Tar Heels trounce FSU to stay perfect in ACC

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Sophomore forward Heather O'Reilly recorded her first collegiate hat trick and assisted on the other goal as No. 2 North Carolina defeated No. 14 Florida State 4-0 at the Seminole Soccer Complex Friday night. The game was played before 1,504 fans, the third largest crowd in Florida State soccer history.

North Carolina improved to 15-0-1 on the season with the win and 8-0-0 in the ACC. UNC has now clinched the ACC regular season championship and the top seed in the 2004 ACC Tournament, which begins Oct. 31.

The Seminoles are 12-4-1 overall and 5-3-1 in the ACC. FSU, like UNC, will receive a bye in the first round of the tournament and automatically advance to the quarterfinals, which begin November 3 at SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary.

North Carolina will finish its regular season with a match against No. 18 Duke on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field.

The Tar Heels took the lead in the 19th minute when Heather O'Reilly and Lori Chalupny hooked up to give North Carolina a 1-0 lead. O'Reilly fed a ball to Chalupny just inside the 18-yard box, and Chalupny fired a shot past Florida State goalkeeper Joy McKenzie for her sixth goal of the season.

Chalupny's goal was her third game-winning goal of the season, and she has now scored game-winners in back-to-back matches. She also scored the deciding goal in UNC's 2-1 win against No. 4 Virginia on October 17.

UNC might have increased its margin before halftime had its shooting been more accurate.

Despite outshooting the Seminoles 12-1 in the first half, just three of the shots went on goal.

North Carolina worked on solving that problem in the second half, largely because of O'Reilly. In the 49th minute of the match, UNC forward Jaime Gilbert launched a shot that was saved by McKenzie.

But the FSU goalkeeper could not hold the shot and O'Reilly ran on to the play and scored on the rebound for her 10th goal of the season.

Fifteen minutes later, the Tar Heels made the score 3-0 via O'Reilly's second goal of the contest as Chalupny sent a long cross to the back post, and O'Reilly ran on to the ball and finished the scoring opportunity with a header.

O'Reilly completed her hat trick with her 12th goal of the season as she capitalized on a shot at the near post to make the score 4-0. Both junior defender Kendall Fletcher and freshman forward Katie Brooks assisted on the goal.

Two Miami linemen injured

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Miami defensive tackle Santonio Thomas and right guard Tyler McMeans both might miss the remainder of the season because of knee injuries.

Each was hurt in Miami's 45-31 victory at N.C. State on Saturday night.

The extent of either injury wasn't clear; more tests were scheduled on both players, but coach Larry Coker hardly sounded optimistic about the prognosis Sunday.

"It doesn't look good for the remainder of the season," Coker said.

McMeans would be the second starting offensive lineman Miami has lost for the season. Left tackle Eric Winston, one of the best offensive linemen in the country, ripped up his knee against Georgia Tech on Oct. 2.

"When you lose two starters, you get thinner in a hurry," Coker said. "I feel good about our offensive line, but we're not where we want to be."

The Hurricanes head back to the Triangle to take on North Carolina this Saturday at Kenan Stadium.