University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 2 Tar Heels Seek Elusive Win in Charlottesville
September 30, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 30, 2005
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Off to its best start since 1991, No. 2-ranked North Carolina (7-0-1, 1-0-1 ACC) will take on No. 11 Virginia (6-1-1, 2-0-0) at Klockner Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday. Winners of three of the last five in the series, the Tar Heels hope to break a string of tough trips to Charlottesville, as they have not won at Virginia since 1977 and have lost 13 straight on the road in the series. Carolina posted a 2-1 win over the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill last season.
CAROLINA AT A GLANCE
• The Tar Heels remained unbeaten with a 1-0 overtime win over UNC Greensboro Tuesday. Carolina is unbeaten after eight matches for the first time since 1991. A win Saturday would give the Tar Heels their best start since opening 9-0 in 1959. A tie would give them their best mark since starting 7-0-2 in 1982.
• Freshman Scott Campbell has scored back-to-back game-winning goals in 1-0 Tar Heel victories. Eight of the Carolina's 13 goals this season have been scored by players that were not on last season's roster.
• Campbell and junior forward Corey Ashe share the team goal lead with four each. Both players have scored three game-winners.
• Senior Ford Williams has played all 748:46 minutes in the net, allowing just three goals. He established a new single-season career high with his sixth shutout versus UNC Greensboro.
• Carolina's three goals allowed are the fewest since through the first eight games of the season since the 1991 squad gave up just two through eight matches.
• The Tar Heels return seven starters and 17 letterwinners from last year's team that went 10-9-2 and tied for third in the ACC with a 4-3-0 league mark.
SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS
Virginia enters Saturday's match fresh off a 4-0 win over Mount St. Mary's Wednesday. Adam Cristman and Yannick Reyering lead the Cavaliers with 13 and 11 points, respectively, on the season. The duo has combined for 11 of UVa's 18 goals. The Cavalier defense has allowed just six scores on the season, and goalkeeper Ryan Burke sports a 0.73 goals against average. Virginia is 2-0-0 in ACC play with wins over NC State and Boston College. Old Dominion, who fell to the Tar Heels 2-1 Sept. 18, handed the Cavaliers their only loss of the season.
SERIES WITH VIRGINIA
After 67 all-time meetings, the Carolina-Virginia series is tied a 30-30-7. The Tar Heels have won three of the last five meetings, but the trip to Charlottesville has been unkind to Carolina, which has not won on the road against Virginia since 1977 - the first year that Anson Dorrance coached the Tar Heel men. Since that 1-0 victory, Carolina owns an 0-13-1 mark in Charlottesville. The tie came in 1979. UNC posted a 2-1 win in Chapel Hill last season on Adam Sloustcher's game-winning goal.
LAST TIME OUT: CAROLINA 1, UNC GREENSBORO 0
Freshman Scott Campbell netted his second straight game-winning goal with just 1:14 remaining in the first overtime period to lift No. 2 North Carolina to a 1-0 victory over No. 19 UNC Greensboro Tuesday at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels posted their third consecutive win versus a ranked opponent and are unbeaten after eight matches for the first time since 1991. After playing to a draw at the end of regulation, neither team managed a shot on goal in overtime until Campbell connected on the winner at 98:46. Following a takeaway, junior defender Michael Harrington served the ball from the left wing to sophomore midfielder Dax McCarty, who dribbled to the middle of the field and fed Campbell from just outside the box. Campbell, who was positioned on the left, fired from about eight yards into the upper part of the net for his fourth goal of the season and the win. Senior goalkeeper Ford Williams went the distance in the net for Carolina to notch his career-best sixth shutout of the season in just eight games. He made two saves on the night and has allowed only three goals this season in 748:46.
CAMPBELL HEATS UP
Freshman midfielder Scott Campbell has scored the Tar Heels' lone goal in each of their last two outings, a pair of victories over nationally-ranked opponents. The Plantation, Fla., native now leads the squad with 11 points on four goals and three assists. He is tied with forward Corey Ashe for the team lead in goals and is tied for second on the team in assists. In addition to his game-winners versus Clemson and Old Dominion, Campbell also netted the winning score versus South Carolina. The rookie scored his first collegiate goal in a 3-0 win over Richmond Sept. 4. Campbell and fellow midfielder Michael Callahan are the only Tar Heel rookies to start all eight matches this season.
