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(09/18/08 4:00am)
Be it from the guy that bags your groceries your teachers your grandmother or the guys behind you in Lenoir you've probably heard it.You know all the talk about how the ACC is bad this year as a football conference judging by how many teams have already lost games just weeks into the season.Let me rebut this claim with a list: South Carolina ECU USC Alabama Northwestern Middle Tennessee State Florida and Connecticut — the complete list of out-of-conference teams that have beaten ACC opponents.Six of the eight were ranked either this year or last and four are ranked right now.Eight is not even the highest number of nonconference losses among BCS conferences with the Big East registering nine and the Pac-10 totaling 10. Admittedly the Big East and Pac-10 both have teams in the lower half of the standings that drive the tally up but that is part of the point: the ACC does not have any sure losers or for that matter sure winners. The conference is wide open with any team having the ability to string together a few wins and make a run at a BCS bowl.Humorously the structure of the basketball conference (top heavy with Clemson Duke and UNC) has been flipped. There is no undisputed ruling class in the ACC but rather a cluster of undistinguished but solid teams.Clemson and Virginia Tech the preseason favorites stumbled to begin the season each losing a game to an unranked foe.And regardless of what you think about East Carolina and its merits VT has not been impressive this season. The Hokies have struggled to throw the ball evidenced by their one passing TD for the season and their recent desperate un-redshirting of quarterback Tyrod Taylor.This is not the same team that dominated the ACC the last few years which spells opportunity for the rest of the league.Coupled with the maturation of numerous bottom dwellers this is a conference full of teams that can win on any given Saturday. Even perennial ACC doormat Duke is starting to show the makings of a program gamely playing Northwestern and beating Navy.And how about Maryland? They quelled then-No. 23 California's furious comeback to earn a win only a week after losing at Middle Tennessee State.Miami is chock-full of young talent" but the emphasis at this point is on ""young."" If they are feeling frisky" they are quite a formidable foe for anyone but they can also lose at any time.The Wake Forest-Florida State game today will prove which of them if either is a strong ACC contender as both have been untested so far with easy schedules.The Demon Deacons are the only ACC team that is solidly in the Top 25 so pundits call them the favorites. But the most telling sign is that five other teams also received votes in the USA Today Top 25.What does this mean going forward? It means that there might be a second team to win the ACC Championship Game with three conference losses (Florida St. was the first in 2005).I predict that at least one previously unheralded team will make a prestigious if not BCS bowl a la 2001 Maryland and 2006 Wake Forest.So buckle your seat belts. It looks like the next eleven weeks will be wild.
(08/25/08 4:00am)
After one half of lackluster finishing, the North Carolina women's soccer team responded with a vengeance, scoring three goals in the next 20 minutes of its 5-1 victory against UNC-Charlotte.
The Tar Heels returned to the locker room after 45 minutes deadlocked 1-1, despite owning a 12-2 shot advantage - eerily reminiscent of their offensive struggles from a year ago.
But surprisingly, head coach Anson Dorrance was not upset, even in the face of all those missed chances.
"I know this is going to sound kind of bizarre, but we were pleased with the way we were playing," he said.
"If you watched a highlight reel of the first half, we had many sitters that we missed. So what that was telling me is, 'This team is going to create some scoring chances.' The law of averages tells us you will eventually finish those."
UNC certainly put the law of averages to work in the second half, and it had a whopping eight shots on goal, doubling its first half total of four. The Tar Heels also doubled their output of corners with six in the second half for a total of nine in the game.
Indeed, it seemed that for every Meghan Klingenberg shot that bounded off the crossbar from outside the box in the first half, there was a Yael Averbuch strike from even deeper in the field that found the back of the net in the second.
First-year attacker Courtney Jones said she wasn't expecting many opportunities to score, but did manage a goal of her own. Jones was second on the team with five shots against Charlotte.
"All you can ask for is chances in a game," she said, "so as long as I put one away, I think it was good."
While the first-year Jones was eager to catalog all her opportunities, cagey veteran Averbuch was more excited by the finishing the Tar Heels displayed on those second half chances.
"I think the finishing has improved this year, and our general attacking play is a lot better - we have a lot more variety in the attack," Averbuch said.
"We're just creating chances, and on top of that, our finishing is better. So I think all around, it was a lot better than last year."
