be enough for Carolina to advance to the Sweet 16 on Sunday afternoon. In addition, the depth of the Tar Heels should also be a huge difference maker in this match as well in wearing down Illinois.
#3 Baylor vs. Georgetown
The Bears came out firing in round one on the road in Tempe against Arizona State. They put two goals on the board in the first half by Hannah Gilmore in the 16th minute and Alex Klein in the 35th minute to jump out to a 2-0 lead that would not be relinquished the rest of the way. The Hoyas advanced thanks to a golden goal by Sarah Adams in the 94th minute to knock off Virginia Tech 3-2 down in Blacksburg in the first round last Sunday. Georgetown was very efficient offensively getting three goals out of its ten shots against the Hokies. They are going to have to be equally efficient in this match with Baylor if they are to advance. It is most likely going to be another 2-1 or 3-2 result for either side to move through to the Sweet 16.
North Carolina should be able to advance past the Illini. The offense is going to generate enough opportunities to put a couple goals on the board for the Tar Heels. The Baylor-Georgetown game can swing either way, especially if the Hoyas defend well in this contest. If Georgetown struggles at all defensively, the Bears with their explosive attack, should be able to pull away on the neutral site at Fetzer Field. A Baylor victory would set up a rematch from the 2011 NCAA Tournament between the Tar Heels and Bears. If this occurs this should be a much more even match than the 2011 result of a 5-0 North Carolina victory.
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