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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Elon
Williams, No. 15 Tar Heels Outlast Elon, 2-1
September 24, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman center back Sheanon Williams' late unassisted goal proved to the game-winner Wednesday, as No. 15 North Carolina claimed a 2-1 victory over Elon at Fetzer Field. Senior forward Brian Shriver also scored for the Tar Heels, who got back in the win column following their first loss of the season last weekend at Boston College.
In addition to the offensive output from Williams and Shriver, senior goalkeeper Jacob Wescoe made five saves for the Tar Heels (6-1-1) and preserved the win with a penalty kick stop in the 86th minute.
With the match tied at one, Williams¹ 81st-minute goal capped a flurry of action for Carolina and opened a dramatic final 10 minutes. One minute before the go-ahead score, Garry Lewis and Williams fired back-to-back shots that resulted in a Michael Callahan corner kick that found Williams on the left side of the net.
Elon goalkeeper Kyle Boerner came out to challenge Williams but could not corral the ball. Williams then sent the ball off a Phoenix defender before muscling it into the left side of the open net from five yards out for a 2-1 advantage and his first collegiate goal.
The lead could have been short-lived, as Elon (2-5-1) was awarded a penalty kick in the 86th minute after a UNC foul on a scramble in the box following a corner. Will Mason sent the PK to Wescoe¹s right but he punched it out to preserve the one-goal lead.
Following the PK attempt, play intensified with five yellow cards awarded over the final four minutes of play, but the Tar Heels did not concede another shot attempt and held on for the victory.
Carolina posted a 22-9 advantage in shots, but Elon held an 8-7 edge in corners. In addition to Wescoe¹s solid play in goal, Boerner made eight saves for the Phoenix.
UNC controlled play throughout the first half and finally found the back of the net on a Shriver strike in the 35th minute. Shriver and midfielder Kirk Urso played give-and-go down the left-hand side of the field with Shriver finishing from 12 yards out into the lower right-hander corner of the net.
Shriver¹s goal was his third of the season, while Urso notched his third assist to grab a share of the team lead.
Elon answered just over five minutes later on Justin Wyatt¹s third goal of the season on just the third shot of the night for the Phoenix. Erfan Imeni served a corner kick from the left side of the field past the mouth of the goal to Wyatt, who flicked the ball over his head and into the net for the equalizer in the 41st minute
Prior to Shriver¹s goal, the Tar Heels had a number of scoring chances in the opening period, as Boerner stopped a Shriver blast in the 15th minute and also halted a Bill Schuler strike in the 27th. Carolina outshot Elon, 11-4, before intermission.
UNC is back in action at Fetzer Saturday against East Tennessee State at 7 p.m.