Averbuch, a returning All-America, created a chance of her own late in the second half when she nailed a ball into the upper right corner from 25 yards out in the middle of her stride. The senior was tied for third on the team with six goals last year.
Junior Allie Long led the Tar Heels with six shots and two goals, which takes her nearly halfway to her season total of five goals last year.
Most promising for the Tar Heels would be the fact that they converted on two corner kicks in the second half and created scoring opportunities from others - a significant contrast to last year's team, which struggled to find its rhythm from the corner.
"So only one aspect of our free kicks and set pieces was good last year, and that was our penalty kicking," Dorrance said.
"Everything else, I thought, was subpar: corner kicks, free kicks, et cetera, et cetera. I can tell already corner kicks are going to be good (this year)."
Dorrance was also complimentary of Casey Nogueira's decision-making. The sophomore's only shot on goal led directly to a score off a corner kick.
The second half showed the team's finishing potential, but if the Tar Heels are going to achieve their goal of regaining prominence on the national scene, they'll need to consistently get what they racked up Friday - goals.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
To wrap up a season of highs for the North Carolina men's swimming and diving team, the top performers of the squad are looking to score well in the NCAA championships, beginning today.
"At the highest-level meets, which the NCAA Championships are, the goal is to do your best," Coach Rich DeSelm said. "If we can do our best times here, that would be fantastic."
DeSelm is confident in his swimmers' ability to score, assuming they swim their best of the season.
"You can't control what the competition does, but I think we have people that can score," DeSelm said. "If we're able to be at our best, then we've got a shot of doing that."
The season as a whole was speckled with achievements, both individual and team.
The men's squad finished undefeated in regular season ACC matches and had its highest tournament finish since 2001, placing second behind Virginia, who they beat earlier in the year.
At the last match of the regular season, Ryan Funderburk set a new UNC record off the 3-meter board.
Joe Kinderwater continues to rewrite North Carolina record books, too. He holds the school record in the 1,000-yard freestyle and second in school history in the 1,650-yard freestyle as a freshman.
"We had some individuals doing some spectacular swimming meet after meet," DeSelm said. "People like Joe Kinderwater, Tyler Harris and Ryan Funderburk competing at a high level, meet after meet."
Accordingly, the individuals travelling for the championships are Philip Owen, Funderburk, Kinderwater and Harris.
"Last year, I think we cracked the top 30 in scoring, and we're without two NCAA scorers who are redshirting this year, Chip Peterson and Hank Browning," DeSelm said.
"With those two not competing this year, if we can be anywhere close to that, in terms of team, that would be a success. If we can be better than that, it would be a huge success."
Peterson is training for the U.S. Open Water Olympic team, and Browning did not recover from an offseason shoulder surgery well enough to justify using a year of eligibility.
The team has a positive outlook on next season, as both Peterson and Browning should return, along with Kinderwater, Harris and a number of swimmers who started hitting their stride during the end of the season.
"We had a significant number of people who had best times and significant improvements at the ACC Championships, which weren't quite good enough to end up qualifying for this meet - NCAAs," DeSelm said.
"All in all, most everyone in our program had lifetime-best times this year. So to me, if each person's getting better, then the program is moving in the proper direction."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(03/24/08 4:00am)
Last Sunday, then-No. 7 North Carolina faced a 3-1 score with 18 minutes left in the first half against No. 3 Virginia, and the Tar Heels went on to give up five more goals in the half en route to a 16-5 pasting by the Cavaliers.
With less than 22 minutes left in the first half Saturday at Fetzer Field, No. 8 UNC faced another 3-1 deficit as this time No. 5 Duke (7-2, 1-1 ACC) had muscled its way to an early lead, forcing UNC to call timeout.
Deja vu does not seem to bother North Carolina's women's lacrosse team.
Instead of folding as they had last week, the Tar Heels (7-2, 1-1) answered with a 7-1 run to put themselves in the driver's seat for the first time in a week. They rode that momentum to a big 16-14 win against the Blue Devils.
"Coach pretty much said we had to pull it together and we had worked too hard this entire week to let this go to waste," UNC freshmen defender Meredith Newton said. "We had to come together and do it as a team."
The run was marked by sophomore midfielder Megan Bosica's domination, as she assisted or scored five of UNC's goals. Bosica led all Tar Heels with four goals and four assists for the game.
