Olivia Thomas scores on a free kick to secure UNC’s first women’s soccer championship since 2012

CARY, N.C. (AP) — Olivia Thomas scored on a free kick in the 62nd minute for her fourth goal of the NCAA Tournament and North Carolina beat Wake Forest 1-0 on Monday night for the program’s first national championship since 2012.

North Carolina (22-5-0) has won 22 of the 43 NCAA women’s soccer titles. The Tar Heels also won the 1981 AIAW title to total 23 national championships. No other women’s soccer team owns more than four.

Wake Forest (16-4-4) was playing in the championship game for the first time in program history. The Demon Deacons were seeking just the 11th national championship in school history. UNC has 51 NCAA team championships across eight different sports.

Thomas drew three defenders and was taken down just outside the 18-yard box by Dempsey Brown, who received a yellow card. Thomas found a gap in the wall and curled it past goalkeeper Valentina Amaral for her ninth goal of the season.

Interim head coach Damon Nahas is the second coach in NCAA women’s soccer history to win a national championship in their first year as a head coach, joining UCLA’s Margueritte Aozasa from 2022.

North Carolina was making its 32nd College Cup appearance, including five of the last seven. No other team has been in more than 14. UNC was in the national title game for the 28th time, and has finished as the runner-up on six occasions.

It was the first title game involving two teams from the state of North Carolina since 1992 when North Carolina beat Duke 9-1.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer