Bermudian youth international Jace Donawa and his University of North Carolina teammates registered a dominant 2-0 victory over American at Dorrance Field.
Second-half strikes from Luca Nikolai and Joschi Schelb delivered a deserved non-conference triumph for the Tar Heels, who improve to 2-1-3 on the season while condemning the Eagles to 1-4-2.
Carolina dictated the tempo from the opening whistle, monopolising territory and completely suffocating the visitors' attack. The Tar Heels generated 10 shots in a one-sided first half while holding American without a single attempt on goal.
UNC thought they had found the breakthrough when Riley Berge headed home from a dangerous free-kick, only for the effort to be disallowed after Nico Loebus was judged to be in an offside position and interfering with play.
The pressure showed no sign of abating after the interval, with Carolina firing off another 10 attempts while limiting American to just two speculative efforts.
The breakthrough finally arrived when Berge beat the onrushing goalkeeper to a loose ball inside the 18-yard box to win a spot-kick. Nikolai stepped up and held his nerve, converting his second penalty in as many games to put the hosts ahead.
With the Tar Heels controlling proceedings into the closing stages, Donawa played a pivotal role in settling the contest. The Bermudian midfielder broke down the flank and whipped a pinpoint delivery towards the penalty spot. Faraji Ramani cushioned a clever touch back into the path of Schelb, who deftly bypassed his marker before rifling home his fourth goal of the campaign to wrap up the points.
|
