University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Rider
Norkus Scores Four Goals, No. 5 UNC Buries Rider 11-0
October 15, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 15, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- No. 5-ranked North Carolina netted five goals in the first 25 minutes and finished with its best offensive output in 13 seasons, 11-0 over Rider, as it captured the championship of the adidas/Spartan Classic in Greensboro, NC, October 15.
Caleb Norkus scored a career single-game high four goals to pace the Tar Heels to their sixth straight win and a 12-2 record. Carolina is off to its best start since 1981, when it tied the school record by starting the season 13-2. Norkus pushed his season total to nine goals, all scored in the last six games.
"It's tremendous to see that Caleb's coming on in the second half of the season," said coach Elmar Bolowich. "Sometimes a forward just needs to be patient and the goals will come to him."
"I was a little hurt at the beginning of the season and not quite mentally prepared," said Norkus. "But my teammates have been creating some good scoring chances for me and our offense is really clicking. God has really blessed us lately."
Norkus netted goals in the sixth, 37th, 55th and 61st minutes, and his performance overshadowed the first career hat trick for junior All-American Chris Carrieri, who had three goals.
Carrieri was the nation's ninth-leading scorer entering the week and leads the Atlantic Coast Conference with 17 goals this season. He scored goals in the 17th, 25th and 57th minutes.
Norkus, who had one assist, and Carrieri were each one point off the Tar Heels' single-game point total set by James Reston against NC State in 1962. They rank sixth and third, respectively, on the team's all-time scoring list.
"We wanted to get up quickly and not make it complicated," said Bolowich. "We had lots of concentration early in the game and those early goals deflated Rider."
Forty-two seconds after Norkus's opening goal, Matt Crawford netted his first of the season. Michael Bucy had a pair of goals in the 23rd and 47th minutes. Noz Yamauchi scored the closing goal with only 51 seconds remaining.
The Broncs (7-8) had only two shots on goal, the first coming in the 64th minute, and never threatened to score.
"It's good for our guys to see this level of competition," said Rider coach Russ Fager. "The rest of our games are at home, and when we take the field against St. Peter's for a conference game Wednesday (October 18), we should be a step ahead of them after having this experience."
The Tar Heels' Norkus, Carrieri, Bucy and Daniel Jackson were named to the All-Tournament team while Bob Francis and Steve Jackson earned All-Tournament honors for the Broncs.
UNC scored the most goals of any squad visiting UNCG Soccer Stadium in 221 games over 10 seasons and tallied its most in a single game since a 12-0 home win over Barton in 1987.
The Tar Heels have won seven of eight games on the road and outscored opponents 34-8 in those contests. They play four of their last five regular-season games at home beginning with a non-conference contest against Charlotte October 18.
