Tar Heels Head For Texas Seeking NCAA Title
Dec. 3, 2002 CAROLINA HEADS TO COLLEGE CUP SEMIFINALS: - North Carolina is back in familiar territory this weekend as the second-seeded Tar Heels head to Austin, Texas to compete in the semifinals of the 2002 NCAA Women's College Cup. Semifinal games will be played Friday night at Mike Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Carolina is one of three Top 8 seeds left in the tournament field and the only Top 4 seed to reach the semifinals as #1 Stanford, #3 Pepperdine and #4 Connecticut fell by the wayside in previous rounds. In the first semifinal game on Friday night, the #8 seeded Portland Pilots will meet unseeded Penn State at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. That match will be televised live by ESPN2. The Tar Heels will play in the second semifinal game on Friday as the #2 seeded Heels meet #6 seed Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m. EST. That match will be shown tape delayed on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN2. The winners of the two semifinal matches will be playing for the 2002 national championship on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. EST. That match is live on ESPN. SATELLITE COORDINATES FOR FRIDAY'S GAME: - Although the UNC-Santa Clara semifinal match will be tape delayed and shown on Saturday those with access to satellites can watch the game live Friday at the following coordinates: Galaxy 11, Transponder 14, KU Band, 91 Degrees West. LIVE STATS ON INTERNET: - Live stats will be available on the internet for all three games this weekend by going to www.ncaasports.com TAR HEELS IN NCAA SEMIFINAL GAMES: - North Carolina will be playing in its 21st NCAA Women's College Cup semifinal match Friday against Santa Clara. The Tar Heels have played in every semifinal round in every NCAA Tournament ever conducted in women's soccer. Heading into the Santa Clara encounter the Tar Heels have an amazing record of 19-1 in NCAA Tournament semifinal matches. FINAL FOUR GAMES HAVE BEEN CLOSE: - If recent history holds, all three matches in this weekend's College Cup will be close affairs. Since North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 5-0 in the 1994 NCAA championship match, all 21 matches played in the semifinals and finals have been decided by one or two goals. Seventeen of those 21 games have been one-goal margins and only four have been decided by as many as two goals. SEEKING TO MAKE HISTORY: - If form holds this weekend, North Carolina will emerge as the NCAA champion. Meanwhile, Santa Clara, Portland and Penn State will all be trying to make some tournament history. No team seeded lower than fifth in the tournament field has ever won the College Cup championship. The lowest seed ever to win was Carolina, which was the #5 seed in 2000 when it won the title. NORTH CAROLINA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: - North Carolina earned its spot in this season's 64-team NCAA Tournament field by earning the automatic bid that goes to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion. The bid was Carolina's 21st in a row. Only UNC and Connecticut have claimed bids to every NCAA Championship ever played. Carolina has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 75-4 after winning first, second, third and quarterfinal round matches over the last three weekends. The Tar Heels have won 16 of the previous NCAA championships, placed second three times and was ousted in the semifinals once. Carolina also claimed the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship in 1981, the year before the NCAA began sponsorship of national tournaments in women's soccer. Carolina's 16 NCAA championships are 15 more than any other school has won. George Mason, Notre Dame, Florida and Santa Clara have each won one NCAA title. NORTH CAROLINA BACK IN THE FINAL FOUR: - North Carolina has advanced to its 22nd straight spot in a national tournament Final 4 with a 3-0 win over the Texas A&M Aggies last Friday in the NCAA quarterfinals. UNC has made every final 4 ever played including the 1981 AIAW tourney and NCAA Tournaments from 1982-2002. THE TAR HEELS AT HOME IN THE NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE CUP: - North Carolina has played 53 of its previous 79 games in NCAA Women's College Cup history at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. UNC has gone 52-1 in those matches with the only loss coming to Notre Dame 1-0 in the 1995 NCAA semifinals. The Fighting Irish won that game on an own goal scored by UNC's Cindy Parlow. TAR HEELS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS WITH WINS OVER RADFORD, WAKE FOREST, TENNESSEE AND TEXAS A&M: - North Carolina advanced to the semifinal round of this year's NCAA Women's College Cup with a quartet of impressive victories in the first four rounds of the tournament. UNC defeated Radford 6-1 in the first round, defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3-1 in the second round, the