University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Florida State
Scoring Burst In Last Five Minutes Of First Half Bolts UNC Past Seminoles
September 22, 2005 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2005
TALLAHASEE, FLA. - Playing before a record crowd at the Seminole Soccer Complex, the No. 1 North Carolina women's soccer squad scored three times in a span of only 2:49 late in the first half as the Tar Heels defeated host Florida State 4-1, knocking the Seminoles from the ranks of the nation's undefeated teams. The Tar Heels found their main offensive thrust from unexpected places as sophomore forward Katie Brooks and senior midfielder Kacey White, who had combined for only one goal in the first eight matches of the season, each found the back of the net twice.
"Florida State is superb," said UNC Head Coach Anson Dorrance. "The margin tonight does not indicate the game in any way. I thought it could have easily have been a tie game. Our keeper came up big on a couple and then we scored three of our goals when our reserves were in at the end of the half. In my mind this game was a tie and maybe at times Florida State had the run. It is exciting to get a result and come out of here with a 4-1 win over a team I consider one of the top teams in the country."
North Carolina (9-0-0, ACC 1-0-0) won its Atlantic Coast Conference opener for the 18th time in 19 years of ACC play. Florida State (No. 7 Soccer Buzz, No. 9 Soccer America, No. 12 NSCAA, No. 7 Soccer Times) fell to 7-1-0 overall while losing its conference opener. The game Thursday was viewed by 1,912 fans, the most to ever attend a match at the Seminole Soccer Complex. The only season in which UNC has failed to win its ACC opener was 2002 when the Tar Heels fell 2-1 at NC State in its first conference game of the season.
One of the keys to the North Carolina win was the play of senior goalkeeper Aly Winget, a native of Orinda, Calif., who had her most saves in a game in exactly three years with seven. Winget made three outstanding saves in the first half to keep the game knotted at 0-0 before the Tar Heels exploded offensively beginning in the 41st minute of play.
The last time Winget had as many as seven saves in a game was September 22, 2002, when she had seven in a 4-1 victory over Marquette in the Duke adidas Classic in Durham, N.C. The Tar Heels played most of that match down a player after Catherine Reddick was red carded in the opening minutes of the match. Winget's career high is eight saves against Texas on September 15, 2002 at the Houston College Challenge in a 3-2 Tar Heel victory. With her seven saves Thursday, Winget ran her career record for saves at UNC to 197.
Winget made key saves to keep the match scoreless in the 28th, 31st and 39th minutes. She saved a hard shot off a header by Mami Yamaguchi on the first occasion and stopped potential goals by ACC scoring leader Sel Kuralay in the 31st and 39th minutes. Kuralay's shot in the 31st minute came on a half bicycle kick that Winget was able to keep out of harm's way with a sprawling save.
Shortly after Florida State's third great scoring chance of the first half, the Tar Heels struck quickly and often. Katie Brooks, who had been in the game less than three minutes, was the first Tar Heel to score as she jumped on an attempted Florida State clearance in the box and scored from about eight yards out past FSU goalkeeper Ali Mims at 40:06. It was only the third career goal for Brooks, who hails from Winchester, Mass. Ironically, Brooks had one of her two goals as a freshman last year against the Seminoles.
Carolina increased its lead to 2-0 just over a minute later as Kacey White, from Arlington, Texas, scored her second goal of the season, pouncing on a rebound from about two yards away to make it 2-0. It was White's second goal of the season. Freshman Yael Averbuch took a free kick that went past Mims and bounced off the post to White who quickly put away the scoring chance. That goal came at 41:34.
UNC made it 3-0 at 42:55 as Brooks scored her second goal in less than three minutes and the fourth of her career, her third against FSU. Kacey White sent a corner kick from the right side into the box that found the head of Brooks amongst a crowd of players.
The scoring burst was not unsual for the Tar Heels, who six times this season have now scored either three or four goals in spans of 16 minutes or less. The Tar Heels were outshot by the Seminoles 9-6 in the first half but Winget made six of her seven saves in the opening 45 minutes to keep the Seminoles scoreless to that point. The Seminoles ended up with a 14-13 shot advantage, the first time they have ever outshot Carolina in a game.
Carolina's lead was upped to 4-0 when Kacey White scored on a penalty kick at 71:06. It was White's first penalty kick goal of the year. She also converted three penalty kicks for goals on three attempts in 2004.
The Seminoles did not go scoreless, however, as they slipped one by Winget at 75:36, capitalizing on a series of passes that resulted in India Trotter's sixth goal of the season. Katrin Schmidt and Viola Odebrecht assisted on the play with Trotter finishing from about 16 yards in the right side of the box, going far post past Winget. It was only the second goal Winget has allowed this season and the third allowed by UNC as a team in 2005.
Mims made four saves for Florida State and the Tar Heels had a 6-1 edge in corner kicks. UNC was whistled for eight fouls and FSU 11. North Carolina was outshot in a match for the first time since October 30, 2002 when the Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 3-2 in Winston-Salem, N.C., despite being outshot 19-14.
Both teams will be in action again Sunday with Florida State hosting NC State at 1 p.m. and Carolina heading to Coral Gables, Fla. to meet Miami at 1 p.m. at Cobb Stadium.