DEFENSIVE DOMINATES EARLY SEASON
In addition to allowing just three goals this season, the Tar Heel defense has suffocated opponents and allowed only 74 shots in eight matches - just over nine per game. Through seven games, Carolina's goals against average ranked seventh nationally and led the ACC. Following the shutout of UNC Greensboro Tuesday, the Tar Heels lowered their mark to 0.36. The Tar Heels have taken nearly twice as many corner kicks (52-27) as their opponents and own a 131-74 edge on the shot chart. In addition to the play of senior Ford Williams in goal, returnees Andre Sherard and Ted Odgers have steadied the center back positions, while Michael Harrington and David Boole moved to outside back to shore up the back line. All four defenders have started each of the eight games.
TOUGH STRETCH FOR TAR HEELS
Saturday's match at No. 11 Virginia is the fourth in a four-game stretch of nationally-ranked opponents for the Tar Heels. Carolina defeated No. 22 ODU Sept. 18, No. 17 Clemson Sept. 23 and toppled No. 19 UNC Greensboro Tuesday. The Tar Heels are 4-0 this season against ranked teams and have allowed just one goal over these games.
ASHE RESUMES SCORING PACE
Junior forward Corey Ashe led the Tar Heels with nine goals a year ago and he has picked up where he left off a year ago with four goals on the season to share the team lead with freshman Scott Campbell. Three of Ashe's four scores have been game-winners against Richmond, Rutgers and No. 22 Old Dominion. A native of Virginia Beach, Va., Ashe now has 17 career goals, including eight game-winners in just 42 career games.
WEEKLY HONOR FOR WILLIAMS
Senior goalkeeper Ford Williams was named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week for his performance in the Tar Heels `shutout win over Clemson Sept. 23. The Raleigh native tied a season-best with six saves and posted his fifth shutout of the season. He leads the ACC with a 0.36 goals against average and ranked 10th nationally prior to the UNC Greensboro victory.
OFFENSE STARTS WITH MCCARTY
Sophomore Dax McCarty has been outstanding in the midfield this season, providing seamless transition from defense to offense for the Tar Heels. The Winter Park, Fla., product has shown outstanding ball control and leads the team with four assists - all in the last five games. He has one goal on the season, the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at VCU, and is tied for third on the team with six points.
ROOKIES OFF TO STRONG STARTS
Freshman Scott Campbell and Michael Callahan have started all eight matches, and classmates Stephen Bickford and Brian Shriver are two of the first options off the bench for the Tar Heels, as they have yet another banner rookie class. Rated fifth nationally coming into the season by College Soccer News, the Carolina freshmen have more than lived up to their billing. Campbell leads the team with 11 points through eight games. The attacking midfielder has four goals and three assists on the year and has three game-winning scores to his credit. Callahan has provided very steady midfield play so far, while Bickford and Shriver have each scored one goal on the season. Bickford set up Shriver's first half goal in the win over Old Dominion.
POSITION SWITCH PAYS FOR BOOLE, HARRINGTON
Juniors David Boole and Michael Harrington are playing outside back for the first time as Tar Heels, and the switch is paying immediate dividends. The pair has helped anchor a defense that has allowed just three goals on the season and has shutouts in six of Carolina's eight games. The pair has also assisted on four of the Tar Heels' 13 goals so far this season. Boole assisted of three of Carolina's first four goals on the year and was named the ACC Player of the Week and was chosen for College Soccer News' and Soccer America's national teams of the week on September 5. Harrington played at defender with the U.S. Under-20 National Team this summer and has made a smooth transition into that position with the Tar Heels.
WILLIAMS CLIMBS SHUTOUT LIST
Senior Ford Williams has a career-best six shutouts this season and has logged at least five in each of his four seasons in Chapel Hill for 21 in his career. The Carolina record for career shutouts is 28.5 set by Michael Ueltschey from 1998-2001. The single-season record for shutouts is 12 set by Ueltschey in the national championship season of 2001.
ACC, NATIONAL RANKINGS
The following Tar Heels were ranked among the Atlantic Coast Conference and national leaders through games of Sept. 25:
Goals Per Game - Corey Ashe - 0.57 (eighth in ACC)
Assists Per Game - David Boole, Scott Campbell, Dax McCarty - 0.43 (10th in ACC)
Shots Per Game - Corey Ashe - 3.71 (sixth in ACC); Ben Hunter - 2.71 (eighth in ACC)
Game-Winning Goals - Corey Ashe - 3 (first in ACC); Scott Campbell - 2 (fourth in ACC)
Goals Against Average - Ford Williams - 0.42 (first in ACC, 10th in NCAA)
Saves Per Game - Ford Williams - 2.71 (seventh in ACC)