Tennessee Lady Vols 3-1 in the third round and the Texas A&M Aggies 3-0 in the fourth round. The Tar Heels featured a balanced scoring attack in their win over the Highlanders. Carolina peppered Radford with 42 shots and 14 corner kicks to control play (Radford had four shots and one corner kick) and sped to a 5-0 lead before the Highlanders could dent the scoreboard. Six different Tar Heels scored goals in the game with Lindsay Tarpley scoring her 14th, Elizabeth Ball her second, Catherine Reddick her fourth, Leea Murphy her second, Sophie Gervais her third and Jane Smith her first. Both Susan Bush and Mary McDowell had two assists each for UNC. Ball was credited with her first game-winning goal of the campaign. Against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels got on the board in the 38th minute as Reddick tallied her fifth goal of the season on a rocket shot of a free kick from 25 yards out. Sophomore defender Sara Randolph scored her second goal of the season in the second minute of the second half to increase the Tar Heels' lead to 2-0. After Wake cut the lead to 2-1, UNC came back to win 3-1 as Anne Morrell scored the insurance goal, her ninth tally of the season, in the 83rd minute of play. Lindsay Tapley had a pair of assists for the Tar Heels. Carolina outshot the Deacons 20-5 and had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. Against Tennessee, the Tar Heels gave up an early goal to the Lady Vols in the 19th minute but then held Tennessee without a shot for the last 71 plus minutes of the match. UNC tied the match later in the first half on a goal by Catherine Reddick and then got the game winner from Lindsay Tarpley 1:10 before halftime. Alyssa Ramsey added a goal for the Heels in the second half. UNC outshot the Lady Vols 13-3 in the match. Carolina came out strong against fourth-ranked Texas A&M and scored only 22 seconds into the match. The goal by Alyssa Ramsey, assisted by Morrell and Tarpley, was the quickest ever scored by UNC in their 79 NCAA Tournament matches. Ramsey was the offensive hero for the Tar Heels against the Aggies as she figured in all three Carolina goals. Ramsey assisted on the first goal of the second half as her corner kick was headed in by Maggie Tomecka. Ramsey then finished off the scoring in the match off an assist by Anne Morrell. The Tar Heel defense was stout as Carolina posted its first shutout win of the NCAA Tournament. UNC outshot the Aggies 19-5 in the match. SCOUTING THE HEELS: - North Carolina is unbeaten in its last 13 matches heading into the NCAA Tournament semifinals against Santa Clara. The Tar Heels are 21-1-4 overall and 11-0-2 since its only loss of the season at NC State on October 10. Carolina also started the season 10-0-2 before the loss at NC State. UNC outscores opponents 3.07-0.63 per game. The Heels have outscored opponents 83-17. The defense is led by the veteran back line of Catherine Reddick, Leslie Gaston and Carmen Watley. Senior goalie Jenni Branam has a brilliant 0.33 goals against average while playing 1082 minutes in the goal. Her record is 11-0-2 and her save percentage logs in at .875. The Tar Heels have an amazingly balanced scoring attack with every player on the roster except backup goalies Aly Winget and Tyler Griffin having at least one point. Alyssa Ramsey and Lindsay Tarpley lead the Tar Heels in scoring with 46 points and 45 points, respectively. Ramsey has a team-leading 17 goals and 12 assists. Tarpley has 15 goals and 15 assists and a team-leading five game winning goals. Tarpley shares the team lead in assists with Susan Bush with 15. Other players in double figures in points are Susan Bush with five goals and 15 assists for 25 points, Anne Morrell with nine goals and five assists for 23 points, Mary McDowell with five goals and eight assists for 18 points, Catherine Reddick with six goals and four assists for 16 points, Lori Chalupny with three goals and seven assists for 13 points, Elizabeth Ball with two goals and eight assists for 12 points and Anne Felts with three goals and four assists for 10 points. In 26 games, UNC has outshot its opponents 551-222 and it has 200 corner kicks to 85 for its opponents. REDDICK, TARPLEY UP FOR SOCCER BUZZ AWARDS: - The 2002 Finalists for the top player awards presented by Soccer Buzz have been announced as 12 Players have been named Finalists for the 2002 National Player of the Year and 12 Players have been named Finalists for the 2002 National Freshman of the Year. The list of potential honorees include Catherine Reddick and Lindsay Tarpley. The winners will be announced later in December after a vote of every Division 1 Women's Soccer Head Coach and the Soccer Buzz staff. Junior defender Catherine Reddick has been named a finalist for the Player of the Year award. Despite spending much of her season with the U.S. National Team, Reddick has been brilliant when with the Tar Heels, scoring five goals in the past five games. She has six goals and four assists in 16 games this