University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
LSU
No. 1 Tar Heels Blank LSU 1-0
September 18, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 18, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. - Junior forward Jessica McDonald headed home her team-leading fourth goal of the season in the 78th minute and North Carolina's defense once again dominated the pitch by posting its sixth straight shutout as the top-ranked Tar Heels defeated LSU 1-0 in women's soccer action Friday night. The game was played as part of the Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium.
Carolina dominated the game against the Tigers statistically even if not so emphatically on the scoreboard, but the Tar Heels persevered and earned their third 1-0 victory of the 2009 season in the process. Carolina finished with a 17-6 edge in shots and a 10-2 margin corner kicks but the Heels were not able to dent the scoreboard until there was only 12:01 remaining on the clock.
The goal came off a sequence following a UNC corner kick. McDonald had actually forced the corner kick by poking a loose ball in the box off of LSU goalkeeper Mo Isom over the end line. Casey Nogueira took the corner kick from the right side with the ball initially get pinged around in the box by both teams for a good while before it eventually squirted out of the pack to the left side. Sophomore forward Brittani Bartok was able to gain possession and with some nifty footwork she eventually shook herself free from her defender.
With McDonald calling for the ball, Bartok sent a perfect centering pass from the left side to McDonald who was positioned in the center of the box around four yards out. McDonald deftly headed it over the outstretched arms of Isom at the 77:59 mark for the game-winner. The goal was McDonald's fourth of the season with all four coming the past four Tar Heel games. It was McDonald's first game-winning goal of the 2009 season and she is now only one goal shy of her entire goal output for the 2008 season.
UNC suffered a devastating blow in the match when senior midfielder Nikki Washington fell to the turf six minutes into the second half after making a strong sideline run in hopes of launching a cross into the box for a scoring opportunity. Washington fell near the end line and left the game with an injury to her right knee. She had the knee wrapped and left the stadium on crutches after the game. No further information is available at this time as to the extent of Washington's injury. Freshman Amber Brooks came off the bench to play most of the remainder of the game at the right midfield spot.
UNC improved to 7-0 on the season and LSU fell to 4-2-1. LSU played an unusual 5-4-1 formation that made scoring opportunities tougher for the Tar Heels to come by. Carolina also had trouble finding the frame as only six of its 17 shots were on goal.
On the other end of the field, the Carolina defense carried the day again for Coach Anson Dorrance's team. Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and starting defenders Kristi Eveland, Whitney Engen and Rachel Givan all played the full 90 minutes as UNC posted its sixth straight shutout. Carolina has not allowed an opposing goal in the past 543 minutes and 21 seconds of the season. The last goal allowed by the Tar Heels came on August 22 when UCLA scored at the 86:39 mark in a 7-2 loss to Carolina. Carolina has now posted 13 shutouts in its past 16 games going back to last season.
Harris finished with two saves on the night, one in each half, while Isom had five saves for LSU.
Next up for the Tar Heels is a match against Auburn at 12 Noon on Sunday in the Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. Auburn is 3-2-2 on the season after losing to Duke 2-1 in double overtime in Friday night's second game at the Duke Nike Classic.
