Tarpley injured in UNC win

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Heather O'Reilly scored a pair of goals to power the No. 2 North Carolina women's soccer team past Virginia Tech 6- 1 Sunday afternoon, but in the process the Tar Heels suffered a major blow when junior Lindsay Tarpley suffered a broken right fibula and will be sidelined for an indeterminate length of time.

With the win, UNC improves to 9-0-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. UNC defeated Maryland 2-1 in double overtime at home Friday.

The Hokies fall to 6-3 on the season and 2-1 in conference competition.

Tarpley, the consensus 2003 National Player of the Year, suffered the injury just over 14 minutes into the match after taking a shot on goal. The junior forward from Kalamazoo, Mich. collided with Va. Tech goalkeeper Mallory Soldner shortly thereafter.

The Tar Heels scored first just six minutes into the game, when Lori Chalupny received a pass from Kacey White inside the box and beat Va. Tech's Mallory Soldner for a 1-0 lead.

UNC went on to tally three more goals in the first half for a commanding 4-1 lead heading into the intermission.

In the 17th minute, Jaime Gilbert found O'Reilly in the box and made a beautiful pass to her through traffic. O'Reilly then found the back of the net for a 2-1 advantage.

Kendall Fletcher and Kacey White recorded goals less than two minutes apart with just less than 20 minutes to play in the first half. Amy Steadman and Mary McDowell were credited with the assists on the two goals, respectively.

Anne Morrell opened the second half with a cross from the left side of the field to the right of the box, where O'Reilly struck for her second goal of the game from 10 yards out.

The Tar Heels added the final goal for the 6-1 final with less than 10 minutes to play. McDowell again made a cross, but this time from the opposite side of the field, where she found junior Leea Murphy for her first goal of the year.

On Friday, White converted a penalty kick at the 107:02 mark of the match to defeat Maryland.

UNC dominated the match statistically, outshooting the Terrapins 35-4 and taking 19 corner kicks to zero for Maryland.

But UNC trailed for most of the match and did not cinch the win until O'Reilly, who scored UNC's first goal late in the second half, was taken down in the penalty area with less than three minutes remaining in the second overtime period.