season. Freshman attacking center midfielder Lindsay Tarpley has had a brilliant freshman season with 15 goals and 15 assists in 24 games. She ranks second on the team in goals scored, second in points and tied for first in assists. Tarpley leads the Tar Heels this season with five game-winning goals. THREE TAR HEELS ARE FINALISTS FOR MAC HERMANN TROPHY: - Three members of the University of North Carolina women's soccer team are amongst the 15 finalists on the ballot to win the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy in 2002. Senior forward Susan Bush, junior forward Alyssa Ramsey and junior defender Catherine Reddick are all on this prestigious list of nominees. These Tar Heels are hoping to succeed Penn State's Welsh as the winner. Christie Welsh of Penn State University has the opportunity to join an elite list of soccer players with the announcement of the 30 finalists (15 men, 15 women) for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy for men and women, awarded to the top players in NCAA Division I soccer. Winner of the women's award for the 2001 season as a junior, Welsh is back on the ballot this season. As a repeat winner, she would join Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow, both of the University of North Carolina, as the only women to earn back-to-back M.A.C. honors. Only two men have achieved the repeat: Ken Snow of Indiana University and Claudio Reyna of the University of Virginia. Welsh is joined by three other candidates from last year's list of finalists: Aly Wagner, a senior midfielder from reigning national champion Santa Clara University; Hope Solo, a senior goalkeeper from the University of Washington; and Christine Latham, a senior forward from the University of Nebraska. Rounding out the women's ballot are three players from North Carolina: senior forward Susan Bush, junior forward Alyssa Ramsey and junior defender Catherine Reddick. The University of Portland has two finalists: senior defender Lauren Orlandos and sophomore forward Christine Sinclair. Joining them are Abby Crumpton, a senior forward from the University of Michigan; Carli Lloyd, a sophomore midfielder from Rutgers University; Kim Patrick, a senior forward from the University of Tennessee; Nandi Pryce, a junior defender from UCLA; Marcia Wallis, a senior forward from Stanford; and Kelly Wilson, a sophomore forward from the University of Texas. This year's honorees will have the distinction of being the first to receive the newly-unified award. This summer's announcement of the unification of the M.A.C. Award and the Hermann Trophy completed the merging of NCAA Division I soccer's three top honors. In 1999, the M.A.C. and the NSCAA came together to create a single award recognizing the top Division I players. The winners of the M.A.C.'s Hermann Trophy will be decided by a vote of current NSCAA members at the NCAA Division I level. Winners of the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy will be announced at a news conference in Dallas, Texas, on Dec. 12 in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Men's College Cup and the announcement of the NSCAA/adidas All-America teams for intercollegiate play. The winners will be feted at a dinner at the M.A.C. in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 10, 2003. DORRANCE VERSUS HIS FORMER PLAYERS: - After a win over a Tennessee team coached by former UNC All-America Angela Kelly in the NCAA Tournament third round, North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance has posted a 51-0-1 record in his career in head-to-head coaching matchups with teams coached by his former players. Dorrance is 3-0 in head to head matchups with Kelly and the Lady Vols, also winning in Chapel Hill in 2000 and in Knoxville in 2001. Dorrance is also 21-0 against Virginia teams coached by Lauren Gregg and April Heinrichs, 1-0 against Ohio State coached by Lori Walker, 12-0-1 against Maryland squads coached by April Heinrichs and Shannon Higgins Cirovski, 2-0 against George Washington teams mentored by Shannon Higgins Cirovski and 12-0 against Clemson teams coached by Tracey Bates Leone. TAR HEELS CLAIM 14TH SUCCESSIVE ACC TOURNAMENT TITLE: - North Carolina posted three successive shutouts wins to win its 14th straight ACC Tournament championship at Tallahassee, Fla., November 7, 8 and 10. The Tar Heels have now posted an all-time record of 38-0-1 in ACC Tournament play. Carolina downed Wake Forest 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Maryland 4-0 in the semifinals and Clemson 6-0 in the championship match. These results came despite the fact the Tar Heels had struggled mightily against all three teams in the regular season and were missing several key players, including four potential starters, to either injury or commitments to the U.S. National Team. TAR HEELS WIN ACC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP: - North Carolina won its 13th ACC regular season championship in the 16-year history of the league this