University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Texas A&M
Jones' Late Goal Lifts Tar Heels Past Aggies
August 29, 2008 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - No. 2 North Carolina saw a two-goal lead disappear in the second half but a score by freshman forward Courtney Jones in the 83rd minute proved to be the game-winner for the Tar Heels as they defeated No. 13 Texas A&M 3-2 Friday night before a crowd of 5,642 at the Aggie Soccer Complex. It was the first of four games this weekend in A&M's Weekend Invitational. The Tar Heels improved to 2-0 on the season while the host Aggies fell to 2-1.
The victory was the 650th in UNC women's soccer history in the team's 701st game. It also avenged a 1-0 double overtime loss to the Aggies in College Station to open the 2006 campaign.
Casey Nogueira had two first-half goals to stake the Tar Heels to a 2-0 lead before the Aggies rallied in the second half on back-to-back goals by midfielder Amber Gnatzig.
UNC opened the scoring at 19:20 on Nogueira's first goal of the season. The junior scored on a point-blank shot into the left side netting past Aggie goalkeeper Kristin Arnold. Less than 11 minutes later, Nogueira scored her second goal of the half when she tallied off an assist by senior midfielder Allie Long at 30:08 of the match. Long fed a ball through the back line of the Texas A&M defense where Nogueira gathered in the ball, beat a defender and scored from eight yards out.
UNC outshot the Aggies 14-3 in the first half with Anna Rodenbough playing all 45 minutes and making one save while holding A&M scoreless. Kelly Dyer replaced Arnold in the 38th minute. Arnold finished with three saves and two goals allowed. Dyer would go on to play the final 52:50, making five saves and allowing the winning goal in the 83rd minute.
Texas A&M came out of the locker room after halftime and attacked with offensive fury against the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels needed a defensive save in the 48th minute on a shot by Rachel Shipley to keep the Aggies off the scoreboard. Then, at 48:11, Gnatzig scored the first of her two goals on a rebound past UNC goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris who had come on at halftime in relief of Rodenbough.
After Dyer denied Tobin Heath at 50:27, A&M took control of the run of play for a 14-minute span, launching seven straight shots at the Tar Heels between 56:11 and 69:24. The seventh shot found the back of the goal on another rebound tally by Gnatzig at the 69:24 mark in the match.
UNC regrouped defensively and did not allow an Aggie shot in the final 20:36 of the match. Dyer made saves on shots by Meghan Klingenberg, Jones and Kristi Eveland at 76:45, 78:32 and 78:59 of the game, respectively.
Eventually, UNC's offensive onslaught bore fruit as Jones scored her second goal of the season and also her second game-winning goal in the first two matches of her career. Junior forward Nikki Washington served a ball from the right side of the box that Jones trapped, then beat a defender and scored from inside the six-yard box. The official time of the goal was 82:47. Casey Nogueira was also credited with an assist on the game-winner as she fed a through ball to Washington from about 30 yards out in the center of the pitch that Washington then fed to Jones for the score.
UNC finished with a 24-12 edge in shots and a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. The A&M goalies combined for eight saves against three goals allowed while UNC had three saves and two goals against.
The Tar Heels return to action in A&M's Weekend Invitational Sunday when they play No. 14 Tennessee at 12 Noon EDT at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
