Carolina Women's Soccer Team Advances To 21st Straight NCAA Final Four
Nov. 29, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The second-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team got two goals and an assist from junior forward Alyssa Ramsey to defeat #4 Texas A&M 3-0 Friday afternoon and earn a spot in the NCAA Women's College Cup semifinals for the 21st successive year. The game was played before a crowd of 1,375 fans at Fetzer Field. With the win UNC improved to 21-1-4 on the season. UNC has now advanced to every NCAA Women's Soccer Final Four ever played. Texas A&M saw its season end at 20-5-1. The quarterfinal berth equalled the farthest the Aggies have advanced in NCAA play in their nine-year history. Carolina scored its earliest goal ever in its 79 NCAA Tournament games and it proved to be the game winner. Ramsey tallied the goal, her 16th of the season, just 22 seconds into the match. Susan Bush took a ball into the right corner and fed Lindsay Tarpley just steps inside the right side of the A&M penalty box. Tarpley centered the ball to Annie Morrell who held off her defender with her back to the goal and she sent the ball back to the onrushing Ramsey who finished into the lower right corner from about 8 yards out. Neither team would scrath again in the first half as the Tar Heels outshot the Aggies 10-4 in the opening 45 minutes. UNC had eight corner kicks in the first half but was unable to convert on those opportunities. UNC came out in the second half of play and scored two goals in the first nine minutes of play to put the game away. At 51:57, Ramsey hooked up with Maggie Tomecka on a corner kick to make the score 2-0. Tomecka's header into the left side provided her with her third goal of the season.
Just 2:46 later the Heels made it 3-0 as Ramsey scored her second goal of the match and 17th of the campaign. Morrell lofted a ball from the left side of the pitch over the A&M defense and Ramsey ran onto the ball, timing her run perfectly to avoid being offside. She gathered the ball in, dribbled into the box and finished to the left of A&M goalkeeper Katie Jo Spisak.
UNC controlled the match in the second half as the Tar Heels had nine shots in the second 45 minutes to only one for the Aggies. Spisak made nine saves for the Aggies and prevented the score from being more lopsided. Jenni Branam made two saves for Carolina to earn the shutout. The Tar Heels will play next Friday in the NCAA semifinals against either Santa Clara or Michigan. Those to two play in a quarterfinal match at Santa Clara, Calif. on Saturday. This year's College Cup semifinals and finals are at Mike Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.
#4 TEXAS A&M 0 0--0 #2 NORTH CAROLINA 1 2--3Scoring 0:22--UNC--Alyssa Ramsey, 16th (Anne Morrell, Lindsay Tarpley) 51:57--UNC--Maggie Tomecka, 3rd (Alyssa Ramsey) 53:43--UNC--Alyssa Ramsey, 17th (Anne Morrell) Shots: TAMU 5, UNC 19 Shots on Goal: TAMU 3, UNC 13 Saves: Katie Jo Spisak (TAMU) 9, Jenni Branam (UNC) 2 Team Saves: TAMU 1, UNC 1 Corner Kicks: TAMU 1, UNC 10 Fouls: TAMU 8, UNC 8 Offsides: TAMU 3, UNC 1 Referee: Roger Morton Assistant Referees: Daniel Burak, Eric Krajewski Alternate Official: Jim Carpenter Attendance: 1,375 Records: Texas A&M 20-5-1, UNC 21-1-4 |
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