season. UNC finished atop the league standings with a record of 4-1-2. Clemson and Virginia tied for second place at 4-3. Carolina has won ACC regular season championships 13 times--in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. GASTON NAMED ACC TOURNEY MVP; THREE OTHERS NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT: - Senior defender Leslie Gaston was named the MVP of the 2002 ACC Tournament after leading the Carolina defense to three successive shutout wins. Gaston was joined on the All-ACC Tournament Team by three other Tar Heels--freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley, senior forward Susan Bush and senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam. BRANAM IS BACK: - Carolina's chances in post-season play were helped by the full return of senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam to the Tar Heel lineup during the ACC Tournament. Branam, recovering from knee surgery last January, had been limited in her play this season. When Branam played all 90 minutes in Carolina's wins over Wake Forest and Maryland in the ACC Tournament it marked the first time she had gone 90 minutes in a match since the USC game on September 1. Branam also played most of the game against Clemson before leaving with the Tar Heels safely ahead 4-0 in the second half. Branam played into the second half of Carolina's win over Radford in the NCAA first round and then went the full 90 minutes in the second round win over Wake Forest, the third round victory over Tennessee and the quarterfinal win over Texas A&M. The luxury Carolina has is a more than capable backup in redshirt freshman Aly Winget who has played the majority of the minutes for Carolina this season. BUSH, RAMSEY, REDDICK, TARPLEY HEAT UP IN ACC TOURNEY: - North Carolina saw several players start to turn things on offensively in the ACC Tournament and their tenacious offensive play has continued through the first four games of NCAA play as well. All four may have played their best soccer of the year as Carolina won its 14th straight conference title. Senior forward Susan Bush went into the tournament with only two goals on the season and then scored the game-winning goal in all three tournament games. Junior striker Alyssa Ramsey went into the tournament with four assists on the season and came out with 10 for the season with two against Wake, three against Maryland and one against Clemson. Junior defender Catherine Reddick returned to the lineup in the championship match after missing five consecutive games while playing with the U.S. National Team in the CONCACAF Women's Golf Cup. Reddick had two goals and one assist in the title game. She scored her first goal less than 25 seconds after entering the match, her second on a howitzer from close to 40 yards and her assist was a brilliant feed to Sophie Gervais in the box in the 81st minute. After scoring two goals against Clemson, Reddick scored one goal in each of UNC's first three NCAA Tournament games against Radford, Wake Forest and Tennessee. Tarpley also got off to a great start in the tournament by leading the Heels past Wake in the first round with a pair of goals. BALANCE VERSUS MARYLAND, CLEMSON: - North Carolina had maybe its most balanced scoring efforts of the season in the Tar Heels' wins over Maryland and Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Against the Terrapins, Bush had her fourth goal of the season while junior midfielder Elizabeth Ball had her first and freshman midfielder Kacey White had only her second, the first since the Texas A&M game on September 13. Against Clemson, Reddick had two, her second and third of the season, White had her third, freshman Leea Murphy had the first of her career and Sophie Gervais had her second of the season, also the second of her career. If this balance continues it can only bode well for the Tar Heels. TAR HEELS END UP ATOP MUDDLED ACC: - In the most competitive Atlantic Coast Conference regular season race in history, North Carolina finished atop the conference with a 4-1-2 record. But it was hardly a clear mandate of UNC's strength. Clemson and Virginia finished tied for second with 4-3 records, while Virginia and Florida State tied for fourth place with records of 3-3-1. Duke wound up sixth at 2-3-2 and Wake Forest and NC State tied for seventh with records of 2-4-1. After Carolina's struggles in ACC regular season play, UNC turned in possibly its best three games of the season in sweeeping the ACC Tourney title. TARPLEY NAMED ACC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: - UNC freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.) was named the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year this season. Tarpley leads the ACC this year in assists per game at 0.63, is second in the conference in points per game at 1.88 and tied for second in the league in goals per game with 0.65. Tarpley was the first Tar Heel to be named the ACC Rookie of the Year since 1996 when Laurie Schwoy was chosen.
