Men's Soccer Flies Past Phoenix

UNC was patient on offense, only to have Elon clear the ball whenever the Tar Heels entered the offensive third of the field. The Phoenix buried as many as seven defenders behind the ball (Davidson used nine), and mounted no offense.

In fact, Elon's lone forward, Tim Sullivan, applauded his defenders whenever they kicked the ball out to midfield.

But after UNC forward Mike Gell found the far corner of the goal in the 17th minute, comparisons to the Davidson match ceased, with the Tar Heels walking out of Rhodes Stadium with a 4-0 win.

"I thought it was good that we came back off the loss (to Duke on Saturday); got a shutout," said defender David Stokes. "On top of that scored four goals, it was great."

Stokes scored his first goal of the season in the 39th minute.

"It was a good service by Matt (Crawford) off the corner," Stokes said. "I was finding space, stepping out onto the six (yard line) on the near post in front of the keeper. (Crawford) put it right there, and all I had to do was redirect it to the goal."

Stokes' goal gave the Tar Heels a 2-0 cushion heading into the break, something UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said was very important, considering Elon's compressed defensive strategy.

"We didn't have the necessary punch in the first half to put the game out of reach," Bolowich said. "Elon put a lot of energy in getting behind the ball and defending with numbers making it difficult for us. And we seem to have a problem when teams stay very compact defensively.

"But certainly after the second goal, things calmed down a bit. To get the second goal from David Stokes before the halftime was very, very big."

If UNC (7-3, 1-1 in the ACC) hadn't scored two before the break, Elon's dismal attack need not cause concern for Bolowich. The Pheonix (3-7-1) managed just two shots, neither challenging UNC goalkeeper Ford Williams. In the second half, despite pushing more players forward, Elon's attack still couldn't establish rhythm.

Sullivan unleashed a header from 18 yards out that Williams easily stopped, and the only other time Elon would put a shot on goal was after a free kick in the 80th minute that UNC backup goalie Jay Batt stopped with a sprawling save.

But the Tar Heels' offense was equally quiet throughout most of the second half. UNC didn't wake up until midfielder Marcus Storey sprinted down the field, beat three defenders and slid the ball int net for a 3-0 lead in the 86th minute.

Storey scored another for good measure, heading in a loose ball in the 88th minute. He attributed his success against the smaller program to a lack of scouting.

"By the bigger schools, I think I get doubled teamed quite a bit," Storey said. "Maybe these guys don't know me as well, so I get a chance to open it up and try to do what I can."

Forward Ryan Kneipper played sparingly because of a calf injury in practice this week, and forward David Testo also did not play due to a severly sprained ankle that he suffered against Duke. He will be out for at least two more weeks.

Despite facing a lesser opponent, Storey said this match against Elon was important so the Tar Heels could learn to function without the injured players.

"I knew we just wanted to come into this game and try to get things right; get things situated just because we've got a couple injuries," Storey said.

Having got back on the winning track, Bolowich was pleased with the win.

"The shutout was big for us," he said. "That is a team that scores goals, and we knew that. They have two really good forwards, and shutting them out was a really big accomplishment."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.