GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's soccer team won its first regular season game of the 2022 season behind a 2-1 come-from-behind victory Thursday night at home against the Charlotte 49ers.
The Spartans' were led by freshman
Ryen Ortiz, who scored twice in her first collegiate game. Classmate
Ava Kiss chipped in her first-collegiate assist during the first goal.
Ortiz on scoring twice
"I am speechless. I am so ecstatic and it is an indescribable feeling. I am so honored and humbled, and excited to score more. My objective for every game is to give 110 percent regardless of starting the game or not. I look at the game and analyze whether this distribution needs to happen or that you need to hold it here. This is a whole learning process; this is my first game. Of course, I want to win and of course, I want to score, but if I can't do that, then that's fine, but I know I want to always give it my all."
Records:
UNCG: 1-0-0, 0-0-0 SoCon
Charlotte: 0-1-0, 0-0-0 C-USA
How it Happened:
- 5:48 - The Spartans put pressure on the 49ers five minutes into the game holding them in their attacking third. However, in transition, the 49ers' Ella Joaquin sent a long ball up the middle to Tash Hudson who beat a defender one-on-one for a 1-0 advantage.
- 69:00 – Charlotte turned the ball over at midfield and the Spartans' crisp passes led to Kiss driving a through ball to Ortiz who faked once before finding the back right corner to tie the game at one.
- 71:59 – The 49ers threatened with the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, but the Spartans' defense prevailed. Parker Sikora booted the ball up the middle and the ball was touched once by a Charlotte defender before Ortiz took off and weaved around two 49ers, striking right above the six-yard box for a 2-1 lead.
By the Numbers:
- Senior Abby Buchholz recorded three saves in net for her first win of the season.
- UNCG outshot Charlotte 18-5.
- The Spartans had nine corner kicks to the 49ers zero.
- This was the first time since the 2018 schedule that the Spartans won their season opener. UNCG defeated Gardner-Webb 2-1 on August 17, 2018 at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
From Coach Coll
"We're delighted to start the season off with a win. We challenged the team at halftime to turn some statistical superiority into statistical dominance in the second half. We wanted them to go from a C performance to an A performance in the second half and they did that. We absolutely dominated with corner kicks and shots, and the overall play was one-way traffic in the second half. Our players that came off the bench really gave us a nice spark. We told the team afterward that we were very proud of their comeback. The crowd was fantastic, and I want to thank everyone that came out to support these ladies; because the energy really helped us to come back to beat a good Charlotte team in the second half."
Up Next
The Spartans will take on No. 2 Duke on Sunday, August 21 in Durham, N.C. at Koskinen Stadium with a 6:00 p.m. start time. This will be the first top-10 opponent and first ranked battle since 2018 when UNCG faced No. 3 South Carolina in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