TAR HEELS PLACE FIVE PLAYERS ON TWO ALL-ACC TEAMS: - Carolina placed two players on the first-team All-ACC team and three on the second-team All-ACC team in 2002.
Defender Catherine Reddick and midfielder Lindsay Tarpley were both named first team All-ACC while goalkeeper Jenni Branam, defender Leslie Gaston and forward Alyssa Ramsey were named second-team All-ACC.
Here are brief highlights of their seasons:
A PAIR OF TAR HEELS NAMED TO ACC ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: - Two Tar Heel players--midfielders Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny--were named to the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team.
Here are brief bios of the two honorees: THE SERIES WITH SANTA CLARA: - North Carolina and Santa Clara have played 15 times in women's soccer with the Tar Heels owning a 13-2 edge in the series. The Broncos have won the last two meetings. SCU beat UNC 1-0 in 1999 in a tournament at Duke on a Tar Heel own goal. Santa Clara beat the Tar Heels 1-0 in last year's NCAA championship. Five of the last six meetings between UNC and Santa Clara have been decided by one goal. CAROLINA UNBEATEN IN LAST 40 MATCHES AGAINST ACC TEAMS AT HOME: - North Carolina has not lost in its last 40 matches at home against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference since losing to Duke at Fetzer Field by a 3-2 score on October 19, 1994. The Tar Heels are 38-0-2 in that stretch. THE ALL-TIME HOME RECORD: - North Carolina has an all-time record of 225-7-4 in home matches in the 24-year history of the program. UNC finished 7-0-2 at home this season. TAR HEELS UNBEATEN AT HOME IN LAST 37 MATCHES: - North Carolina has not lost at home in its last 37 matches. UNC's last home loss came to Penn State by a 3-2 score on September 12, 1999. UNC is 35-0-2 at home since that time. RAMSEY ON THE TAR HEELS' CAREER SCORING CHARTS: - Tar Heel junior striker Alyssa Ramsey continues to climb the UNC career scoring charts this season. Ramsey enters the game against Santa Clara with 140 career points. She is currently 11th on the Tar Heel career scoring chart. Meredith Florance ranks 10th with 150 career points. Ramsey has now scored 47 goals in her Tar Heel career which puts her in 12th place. Stephanie Zeh (1981-82) ranks 11th in UNC history with 55 career goals. Ramsey now has 46 and is tied with Marcia McDermott (1983-86) for 10th on the list. Anne Remy (1998-2001) is ninth on the list with 47 career assists. BUSH NOW IN TOP 25 IN ASSISTS : - With 36 career assists, Susan Bush has moved into the Top 25 in UNC history. The senior forward from Houston, Texas is now tied for 22nd in UNC history with Laurie Schwoy (1996-2000). Janet Rayfield (1979-82) and Lorrie Fair (1996-99) are tied for 20th with 37 career assists.
BRANAM SETS CAREER SAVES RECORD: - North Carolina senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam broke the Tar Heel career records for saves in the Duke game on October 27. The senior from Placentia, Calif. now has 131 saves in her Tar Heel career.
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