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No. 1 Tar Heels Settle For Scoreless Tie With Auburn In Final Non-Conference Game
September 20, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 20, 2009
DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina's undefeated and untied status in 2009 ended Sunday afternoon as the top-ranked Tar Heels thoroughly dominated their match against Auburn but had to settle for a scoreless tie in the Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium. The Tar Heels outshot the Tigers 40-4 and had a 10-2 edge in corner kicks but were unable to find the back of the net for the first time since September 4, 2008 when Carolina lost 1-0 to Notre Dame at Fetzer Field.
North Carolina is now 7-0-1 on the season and will likely lose its No. 1 ranking when the new national polls are released on Tuesday. Auburn's tie left the Tigers with a record of 3-2-3. In Sunday's second game at the Duke Nike Classic, the host Blue Devils and LSU battled to a 2-2 tie as the Tigers rallied for two second-half goals to wipe out a 2-0 halftime deficit and force the two overtime periods and the resulting tie.
UNC's Jessica McDonald was named the Tournament's most outstanding offensive player after scoring the game-winner in Friday's 1-0 win for the Tar Heels over LSU. Carolina's Whitney Engen was named the tournament's defensive MVP and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by her fellow back line mates - defender Kristi Eveland, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Rachel Givan
UNC had taken at least 40 shots in a game several times in its history but this marked the first time Carolina had taken as many as 40 shots without scoring a goal. The tie ended a 17-game winning streak for the Tar Heels. The last time Carolina had been denied a victory was October 30, 2008 when Carolina battle Florida State to a 2-2 tie at Fetzer Field.
On the positive side, Carolina's defense continued to excel at the highest level. Led by goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and the starting defensive line of Rachel Givan, Whitney Engen and Kristi Eveland, the Tar Heels posted their seventh successive shutout and their 15th shutout in the past 18 matches. Carolina has allowed only two goals in the 2009 season, both in the season opener against UCLA on August 22. UNC's consecutive scoreless minutes streak has now reached 663 minutes and 21 seconds.
UNC outshot the Tigers 15-3 in the first half, 17-1 in the second half, 4-0 in the first overtime and 4-0 in the second overtime. Auburn had only two shots on goal in the match with the Tar Heel defense making a team save in the early stages of the game and Ashlyn Harris making a save on a shot by Ashley Marks later in the first half.
For the second straight match on the weekend, the Tar Heels had trouble finding the frame of the goal as only 12 of the 40 shots taken by UNC were on goal, forcing Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard to make only 12 saves despite faced the blitzkrieg of shots launched against her. Her best saves came on shots by Tobin Heath in the second half and on Alyssa Rich in the first overtime.
The best chance the Tar Heels had to score came with 4:05 remaining in the game. Jessica McDonald had a breakaway against Howard but was taken down from behind by Auburn's Lizzie Hamersly at the edge of the box on the right side. After Hamersly was issued a caution, UNC's Casey Nogueira stepped up a sent a shot to the far post that hit the underneath part of the crossbar and bounced back out, saving the tie for the Tigers.
Carolina finished the non-conference portion of its season with a 7-0-1 record. The Tar Heels will now finish the regular-season with 10 successive ACC contests beginning with two this week. UNC will play host to Duke Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field in a Carlyle Cup matchup. The Carlyle Cup is the annual all-sports trophy that the two schools compete for based on competition in 24 sports. UNC leads the current Carlyle Cup standings 1-0 after the men's soccer team's 2-1 win over Duke last Friday. Carolina will also host Wake Forest this week as the Tar Heels meet the Demon Deacons next Sunday at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field in a game to be televised nationally on the Fox Soccer Channel.
2009 Duke Nike Classic All-Tournament Team
Tara Campbell, Duke
Kristi Eveland, UNC
Malorie Turledge, LSU
Rachel Givan, UNC
Cody Newman, Duke
Courtney Alexander, LSU
Elisabeth Redmond, Duke
Ashlyn Harris, UNC
Lizzie Hamersly, Auburn
Amy Howard, Auburn
Offensive MVP - Jessica McDonald, UNC
Defensive MVP - Whitney Engen, UNC
