CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –   The 10th-ranked North Carolina women’s soccer team got a goal from Ranee Premji early in the second half and held on for a 1-0 victory over 23rd-ranked Boston College before 1,312 fans at Fetzer Field Thursday night.

It was the first clean sheet for the Tar Heel defense in ACC play as Adelaide Gay went the whole way in goal, making three saves, including a critical stop on a shot by Victoria DiMartino in the 51st minute.

Carolina improved to 7-3-2 on the season and 3-2-1 in the ACC.  Boston College is 8-3-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

UNC outshot the Eagles 13-9 and had a 9-5 edge in corner kicks but the outcome was in doubt until the final whistle as BC had a 6-4 edge in shots in the second half and pressured the Tar Heel goal for decent lengths of time in the second 45 minutes.

The first half belonged to UNC, with a 9-3 shot edge, but none of the 12 shots the two teams combined on in the first half were on frame.  Kealia Ohai had a couple of shots in the box in the first half sail just wide and Summer Green’s blast from the top of the 18-yard box in the 25th minute went just high of the cross bar.

The best scoring shot in the first half for BC came in the 20th minute when Stephanie McCaffrey eluded the UNC defense and took a pass over the top for a one-on-one chance versus Gay.  McCaffrey took an extra touch on the ball and four Tar Heel defenders converged, won the ball and cleared it out of danger.

The UNC goal came 2:10 into the second half just moments after Gay made a save on a shot by DiMartino that evolved off the second half kickoff.  A little over a minute later, Katie Bowen fed Kelia Ohai up the right side.  The swift striker from Utah went end line and fed cross crease to an open Ranee Premji who buried a shot past Alexa Gaul with 47:10 elapsed.  It was Premji’s second goal of the season.

Gay’s third save came on a bicycle shot in the box in the 78th minute by Kate McCarthy that was set up by a foul against the Heels near midfield.  Gaul made two saves in the closing minutes, stopping a header by Hanna Gardner at 86:21 and a strike from the left of the box by Kealia Ohai at 86:39.  The three shots on goal matched UNC’s season low previously set against Maryland.

Carolina has eight days off before playing at Clemson next Friday at 7 p.m.  Boston College continues its season with a game at Duke Sunday at 1 p.m.

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