University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
Sterling Smith Tallies Twice In Carolina's 3-0 Win Over The Terrapins
October 1, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 1, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman striker Sterling Smith had the first two-goal game of her career and senior forward Heather O'Reilly had a role in all three goals scored in the second-ranked North Carolina women's soccer team's 3-0 victory over Maryland Sunday afternoon at Fetzer Field. O'Reilly scored the game-winning goal in the first half and then she assisted on both of Smith's goals in the second half as the Tar Heels won their 12th match in a row and fourth in succession in the ACC.
O'Reilly, who has 14 points in Carolina's last six matches with five goals and four assists, scored the game-winning goal for UNC, her third such tally in the last six matches, at 13:56. Freshman striker Whitney Engen won a 50-50 ball from a Maryland defender close to the right sideline and she sent a pass to O'Reilly in the center of the field. O'Reilly then bent a shot into the lower left corner around Maryland goalkeeper Nikki Resnick, who ended up with eight saves and three goals allowed while facing 26 UNC shots.
Carolina ended the first half with a 14-2 shot advantage but Resnick's five first-half saves kept the match 1-0 at intermission.
Less than six minutes into the second half, the Tar Heels added to their lead as Sterling Smith scored her fourth goal of the season off an assist by Heather O'Reilly. O'Reilly carried the ball deep into the penalty area on the left side and she had Whitney Engen open at the top of the box behind her. But the East Brunswick, N.J. native spotted Smith streaking inside the six-yard line and her perfectly placed cross found Smith's head for a 2-0 lead.
At 65:07, UNC almost made it 3-0 on a curving shot by Yael Averbuch that she sent from well outside the box on the right side. The ball appeared to be going well wide to the left but suddenly bent and clanged high off the left post.
Carolina scored virtually the exact same goal as their second score in the 87th minute to finish the scoring. This time freshman midfielder Tobin Heath threaded a pass to O'Reilly on the left side and again the senior striker sent a pass to the middle that Smith ran on to for a successful header into the lower right of the frame.
Maryland had two excellent chances to score in the last seven minutes of the match. Kaila Sciascia sent a hard shot at UNC goalkeeper Anna Rodenbough at 83:56 only to be denied by the UNC sophomore while the score was still just 2-0. Even more dangerous was the chance Ashly Kennedy had at 88:13. She cracked a bullet from outside the box that Rodenbough saved when she jumped up to her right, deflecting the ball over the bar for a corner kick.
Rodenbough earned her ninth solo shutout of the season in 13 games. UNC outshot the Terps 26-5 on the day and had a 6-1 corner kick edge.
With the win North Carolina improved to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC. Carolina is now the only team in the ACC without a loss in league play. Maryland is 4-6-1 overall and 0-3 in the ACC. The Terps had allowed only eight goals in 10 matches heading into the match but the Tar Heels scored three times to equal the most goals allowed by the Terps this season. UCLA had a 3-0 win over Maryland in the second game of the season.
This week the Tar Heels will face two difficult ACC foes on the road. Carolina plays at Virginia (No. 14 NSCAA, No. 11 Soccer America, No. 8 Soccer Buzz) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers are 7-3-2, 2-1-1 in the ACC. Next Sunday UNC will play at Duke at 2 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium. Duke is tied for second in the ACC with Wake Forest with a 3-1 record behind UNC's 4-0 mark. The Blue Devils are 7-4-1 overall. A year ago the Blue Devils handed Carolina its only loss of the 2005 season, a 2-1 win over UNC at Fetzer Field.
