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The Daily Tar Heel

Guess blossoms after switch

North Carolina sophomore Elizabeth Guess walked into the makeshift interview room in the McCaskill Soccer Center on Saturday afternoon, clutching a piece of pizza in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

Minutes earlier, Guess and her women's soccer teammates had completed a convincing second-round victory in the NCAA Tournament, but when Coach Anson Dorrance looked at Guess, he wanted to know, of all things, what she was drinking.

"I don't know," she responded between bites of her pizza.

"Well, keep drinking it," Dorrance replied.

An unorthodox bit of coaching to be sure, but the meaning was clear.

Five games ago, against Maryland in the ACC Tournament, Guess was moved from her normal midfield position to the center forward slot. Since the switch, which occurred in the first overtime of the 1-0 UNC win, she has tallied six goals - five more than she recorded in the entire regular season.

"I didn't expect (this level of production)," Guess admitted after she scored two goals in Saturday's 6-0 win versus William & Mary.

While she might not have anticipated it, Dorrance knew what Guess was capable of and is thrilled to see the midfielder-turned-striker's newfound offensive brilliance.

"The way she's playing right now, it's an absolute joy watching her," he said. "Every time she gets the ball, the other team is in trouble."

The trouble Guess has caused for UNC's foes since moving to the front line is difficult to overstate.

She has netted two goals in three of the four full games she has played at striker and at times has proven to be unstoppable.

"One of the most exciting goals I've seen in a while is against Campbell," Dorrance said of the team UNC beat in the first round Thursday. "(Guess) outmuscles one girl for it, and then she's got two more players to beat, plus the goalkeeper. She nutmegs the girl right in front of her, the (next) girl steps up to tackle her, and then Libby tackles the ball into the back of the net.

"It's just an example of all of her great qualities rolled into one - her strength, her creativity and then her defensive presence."

As the Tar Heels march on in their quest to add yet another national championship trophy to an already remarkable collection, Guess' change of position looks more and more as if it will prove to be one of the most important - and beneficial - coaching moves of the season.

"I feel really comfortable," Guess said. "I'm having a lot of fun up there. It was kind of a team joke that I'm cursed because I've had one goal all season, but I finally broke it in the ACC Tournament. And now, I just want to keep on going with that."

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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