Tarpley hat trick keys win

The game's outcome had long since been determined, but Lindsay Tarpley didn't seem to care.

With eight minutes remaining, she ripped a shot that deflected off William & Mary goalkeeper Kellie Fenton and rolled toward the goal line, a shot most players would have stood and watched admiringly.

But before any Tribe defender could clear the ball away, Tarpley followed her shot and blasted it emphatically into the net.

The play epitomized the extra effort that propelled the No. 1 North Carolina women's soccer team to a 6-0 defeat of William & Mary in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Tarpley, who broke her right fibula Sept. 26, hadn't scored a goal since returning from the injury in time for the ACC Tournament. She scored three against the Tribe.

"It's good for her, it's good for her confidence, and it's good for our team that she's scoring goals again," said forward Heather O'Reilly.

But Tarpley wasn't the only Tar Heel lighting up the scoreboard.

Midfielder Elizabeth Guess scored once in each half, and O'Reilly tied an NCAA Tournament record with four assists in the game.

Guess opened the scoring with 17 minutes remaining in the first half when she headed home a cross from O'Reilly.

Less than 10 minutes later, Sara Randolph found O'Reilly for a run down the left flank. O'Reilly's quick ball movement left her defender on the ground, and her pass to Tarpley in the middle of the box created an easy goal.

"Heather turned the corner a few times tonight and played some great balls back," Tarpley said Saturday.

Even with the two-goal lead, the Tar Heels (20-0-2) weren't satised with their effort in the first half.

Miscommunications and careless mistakes in the middle of the eld led to unnecessary turnovers, even as the Tribe (12-7-4) struggled to take advantage.

Whatever caused North Carolina's sloppiness in the first half, though, disappeared after the intermission.

"That first half was one of the worst performances I've seen in a while, but the second half was one of the best," said UNC coach Anson Dorrance.

The Tar Heels thoroughly dominated play in the second half, scoring four goals in the process.

O'Reilly buried her 13th goal of the season early in the half, and Guess scored her seventh 10 minutes later.

Tarpley later added two goals to complete her first hat trick since Oct. 14, 2003.

Tribe forward Taline Tahmassian had a chance to score in the game's closing minutes, but goalkeeper Aly Winget - who hasn't allowed a goal in her last eight NCAA Tournament games - made a diving save to preserve the shutout.

"That's a world-class save, and she can pull those," Dorrance said. "She's a very good goalkeeper, and I don't think she gets the credit she deserves."

The Tar Heels now will face their biggest NCAA Tournament rival two weeks earlier than they ordinarily would have expected.

Santa Clara, ranked fourth in the nation, received the No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play the Tar Heels in the third round Saturday.

The momentum generated by the strong second half could play an important part in helping North Carolina confront that challenge.

"We've got to keep the practices short this week to keep them hungry and excited and passionate," Dorrance said.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.