"We worked really hard all week." Coach Jenny Levy said. "We were not happy with our performance at UVa. We were extremely disappointed, from the coaching staff all the way down to the players. We buckled down; we worked our kids really hard this week."
The Tar Heels forced Duke into 20 turnovers with a high-pressure defense that forced the Blue Devil attackers to be especially careful with the ball. And when an errant pass saw the ball hit the turf, the Tar Heels were quick to pounce - they netted 18 ground balls to Duke's 10.
Unhappy with starting goalie Kim Imbesi, Duke coach Kerstin Kimel benched her with 20 minutes remaining in the second half. The Tar Heels continued scoring on her backup, Regan Bosch, however, ultimately reaching 16-11 with 10 minutes left.
But as with any Duke-UNC game, the trailing team did not go quietly.
Duke stormed back, powered largely by Megan Del Monte, who scored two goals in a span of 16 seconds, but ultimately the Tar Heels were able to salt away the clock to preserve the final two goal margin.
North Carolina had to expect such a game, because, after all, 11 of the last 20 matchups were decided by two goals or less, including nine of which where the teams were separated by a single goal.
"Oh my gosh!" Bosica said. "In those last four minutes I was thinking, 'We better not lose this.'
"Thankfully, we were able to hold it on offense and work it around. I was like, 'There is no way. We played so hard this entire game, we cannot lose.'"
Contact the Sports Editor
at sports@unc.edu.
(02/26/08 5:00am)
The North Carolina women's swim team wrapped up a second-place finish in this weekend's ACC Tournament at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center in Atlanta.
The team placed just ahead of Florida State, 572 to 544.5, but well behind first-place winner Virginia, who amassed a whopping 800 team points.
In 30 years of women's ACC tournaments, the Tar Heels have placed in the top two 28 times and never outside of the third spot.
UNC senior Kelsey Morrissy qualified for next month's NCAA Tournament with her split time during the 400-yard relay.
The team had several notable individual performances, as four swimmers placed in the top 10 for the 100-yard freestyle and Whitney Sprague won the 1650-yard title for the second consecutive year.
"I think we gave this weekend our best effort," Sprague said. "We tried really hard; we came up against some really tough competition, but we did our best."
As the team reflects on the ACC Tournament and prepares for a last-chance qualifying meet in Georgia, some Tar Heels get the peace of mind of knowing they will be going to the NCAA Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
"For sure, we have Kelsey Morrissy, Katura Harvey and Whitney Sprague (in the NCAAs), and we're hoping for a few more individuals," coach Rich DeSelm said.
"Getting there is a very high accomplishment," DeSelm said. "Just getting there cannot be the goal - getting there and being outstanding needs to be the goal."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/25/08 5:00am)
The North Carolina women's swim team wrapped up a second-place finish in this weekend's ACC Tournament at the Georgia Tech Aquatics Center in Atlanta.The team placed just ahead of Florida State 572 to 544.5 but well behind first-place winner Virginia who amassed a whopping 800 team points.In 30 years of women's ACC tournaments the Tar Heels have placed in the top two 28 times and never outside of the third spot.UNC senior Kelsey Morrissy qualified for next month's NCAA Tournament with her split time during the 400-yard relay.The team had several notable individual performances" as four swimmers placed in the top 10 for the 100-yard freestyle and Whitney Sprague won the 1650-yard title for the second consecutive year.""I think we gave this weekend our best effort" Sprague said. We tried really hard; we came up against some really tough competition" but we did our best.""As the team reflects on the ACC Tournament and prepares for a last-chance qualifying meet in Georgia" some Tar Heels get the peace of mind of knowing they will be going to the NCAA Championships in Columbus" Ohio.""For sure" we have Kelsey Morrissy Katura Harvey and Whitney Sprague (in the NCAAs) and we're hoping for a few more individuals coach Rich DeSelm said.Getting there is a very high accomplishment" DeSelm said. Just getting there cannot be the goal - getting there and being outstanding needs to be the goal.""Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/20/08 5:00am)
Listening to the North Carolina women's swimming and diving team, sometimes it is hard to distinguish whether they are talking about the ACC championships or Christmas.
"There's a lot of anticipation the week leading up to it, the taper and everything," senior Kelsey Morrissy said. "And now that we're on our way, on the bus down there, I think everyone's getting really excited because it's finally here."
The swimmers only hope this year's haul in Atlanta will be as impressive as last year's.
