University of North Carolina Athletics
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VCU
No. 8 Tar Heels Bury Rams With Late Flurry
September 19, 2006 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Sophomore forward Stephen Bickford came off the bench to score the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and followed with an assist on a score by classmate Scott Campbell just a minute and a half later to lead No. 8 North Carolina (7-2-0) back into the win column with a 3-1 victory over VCU (2-5-0) Tuesday at Fetzer Field.
The Tar Heels, who rebounded from a 1-0 loss at No. 2 Clemson in their last outing, have now scored seven times in the last three games after totaling just seven goals through their first six outings this season. In addition to the goals by Bickford and Campbell, sophomore midfielder Michael Callahan scored his third goal in the last three games for UNC.
Bickford broke a 1-1 tie with an unlikely goal at 70:34. His cross from the right flank was deflected by a pressuring VCU defender just enough so that it slid into the upper left corner of the net past Rams' goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. The goal was the second of the season for the Cary, N.C., product.
At the 72-minute mark, Bickford set up Campbell's second goal of the season to give UNC a 3-1 lead and control of the match. Bickford played a through ball to Campbell on the left, and he scored from eight yards out into the lower right corner of the frame.
Callahan and Campbell now lead the Tar Heels in scoring with seven points each, with Bickford checking in third with six.
After a slow start for both teams, Carolina took a 1-0 lead on Callahan's strike at the 40-minute mark. The Cary native dribbled forward from the midfield and sent a bending left-footed shot from 18 yards off the left post and into the back of the net for his team-high third goal of the season. Callahan now has three of UNC's last six goals after scoring just once all of last season.
VCU's David Rosenbaum found the equalizer at the 58-minute mark off a feed from Matthijus Maruanaya, who threaded a through ball past the UNC defense to Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum then beat a charging Justin Hughes with a shot to the lower left-hand corner of the net. The goal snapped a 336-minute stretch of scoreless soccer for the Rams, who had suffered three straight 1-0 losses entering Tuesday's match.
The Tar Heels nearly scored in the 27th minute when but a Garry Lewis header was saved in the net by VCU defender Adam Combs to keep the Tar Heels off the board until Callahan's goal. A second half back save by UNC's Tim Evans kept Rams from adding a second goal on a shot by Fred Owusu Sekyere in the 74th minute.
Hughes made two stops on the night and allowed one goal, while Dykstra made no saves and allowed three goals for the Rams.
The Tar Heels played Tuesday without senior starters Corey Ashe, Michael Harrington and Ted Odgers, who were nursing injuries. Carolina started seven freshmen and sophomores against the Rams.
UNC returns to Atlantic Coast Conference action Friday against top-ranked Virginia at Fetzer Field at 7 p.m. This game will be available to watch live or later on-demand through ACC Select. Visit ACCSelect.com for more information.
