University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Texas A&M
#1 Tar Heels Rally Past #11 Texas A&M, 4-1
August 27, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2000
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - For the second successive game the top-ranked North Carolina women's soccer team had to stage a comeback as UNC rallied with a troika of second-half goals to defeat 11th-ranked Texas A&M at the Aggie Soccer Complex in College Station, Texas.
Junior midfielder Jena Kluegel scored the game-winning goal for the Tar Heels with 19:14 to play in the game, breaking a 1-1 tie and propelling Carolina to the 4-1 win. Freshman forward Alyssa Ramsey and sophomore forward Susan Bush added goals for Carolina in the final seven minutes to salt away the victory.
UNC improved to 2-0 on the season with the victory, following up on Friday night's 9-2 victory at Texas. The Aggies dropped to 1-1 after opening the season Friday with a win over Central Florida.
For the second straight game the Tar Heels fell behind. With 25:16 left in the first half the Aggies dented the scoreboard when forward Nicky Thasher rocketed in a shot from about 15 yards out to the left of UNC goalkeeper Jenni Branam. Thrasher was assisted on the play by midfielder Heather Wiebe. Friday night Carolina had also fallen behind Texas 1-0 just 40 seconds into the game before roaring from behind for the win.
The Tar Heels tied the game just 1:48 before halftime on a goal generated by a trio of freshman reserves. Midfielder Maggie Tomecka controlled the ball just across midfield and she forwarded the ball to midfielder Jordan Walker. Walker then skillfully slid the ball forward to a charging Catherine Reddick, a freshman forward, and Reddick's shot from just inside the box found the net to the right of A&M goalie Angela Barker. Reddick scored a similar goal just this past Friday night when her tally with 30 seconds left in the first half at Austin tied the score at 1-1 at the break.
The game could have been much higher scoring at the half but both goalkeepers played brilliantly. Barker had four saves for A&M and Brannam had three for Carolina as the Aggies outshot Carolina 9-8 in the first half.
Carolina went on to score three times in the second half. Kluegel broke the tie with 19:14 left in the game with an unassisted goal. The Aggies had cleared the ball following a UNC corner kick but the ball came to Kluegel who shot from 22 yards out on the right. Her hard shot had some nifty spin on it and it eluded Barker, who stretched but just couldn't get her hands on it.
The Aggies valiantly tried to tie the score but Carolina got an insurance goal with 6:31 to play when Kluegel led Ramsey up the right side of the field and Ramsey went in one-on-one and poked the ball past Barker. Bush then put the game away with 2:39 to play when she lofted a 28-yard shot from well outside the box into the left side of the net as Barker was caught out of the goal.
The crowd of 2,794 broke the Texas A&M home attendance record. The old record was 2,754 against Nebraska in 1999.
The Tar Heels will be in action once again on Friday when they host 16th-ranked Virginia at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field. That game will mark the regular-season home opener for Coach Anson Dorrance's team.
#1 NORTH CAROLINA 1 3--4
#11 TEXAS A&M 1 0--1
Scoring Summary:
TAMU--Nicky Thrasher (Heather Wiebe), 19:44
UNC--Catherine Reddick (Jordan Walker, Maggie Tomecka), 43:12
UNC--Jena Kluegel (unassisted), 70:16
UNC--Alyssa Ramsey (Jena Kluegel), 83:29
UNC--Susan Bush (unassisted), 87:21
North Carolina Goals: Catherine Reddick, Jena Kluegel, Alyssa Ramsey, Susan Bush
Texas A&M Goals: Nicky Thrasher
North Carolina Assists: Jordan Walker, Maggie Tomecka, Jena Kluegel
Texas A&M Assists: Heather Wiebe
Shots: North Carolina 20, Texas A&M 12
Goalkeeper Statistics: Jenni Branam (UNC), 90 minutes played, 1 goal allowed, 4 saves, Angela Barker (TAMU), 90 minutes played, 4 goals allowed, 9 saves
Back Saves: Texas A&M 1
Corner Kicks: North Carolina 6, Texas A&M 6
Fouls: North Carolina 17, Texas A&M 12
Yellow Cards: Alyssa Ramsey (UNC), 14:30, Danielle Borgman (UNC), 64:30, Leslie Gaston (UNC), 66:40, Kristen Strutz (TAMU), 67:20, Amber Reynolds (TAMU), 70:16.
North Carolina Starting Lineup: Jenni Branam, Julia Marslender, Jena Kluegel, Kalli Kamholz, Anne Remy, Raven McDonald, Susan Bush, Meredith Florance, Leslie Gaston, Danielle Borgman, Alyssa Ramsey
North Carolina Reserves: Kim Patrick, Tina Murphy, Jordan Walker, Maggie Tomecka, Catherine Reddick
Texas A&M Starting Lineup: Angela Barker, Michelle Royal, Heather Wiebe, Nicky Thrasher, Andrea Starns, Kristen Strutz, Heather Ragsdale, Adrienne Dillard, Amber Reynolds, Alison Peters, Juli Goin
Texas A&M Reserves: Jessica Martin, Cameron Chorn, Ashley Murray, Stefani Chaney, Jessica Hamilton
Officials: Misail Tsapos (Referee), Gil Gomez (Assistant Referee), Jason Anno (Assistant Referee)
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Hot
Attendance: 2,794
Records: North Carolina 2-0, Texas A&M 1-1