"We realize we need to be on the offense - winning the title last year was extremely exciting for us," Morrissy said. "Everyone is trying to prepare themselves individually and make sure that they feel they are bringing the best they can to the table."
The women's team had an up and down year, convincingly losing to Virginia at home but beating Clemson and N.C. State. The team finished 6-3 in dual meets, including 3-1 in the ACC.
It was the 34th consecutive time the women's team has posted a winning dual meet record, which spans the entire length of the women's swim program at North Carolina.
"Coming off last year, going undefeated in conference dual meets and winning the conference was an incredible boost to our program," head coach Rich DeSelm said.
"Entering into this year, obviously we were excited about the season and our incoming freshmen, but losing to Virginia opened our eyes - refocused our attention - and we know we're up against quite a challenge to repeat."
Individually, the season was speckled with impressive performances.
In the 2007 ConocoPhillips United States Swimming Short Course National Championships, sophomore Ashley Howard finished within .01 seconds of the fastest 200-yard backstroke time in school history.
Whitney Sprague had one of the best weekends in UNC history during the Nike Cup Invitational, setting the school records for the 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle in the span of three days.
In order to claim their second consecutive ACC title, the Tar Heels must go through UVa. - the only team to beat them in the ACC.
"There are a lot of fine swimmers in the league, but Virginia . has the nod on being the best team in the league." DeSelm said.
Despite its status as an underdog against Virginia, the sight of UVa. in the distance does not scare North Carolina.
"We always want to compete for the ACC title," DeSelm said. "If each person on our team improves and does something special and something they've never done before, we're going to have a great, great week."
Only time will tell if the team gets the trophy they have been asking for all year or a lump of coal.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/20/08 5:00am)
Listening to the North Carolina women's swimming and diving team, sometimes it is hard to distinguish whether they are talking about the ACC championships or Christmas.There's a lot of anticipation the week leading up to it" the taper and everything senior Kelsey Morrissy said. And now that we're on our way on the bus down there" I think everyone's getting really excited because it's finally here.""The swimmers only hope this year's haul in Atlanta will be as impressive as last year's.""We realize we need to be on the offense - winning the title last year was extremely exciting for us"" Morrissy said. Everyone is trying to prepare themselves individuallyand make sure that they feel they are bringing the best they can to the table.""The women's team had an up and down year" convincingly losing to Virginia at home but beating Clemson and N.C. State. The team finished 6-3 in dual meets including 3-1 in the ACC.It was the 34th consecutive time the women's team has posted a winning dual meet record" which spans the entire length of the women's swim program at North Carolina.""Coming off last year" going undefeated in conference dual meets and winning the conference was an incredible boost to our program head coach Rich DeSelm said. Entering into this year obviously we were excited about the season and our incoming freshmen" but losing to Virginia opened our eyes - refocused our attention - and we know we're up against quite a challenge to repeat.""Individually" the season was speckled with impressive performances.In the 2007 ConocoPhillips United States Swimming Short Course National Championships sophomore Ashley Howard finished within .01 seconds of the fastest 200-yard backstroke time in school history.Whitney Sprague had one of the best weekends in UNC history during the Nike Cup Invitational setting the school records for the 500- 1000- and 1650-yard freestyle in the span of three days.In order to claim their second consecutive ACC title" the Tar Heels must go through UVa. - the only team to beat them in the ACC.""There are a lot of fine swimmers in the league"" but Virginia ... has the nod on being the best team in the league."" DeSelm said.Despite its status as an underdog against Virginia"" the sight of UVa. in the distance does not scare North Carolina.""We always want to compete for the ACC title" DeSelm said. If each person on our team improves and does something special and something they've never done before we're going to have a great" great week.""Only time will tell if the team gets the trophy they have been asking for all year or a lump of coal.Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/18/08 5:00am)
Freshman Corey Donohoe seemed to have had such a memorable weekend that she forgot some of it.
Trying to recall her favorite goal from her first two games as a Tar Heel, she responded with silence - 10 seconds of it.
After whispering, "Which one did I have?" to herself, she finally recalled the goal against Denver assisted from Megan Bosica.
What began as an opening weekend of UNC lacrosse ended as Donohoe's personal coming out party, as she scored eight goals in two games.
In the first one, a 13-9 triumph Friday against Loyola (Md.), Donohoe chipped in three goals. She followed that with five more Sunday against Denver in a 15-9 Tar Heel victory.
