Regardless of the outcome of North Carolina’s matchup with Monmouth in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Justin Anderson had already won the weekend.

The 25-year-old senior midfielder for the Tar Heels knew that May would be a special month — his North Carolina team has a great chance to win another national title, but more importantly, he was anxiously awaiting the birth of his first child.

“My first joke was, ‘If this falls on a weekend when there’s a playoff game, I don’t know how we’re going to be able to work it out,’” Anderson joked back in January.

Saturday evening at Duke University Hospital, Anderson and his wife, Priscilla, welcomed Scarlett June Anderson to the world, a baby girl born at 8 pounds, 2 ounces. The moment he’d been waiting for all season had come, but the next morning, he had another mission to which he needed to attend.

North Carolina’s first test on the road to Championship Weekend came at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill. Had Anderson become a father hours later, the Tar Heels would have been without three midfielders with Tanner Cook and Connor McCarthy out with lower-body injuries.

Instead, an energized Anderson woke the crowd on North Carolina’s first possession. After Zac Tucci won the opening faceoff, Anderson entered from the substitution box, barreled through three Monmouth defenders and scored a goal that set the tone for a dominant Tar Heels performance.

North Carolina jumped out to a quick lead, shut down Monmouth on the defensive end and cruised to a 16-4 victory — the program’s first since winning the 2016 national championship game against Maryland in overtime.

For Anderson, the win added another element to what might go down as the greatest weekend in his life.

“I felt an extra energy today,” Anderson said. “I felt super excited when I saw my teammates this morning. Every single one of them came up to me and gave me a hug and said ‘Congratulations.’ Having that support and going out there and scoring the first goals was a weight lifted off my shoulders that this was going to be a good game.”

Priscilla Anderson was induced on Thursday night with the hopes that she’d give birth that night. The process continued into Friday evening, meaning Anderson missed practice and was left his status uncertain for Saturday.

Once Scarlett Rose Anderson was born, her father spent a few hours with her and her mother before returning to his apartment, with Priscilla’s blessing. He slept for eight hours while his mother-in-law took over hospital duties.

“My question was how the heck did he get out of staying the night after the baby was born?” Breschi joked.

“She is the real champion of today, I would say,” Anderson said of his wife.

Anderson kickstarted a powerful offensive performance for North Carolina, which cruised into the second round.

Not to be overshadowed, Chris Gray, who was named Friday as a Tewaaraton finalist, made his case with a four-goal, two-assist performance. In the process, he broke Bruce Ledwith’s North Carolina all-time single-season points record.

Colin Krieg, the freshman goalie who won the starting job early in the season, delivered another stellar performance. He made 15 saves to help keep the Monmouth offense in check, and tacked on a second-half full-field assist.

“I’m just lucky to have the opportunity to go out there and battle with my brothers for the past five or six months,” Kreig said. “It’s a blessing when you can play in an NCAA tournament game.”

North Carolina led 9-1 at halftime and a defense led by Will Bowen shut down Monmouth throughout the second half. The Hawks took 35 shots but scored just four times.

Monmouth goalie Noah Lode starred with 13 saves.

However, the day belonged to Anderson, who knows there will be long days ahead. But as has been the case all year, his Tar Heel teammates will be there to support him and his daughter every step of the way.

“We’re so proud and happy for him and Priscilla,” Breschi said. “Scarlett June is going to have a lot of uncles.”