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PROVO — BYU women's soccer ended a historic 2022 season in the same place it started.
Maddie Dahlien had a brace, and Tallia Dellaperuta also scored a goal to help No. 2 North Carolina finish off the 14th-ranked Cougars 3-2 in the Round of 16 of the NCAA women's soccer tournament Saturday at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
With the win, the Tar Heels (17-4-2) advanced to face the winner of Notre Dame and TCU in the national quarterfinals.
Olivia Wade and Allie Fryer each scored a goal for the Cougars, who advanced to the Round of 16 in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history.
"It's always tough to lose, especially when it ends your season," BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood told BYU Radio. "We have had such a fantastic season and we have come so far. We were up against a very good, very talented North Carolina team, and I think we gave them all they could barely handle.
"I really thought we could get that tying goal there at the end with all our momentum, but hats off to UNC because they are a fantastic team. It's so fun for our girls to be out here in such a great environment for college women's soccer."
Dellaperuta opened the scoring in the 13th minute for the Tar Heels, but Wade equalized just six minutes later with her second goal of the NCAA Tournament to play to a 1-1 halftime draw.
After Dahlien pushed UNC's lead to 3-1 in the 65th minute, Fryer scored the ninth goal of her freshman campaign with a golazo from Ellie Maughan in the 69th minute.
But the Cougars could get no closer as the Tar Heels out-shot BYU 19-10, including a 9-6 margin in shots on goal. It was just the second time the Cougars have been out-shot during the 2022 campaign.
One year after the program's first-ever NCAA College Cup appearance that ended one win short in the national championship, BYU (11-3-7) rallied despite sending Mikayla Colohan (Orlando Pride) and Cameron Tucker (Gotham FC) to the NWSL. The Cougars lost just three matches after a 2-0 loss at UNC in an exhibition game on Aug. 13, rallying to finish second in their final season in the West Coast Conference with a 6-0-3 mark.
Led by conference midfielder of the year Jamie Shepherd and defender of the year Laveni Vaka, BYU led the nation with 25.8 shots per game and third with 9.65 shots on goal.
That helped the Cougars to a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, beating out crosstown rival Utah Valley 3-0 at home before stunning third-seeded Stanford on penalty kicks in the second round.
The Cougars also return most of the roster for the inaugural season in the Big 12, with only defender and team captain Natalee Wells set to move on. The University of Utah transfer from Alpine was the only senior on a team that featured nine freshmen and just two goalkeepers.
BYU also signed four players in the recruiting class of 2023, led by former Timpview standout Ellie Ford.
"I'm really proud of this team," Rockwood said. "We have a lot to look forward to in the future with all the experience we gained this year and so many girls returning next season."