Donohoe had a stretch in the Denver game in which she scored five of six Tar Heel goals.
"We know Corey's been special since the fall, and we're really proud of not only her but our whole entire offense," coach Jenny Levy said. "They're doing some really awesome stuff."
Of Donohoe's eight goals, five came off assists in which Donohoe received the ball in the slot in front of the net and fired it past the keeper.
"They're playing really well as a unit, and they're letting the game come to them, and they're finding the high percentage shot," Levy said. "A lot of times that happens with Corey at the end of the play. We want her at the end of each play because she's so good."
The freshman, however, did not expect such a forceful beginning to her college career.
"I wanted to be really focused, but my mind-set was to win as a team," Donohoe said. "I wanted to run the offense, run the plays, do everything together and come away with the win."
While the performance was exemplary for a freshman, Donohoe's teammates were less than shocked.
"I wouldn't expect a freshman to score eight goals in her first weekend, but knowing Corey, I'm not surprised," Bosica said.
"She's just had outstanding performance for us, like all throughout the fall, the preseason and these two games, she's really stepped up and helped us overcome these teams."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/17/08 5:00am)
Freshman Corey Donohoe seemed to have had such a memorable weekend that she forgot some of it. Trying to recall her favorite goal from her first two games as a Tar Heel she responded with silence - 10 seconds of it.After whispering" ""Which one did I have?"" to herself" she finally recalled the goal against Denver assisted from Megan Bosica.What began as an opening weekend of UNC lacrosse ended as Donohoe's personal coming out party as she scored eight goals in two games.In the first one a 13-9 triumph Friday against Loyola (Md.)" Donohoe chipped in three goals. She followed that with five more Sunday against Denver in a 15-9 Tar Heel victory.Donohoe had a stretch in the Denver game in which she scored five of six Tar Heel goals.""We know Corey's been special since the fall" and we're really proud of not only her but our whole entire offense" coach Jenny Levy said. They're doing some really awesome stuff.""Of Donohoe's eight goals"" five came off assists in which Donohoe received the ball in the slot in front of the net and fired it past the keeper.""They're playing really well as a unit" and they're letting the game come to them and they're finding the high percentage shot" Levy said. A lot of times that happens with Corey at the end of the play. We want her at the end of each play because she's so good.""The freshman" however" did not expect such a forceful beginning to her college career.""I wanted to be really focused" but my mind-set was to win as a team Donohoe said. I wanted to run the offense run the plays" do everything together and come away with the win.""While the performance was exemplary for a freshman"" Donohoe's teammates were less than shocked.""I wouldn't expect a freshman to score eight goals in her first weekend" but knowing Corey I'm not surprised Bosica said. She's just had outstanding performance for us like all throughout the fall the preseason and these two games" she's really stepped up and helped us overcome these teams.""Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/04/08 5:00am)
The North Carolina swimming and diving team wanted to end its season with a bang and members used an explosive performance from their seniors in an undefeated weekend.UNC prevailed against N.C. State on Friday and then took down Emory and Johns Hopkins on Saturday at Koury Natatorium.Friday both the Tar Heel men and women beat N.C. State" with the men prevailing 167-131 and the women winning 172-116.""I have a little historical perspective" UNC coach Rich DeSelm said. When I was swimming here we were never able to beat N.C. State's men and the women were always close. ... Our program is a little stronger at this point" but (N.C. State) has some tremendous swimmers.""An astounding seven Tar Heels won two individual events apiece" including seniors Kelsey Morrissy Laura Filip Robby Swendiman and Ryan Funderburk all of whom were competing in their last home ACC meets.In what has become almost a routine event" Joe Kinderwater rewrote the record books Friday as he posted the third fastest 1650-yard freestyle time in school history.The 15:05.42 he clocked was just better than the 15:05.87 time put forth by the NCAA for an automatic bid to the Division-I championships in late March. The time also is the eighth-fastest time registered in the NCAA this year.""He works hard"" comes here every day with a smile on his face."" DeSelm said of Kinderwater. ""He loves to work; he's very positive and very focused. And it shows in his work.""The team refocused after the big win quickly and celebrated its Senior Day"" beating Emory and Johns Hopkins in a dual meet. ""It's just a good practice (for the ACC Tournament) to have a night swim"" then get up the next morning ready to swim again - fast."" Swendiman said.Funderburk was feeling especially ready for the meet" as he broke the North Carolina record for 3-meter diving score in a single meet amassing 422.92 points. He also volunteered to anchor the freestyle relay" the last event of the day - something rare for a diver.""Often the divers go far too unnoticed because our attention is on swimming" DeSelm said. The seniors came to me and asked if he could anchor the relay. And without making a mockery of the meet" I let them do it.""Even though the group of all seniors was disqualified for a false start"" that did not seem to damper the excitement among the other swimmers. ""It was fun to watch Ryan anchor the last leg"" Morrissy said. It was a lot of fun joking around with it. ... It was really exciting to have the senior meet - kind of sad but a good experience.""Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(01/14/08 5:00am)
After waiting two months since their last meet, the North Carolina men's and women's swimmers were eager to compete.
