University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Florida State
Tar Heels Battle Seminoles & Weather To Post Comeback Win
September 27, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2007
TALLAHASSE, FLA. - In a match that was delayed 109 minutes because of lightning and lasted three hours and 34 minutes overall, No. 7-ranked North Carolina endured to beat No. 12 Florida State in women's soccer action Thursday night 2-1 in overtime at the Seminole Soccer Complex. Freshman Meghan Klingenberg had the game-winning goal for the Tar Heels in the 95th minute after the game was delayed in each half of play because of the weather.
The game marked the third consecutive time that the Tar Heels have beaten the Seminoles 2-1 with each of the last two wins coming in overtime. UNC beat the Noles 2-1 last year in the regular season at Fetzer Field on a late goal by Heather O'Reilly and then prevailed in the finals of the ACC Tournament 2-1 in overtime at Cary, N.C. on a goal by Elizabeth Guess. In that latter game, UNC had to rally from a 1-0 second-half deficit, the same scenario it faced Thursday night before a crowd of 1,925 fans in Tallahassee.
UNC improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the ACC with the win while Florida State falls to 5-3-1 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. The five losses by the two teams combined have come by a total of five goals as both squads have played in tough luck this season.
UNC outshot the Noles 19-7 in the game and had 11 corner kicks to eight for FSU. Freshman Erin McNulty made five saves for the Seminoles as Carolina placed seven of its 19 shots on frame. Ashlyn Harris made four saves for UNC, just one short of her career high, including one on a shot by FSU's leading scorer Mami Yamaguchi with four seconds to play in regulation time.
FSU opened the scoring shortly after halftime at 46:35 of the game as Yamaguchi sent a long ball down the field that two Tar Heel defenders and FSU's Kirsten van de Ven descended on. The sliding deflection of the ball off van de Ven ended up sailing over the head of Ashlyn Harris who had come out to try to make a play on the ball. The goal was van de Ven's third of the season.
After a long weather delay in the 49th minute, UNC regrouped and was able to tie the game eight minutes later. Sophomore striker Casey Nogueira let loose with one of her patented 30-yard blasts that deflected into the lower corner with the usual pace she puts on the ball. Nogueira's sixth goal of the season tied the game at 56:54.
Neither team found the back of the net the remainder of regulation time and the game went to overtime. Yamaguchi had three successive corner kicks in the first two minutes of overtime but FSU was unable to cash in on them.
At 94:10, Carolina's Allie Long had a shot on goal for the Heels that resulted in McNulty's fifth save. Less than a minute later the Tar Heels benefited by a miscue by McNulty on a play in the box. Long served a ball into the box that McNulty went to retrieve but the it slipped through her hands and went to right to Klingenberg whose shot from eight yards out found the back of the net as McNulty scrambled to get a hand on it.
UNC improves to 22-5-17 all-time in overtime games with the victory.
Carolina will travel to Miami Sunday to play the Seminoles at Coral Gables, Fla. The Hurricanes won their ACC opener 2-1 over NC State Thursday and will head into the match with a 5-2-2 record, 1-0 in the ACC.
