University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Duke
No. 2 Tar Heels Score Early & Late To Beat No. 9 Duke 3-0
October 2, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 2, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - Freshman forward Courtney Jones scored her fourth game-winning goal of the season and Casey Nogueira scored twice in the late stages of the contest as the second-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team posted a 3-0 shutout victory over ninth-ranked Duke at Koskinen Stadium Thursday night. The game was viewed by 1,164 fans in person and a live national television audience on the Fox Soccer Channel.
The Tar Heels claimed one point in the 2008-09 Carlyle Cup standings, the all-sports trophy contested between the two rival schools separated by only eight miles. The competition in 26 sports is sponsored by Carlyle and Company and UNC now leads this year's race 2-0.
The win keeps the Tar Heels tied for first place in the ACC standings with Virginia as both schools are 3-0 in league games. The Tar Heels are now 10-1-1 overall as they posted their seventh shutout of the season as well as the squad's sixth victory in a row since a 1-1 tie at Stanford September 12. Duke fell to 9-2-1 on the campaign and 1-1-1 in the ACC.
Coach Anson Dorrance's Tar Heels struck early as freshman forward Courtney Jones scored at the 4:28 mark, her seventh goal of the season and her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the year. The goal came off a flurry of activity in front of the Duke goal. Junior midfielder Nikki Washington struck a shot from the right side of the back that was turned away by Duke goalkeeper Cassidy Powers. UNC junior forward Jessica McDonald pounced on the rebound on the edge of the goal mouth but her shot was saved off the line by a Duke defender. The ball then ricocheted to Jones who drove her shot from about 10 yards out off the post and into the left side of the goal.
Neither team scratched again in the first half although the Tar Heels nearly made it a 2-0 advantage at 21:18 when junior midfielder Yael Averbuch took a long range shot that banged high off the right post. At 27:22, the Tar Heels had another excellent opportunity to score but Nikki Washington's shot from the right side to the far post sailed just wide.
Carolina took the first nine shots of the first half before Duke got the final two of the half, but neither one of the Duke attempts was on goal.
Less than three minutes into the second half, the Tar Heels had another outstanding opportunity to score as junior defender Kristi Eveland's shot off a Yael Averbuch corner kick was saved off the line at the last second by Duke's Lorraine Quinn. Nikki Washington's follow shot sailed high over the bar.
Duke was able to put some sustained pressure on the Tar Heels for a period of time, outshooting the Tar Heels 4-1 from the 54th minute to the 70th minute of the match. In the 60th minute, the Blue Devils had their best opportunity of the night to score with a two-on-one advantage in the box. But Washington was able to clear the ball over the end line and force a corner kick. At 62:37, Elisabeth Redmond had Duke's only shot on goal of the night (of the nine total Blue Devil shots) and it was turned away by Anna Rodenbough.
In the 71st minute the Tar Heels added insurance after a foul on Duke in the Tar Heel end. Whitney Engen served a long ball on the free kick that Allie Long flicked on niftily about 25 yards out front of the Duke goal mouth. Long's flick found Nogueira's foot and as she shielded her defender off, Nogueira was able to finish far post into the inside netting. The goal came at 70:43 of the match and was Nogueira's eighth of the year.
The Tar Heels finished off the scoring at 88:47 on another goal by Nogueira, her ninth of the campaign. Freshman forward Emmalie Pfankuch sent a pass behind the defense and Nogueira looked to be taking the ball into the corner to force a corner kick. But she pivoted instead, took a couple of dribbles and powered a shot from a tough angle inside the far post from about 12 yards out.
The Tar Heels outshot the Blue Devils 15-9 but UNC put eight of its shots on the frame of the goal while only one Duke shot was on net. UNC had a 7-4 edge in corner kicks. Powers finished with three saves for Duke while junior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and senior goalkeeper Anna Rodenbough shared the shutout with Rodenbough making the only save for the Heels. Duke also had two team saves to prevent UNC goals.
The Tar Heels will return to play at 16th-ranked Wake Forest (8-2, ACC 1-1) Sunday at 3 p.m. at Spry Soccer Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Duke has a week off before hosting the Demon Deacons next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
