University of North Carolina Athletics
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North Carolina State
Tar Heels Clinch ACC Regular-Season Women's Soccer Championship
October 19, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 19, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. - Second-ranked North Carolina clinched the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season women's soccer championship Thursday afternoon as the Tar Heels beat NC State 4-1 at Method Road Soccer Stadium. Carolina had goals from four different players - Whitney Engen, Jaime Gilbert, Tobin Heath and Yael Averbuch - as the Tar Heels won their 17th successive game, improving to 17-1 overall and 9-0 in the ACC. Carolina has not lost since falling to Texas A&M in College Station, Texas on the opening day of the season, a 1-0 double overtime setback.
North Carolina will close out its regular season on October 27 when the Tar Heels play host to Wake Forest at Fetzer Field at 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night for three Carolina players - Heather O'Reilly, Elizabeth Guess and Jennifer Perkins - as they will be honored in pre-game ceremonies.
NC State fell to 8-6-2 on the season and 3-5 in the ACC. The Wolfpack was only the sixth team this season to score against the Tar Heels.
Carolina had the run of the play during the rare afternoon weekday match as the Tar Heels outshot the Wolpfack 24-3 and had 12 corner kicks to two by NCSU. Megan Connors made seven saves in the match to help limit the Tar Heels to four goals while Anna Rodenbough made one save and allowed only her seventh goal of the season in 18 matches.
UNC opened the scoring off a corner kick by Heather O'Reilly in the 12th minute. Tobin Heath headed O'Reilly's corner into the box where freshman forward Whitney Engen headed the ball into an empty net at 11:14. The goal was Engen's sixth of the year.
NC State did not fall behind for long as Lindsay Vera struck for her fifth goal of the season just 21 seconds after Carolina scored. Carol Togentti sent a through ball past the back line of the Carolina defense and Vera gathered it in and shot from the top of the 18-yard box for the tying tally. NC State has scored at least one goal against Carolina in seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams. UNC has not shutout the Wolfpack in Raleigh since a 3-0 win on October 11, 2000.
It was the second time in the last three games that the Tar Heels gave up a goal less than a minute after taking a 1-0 lead in a game. In UNC's 3-1 win over Boston College last Thursday the Tar Heels allowed a goal by Gina DiMartino just 36 seconds after the initial Tar Heel score.
After Vera struck for the Wolfpack, the rest of the match was all Carolina as UNC outshot the Wolfpack 14-3 in the first half and 10-0 in the second half.
The eventual game-winning goal was tallied by junior striker Jaime Gilbert at 34:50. It was Gilbert's third goal of the season and her second game-winner. After a scrum in the NC State penalty area, the Tar Heels were able to claim possession and put together a passing combination to find the back of the net. Nikki Washington had the primary assist on Gilbert's goal and Sterling Smith had the secondary assist.
UNC nursed the 2-1 lead until the 72nd minute when the Tar Heels scored two goals in less than three minutes to put the game away.
At 71:42, freshman midfielder Tobin Heath scored her fourth goal of the season as she got past her defender in a one-v-one situation and beat the State keeper into the left side of the net. Fellow frosh Casey Nogueira assisted Heath on the goal.
Nogueira had the primary assist on the final goal as well. At 74:31, Yael Averbuch sent a bouncing shot past a diving Connors to make the score 4-1. It was Averbuch's team-leading 10th goal of the season. Besides Nogueira, Sterling Smith also assisted on the goal.
While the Tar Heels have eight days off before playing Wake Forest, the Wolfpack has a quick turnaround. NCSU plays at Clemson Sunday at 2 p.m.
