University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
San Francisco
No. 8 North Carolina Downs San Francisco For Its Second Straight Win
September 23, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2007
DURHAM, N.C. - On a steamy afternoon at Koskinen Stadium, the eighth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were able to beat the heat and the San Francisco Dons for a 2-0 victory in the third game of the Duke/adidas Classic. Carolina unleashed a season-high 30 shots on the offensive end, while also collecting its fifth shutout of the year along the back line. The win helped the Heels improve to 6-2 on the season and 22-2 all-time in the Duke/adidas Classic.
The Tar Heels took 14 first-half shots before breaking through in the 40th minute when junior Yael Averbuch scored from 20 yards out. Sophomore Tobin Heath started the play by winning the ball from the San Francisco defense and then finding Averbuch in the center of the field. The Upper Montclair, N.J. native pivoted and fired a shot past Dons keeper Katie Hodgson.
Heath struck again in the 73rd minute when she worked a nifty give-and-go with sophomore Sterling Smith along the left end line. Heath passed the ball to Smith from the left wing and then charged into box where she received the return pass and curled a shot past Hodgson for the goal. The shot was Heath's first goal of the season and brought her into a tie for third place on the team with 7 points.
Two days after setting a career high with 5 saves, sophomore Ashlyn Harris faced just three shots only one of which was on net. The performance marked her first career solo shutout. She had previously factored into two of the team's four earlier shutouts, but went the full 90 minutes for the first time on Sunday. Also going the distance was the back line comprised of senior Ariel Harris, sophomore Kristi Eveland and freshman Meghan Klingenberg. The ability to turn away the San Francisco attack for the full 90 minutes was especially impressive given the day's conditions in which the temperature stayed constant in the low-to-mid nineties.
At the conclusion of the Duke-Ohio State game which followed the Tar Heels' contest, sophomore Casey Nogueira as well as Ashlyn and Ariel Harris were named to the All-Tournament team. Nogueira even copped Offensive MVP honors after turning in a hat trick during Friday's game against Ohio State. Ashlyn and Ariel helped anchor a defense that did not allow a single goal during the Classic.
The Tar Heels kick off their ACC slate next Thursday when they travel to Tallahassee to take on the 11th-ranked Florida State Seminoles. Carolina has come away victorious on its last three trips to Tallahassee since falling 3-2 in double overtime during the 2000 season.