That excitement showed, as the men beat Clemson 168-132, and the women beat Clemson and Rutgers, 204-96 and 173-131 respectively, Saturday at Koury Natatorium.
The teams (both 2-2, 2-0 ACC) endured a one-hour delay due to facilities staff clean up of the Smith Center after the men's basketball game basketball game to convincingly defeat their two opponents in the first home meet since the Nike Invitational in mid-November.
UNC's Joe Kinderwater didn't appear to have lost his skill during the break, as the freshman placed first in two events.
Kinderwater won both the 500-meter freestyle and the 1000-meter freestyle events, en route to the second fastest 1000-meter freestyle time in UNC history, clocking in at 9:07.17.
Coach Rich DeSelm was not surprised by Kinderwater's score.
"It was great," DeSelm said. "There's no reason he shouldn't be swimming that kind of time. He has not competed in a long time, and I think the surprise on his face is just a reflection that he was not sure where he is on competition day.
"There's no reason why he can't do that, and there's no reason why he won't end up going faster."
Kinderwater was quick to deflect any praise and credited his teammates for his performance.
"My favorite thing is the team aspect of swimming - what my team does really helps me as an individual," Kinderwater said.
"When my team is swimming well, I want to swim the best I can. I try to focus before my race, have a little time alone so I can perform for my team."
North Carolina sophomore Alison Clemens also had a big day, winning four races. She was part of the 200-meter medley relay team that placed first and won the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke by herself, as well as the 200-meter medley.
"We haven't raced since Nike Competition, so the goal was to come in, race our best," Clemens said. "We weren't really concerned about times; we just wanted to get into racing again."
The diving team also succeeded, as they scored nine top-three finishes in four competitions. Ryan Funderburk and Erika Matheis won two competitions apiece.
The Tar Heels were able to preform so well despite the long break in between meets due to a rigorous practice schedule during winter break.
"We stayed here and trained both sides of Christmas, and their attitude was great," DeSelm said.
"They really embraced the training, and they are getting used to not letting up for dual meets. They really stepped up today."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(11/19/07 5:00am)
The No. 4 North Carolina women's soccer team spent the first weekend of the NCAA tournament controlling the ball - and controlling the scoreboard.
The Tar Heels tallied six goals against High Point and added three more against UNC-Greensboro.
A large part of that offensive production was the fact that the Tar Heels constantly kept the ball on the attacking half of the field.
"It's really nice. It's great to sit back and watch everything unfold," defender Ariel Harris said. "Me and Jessica (Maxwell) were back there just talking about how well our attackers were playing today. Casey's (Nogueira) goal was amazing; Nikki's (Washington) run - it was nice to see our attackers getting the ball in the net and just being productive."
As a result, UNC was able to string passes together to create good shots, as the defense was under constant duress to contain them.
Nogueira was one beneficiary of the ball control, as she scored two goals and added one assist during the weekend.
"Ball possession is really important, but mainly ball possession with a purpose," Nogueira said. "You need to hold the ball and keep trying to score. It is about building with a purpose."
Whitney Engen capitalized the most, scoring three goals during the weekend, including two against High Point.
The Tar Heels amassed 59 shots through the two games, which put great pressure on the opposing goalies, who saved 21 of the Tar Heel shots.
The abundance of shots made it difficult for the opposing teams to mount any type of counterattack. Between the two games, the Tar Heels faced four shots on goal and saved two of them.
Both opposing teams struggled to start a composed attack against the Tar Heels, but UNC-G head coach Eddie Radwanski wasn't surprised.
"Whoever plays Carolina has to prepare for a few things," he said. "You're going to be outshot. You're going to be put under a lot of pressure. You're not going to see a lot of the ball.
"That's a given. This happens against very good ACC teams; that's just a fact. You have to give Carolina credit as a team, too; the system that they play is very difficult to compete against."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(10/26/07 4:00am)
With the ACC women's soccer regular season title within reach, the Tar Heels held the N.C. State Wolfpack to three shots en route to a 4-1 victory Thursday. Yael Averbuch scored twice, and Casey Nogueira notched her team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Robyn Gayle also scored her first goal this season as the Tar Heels improved their record to 14-3-0, including an 8-1 mark in the ACC.
"I think we're still trying to improve our consistency," Averbuch said. "We've had moments where we played to our potential, but there's still a lot of times we know we can play better."
The opening salvo of the game was fired by Nogueira, as she took on an N.C. State defender 10 yards outside the box and squeezed a shot from between three defenders into the corner of the goal, where the goalie could only get a finger to the ball on its way to the back of the net.
The most well-executed goal of the night involved a nifty give-and-go between Whitney Engen and Averbuch, who scored her second of the night.
"Whitney did a great job to fight for it and keep it alive for us." Averbuch said. "I really credit Whitney with working and not letting them clear it out. She just touched it back to me, and I was running onto it. It was really all Whitney's work."
In the final minutes of the game, both sides became more physical, culminating with N.C. State striker Sabrina Lukasik receiving a yellow card in the 74th minute. Lukasik also had scored the Wolfpack's lone goal off a botched clearance three minutes earlier.
"We got through it without any injuries, we don't want our kids hurt, we don't want their kids hurt, no issues with us," head coach Anson Dorrance said. "We're glad to get through it, we're glad to win, and we're looking forward to our final regular season game next Friday against Virginia.
"Virginia is huge, though; right now they are one of the top teams in the country," he continued. "We're going to have to play exceptionally well against them, but we're in a wonderful position right now."
Thursday's victory affords the Tar Heels the opportunity to control their own fate. If the Tar Heels beat Virginia, currently ACC No. 2, they are the conference regular season champions and the No.1 seed entering the ACC tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(09/24/07 4:00am)
DURHAM - On a day when the offense put together 30 shots and scored two quality goals, the North Carolina defense also shone, holding San Francisco to three total shots Sunday in a 2-0 win.
Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was credited with a mere one save on the afternoon, a testament to the UNC backline's control of the Don attack.
San Francisco could not muster much offense against the talented backline consisting of freshman Meghan Klingenberg, senior Ariel Harris and sophomore Kristi Eveland.
The unit has allowed just two goals all year, both in 1-0 losses. It has shut out every other opponent - most recently the Dons.
The defense was helped on Sunday by the midfield and forwards, all of whom put pressure on the San Francisco midfielders, making it difficult to construct an attack.
"It was a team effort," Ariel Harris said.
"The players in front of us were very aggressive. It helped us out tremendously because we did not have balls raining in on us like it was on Friday (against Ohio State)."
The soccer team's Friday defensive performance wasn't too shabby either, as UNC posted a 5-0 shutout.
On a few occasions Sunday, the Dons would lob a cross over the heads of the defenders, but the defense was able to recover and shut down the attack before San Francisco could do more damage.
"We were trying to keep the field in front of us as small as possible," Klingenberg said on the responsiveness of the backline.
"When they looked like they were going to serve, we dropped back quickly. We wanted to make it as hard as possible to get over the top."
The defense was very active, on multiple occasions stopping long San Francisco runs before they could develop into dangerous scoring opportunities.
After one particularly well-placed San Francisco through ball, Ariel Harris sprinted back and made a saving tackle on what would have been a two-on-one San Francisco counterattack.
Opposing strikers will be most worried by the fact that this performance was turned in by a Tar Heel defense not currently at full strength.
Jessica Maxwell, the starting center back, played 13 minutes in the Ohio State game on Friday but was rested Sunday to protect a foot injury she sustained against Virginia last season.
"We're very happy with the two shutouts, especially in light of the fact that we lost Jessica," coach Anson Dorrance said.
"I thought when we put Klingenberg back there and shifted Ariel to the middle, that gave us wonderful defensive presence and speed.
"We've got all kinds of options because I know Jessica is going to continue getting healthier."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.