Texas A&M
North Carolina
Aggies Fall to No. 1 UNC in Elite Eight, 3-2
Nov 25, 2006 | Soccer
November 25, 2006
A last second clearance off of the goal-line secured a hard fought 3-2 win for the 1st-ranked North Carolina soccer team over the Big 12 Champion Texas A&M Aggies in front of 4,887 fans on Saturday at Fetzer Field.
A late second-half goal on a mis-cleared ball by an A&M player was scored by UNC midfielder Nikki Washington, and proved to be the difference in the game which saw end to end action and scoring chances.
Sophomore midfielder Laura Grace Robinson put the Aggies on the board first, in the game's 30th minute. Robinson outran the Carolina defense on a delicately played through pass from A&M's Amy Berend. Robinson then slipped her shot past Tar Heel keeper Anna Roenbough. The goal was Robinson's fifth of the season and second in tournament play.
The Aggies nearly scored again in the 38th minute as junior forward Elisabeth Jones chased down a pass on the close right wing and crossed the ball back in front of the UNC goal to a streaking Kat Krambeer five yards from the goal, however Roenbough was perfectly positioned to make her second save of the match.
A&M held a 1-0 lead and a 4-1 shot advantage at the end of the first half. It is the first time in the storied history of UNC soccer that an opponent held the Tar Heels to a single shot in a half.
Forty-seven seconds into the second half, senior Jessica Maxwell served a long free kick into the A&M penalty area, which A&M had trouble clearing. Senior forward Heather O'Reilly pounced on the loose ball just outside the penalty box and scored the equalizer for the Tar Heels.
The game went back and forth for the next 10 minutes until Robinson was fouled just outside the UNC penalty area. Junior midfielder Allison Martino stepped up to take the free kick, which bent into the far upper corner of the goal, giving the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
The Tar Heels tied the game at two with 28:07 left in regulation as freshman forward, Whitney Engen took a pass from near 30-yards out dribbled down the left flank and slotted a give-and-go to fellow forward Elizabeth Guess who planted the ball just to the left of Arnold.
"This was a heck of a game," stated A&M head coach G Guerrieri following the match. "I'm proud of the way our players played and congratulate UNC on a great win. The Heels played great, coming from behind twice to win a very entertaining game.
It's tough to have your season end so close to the College Cup, but we leave knowing that we played well and were defeated by a great team and program, but we will move forward from this great season, knowing that the best is still ahead of us."
With the loss, A&M finishes the season 17-6-1 while UNC improves to 25-1-0 to face UCLA in the semifinals of the 2006 Women's College Cup.
NOTE: Ashlee Pistorius saw limited action for much of the end of the first and second halves after suffering a strike to the head. The 4,887 fans were the seventh largest crowd to watch a soccer match at Fetzer Field. In the 2006 season, the Aggies played 10 teams that advanced into the second round of NCAA Tournament, including three of four No. 1 seeds in tournament play.
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH G GUERRIERI:
On today's game: "I'm exceptionally proud of my players. I thought we came into a very difficult place to play against a team that hasn't lost to anyone else in the country all year. I thought that we did just about enough to pull off a well-deserved win, but that said I thought Carolina was outstanding, especially in the second half when their backs were up against the wall. In a very tightly contested match, it came down to some key moments and some balls that they were able to finish when we couldn't clear balls off and maybe a couple balls that we didn't finish that they had trouble clearing or were able to clear - that was the difference in a very entertaining and hard fought game."
On defensive plan going into the game: "The goals that they scored they scored. I think Anson does a great job at sealing up a lot of spaces so that when they are in attack and a team tries to clear a ball, they can seal balls in and put balls back in dangerous situations. They become kind of set-piece goals instead of goals in the run of play. O'Reilly burned us on one and Engen on the other - that was the difference in the game. I thought defensively we did well the whole match. We thought we could match up with them as athletes and we thought we could match up with them as soccer players and we should go out and take the opposite tact that a lot of teams do and lay back and take blistering punishment for 90 minutes. We thought we could come in and play at a pace, like in the first half, we were playing at a one-touch control pace and we can play that way, we think, on any day. It's hard because they are such a great team, they've done such a great job. Anson and his crew have done such a fabulous job with this team that you can't give them chances because they were outstanding in the finishing today. I think for them to get six of their 11 shots on frame and score on three of them is definitely not the norm in women's college soccer."
Asked if it was more motivation or more pressure to get a second chance against UNC: "There was no pressure - I'm sure there was pressure on them because they knew that we could beat them. You could count the times on one hand that there was ever anything like that against Carolina. I think one of the great strengths that Anson has is that he's a master motivator and they calculate of lot of great things in the way that they play the game. You give him a little bit of ammunition to motivate his team, then he's gonna use that to motivate his team and I think they did a good job of that. So for us having won a game - if anything we're more confident than we've ever been and that's one of the biggest things - psychological barriers - one of those things you've got to do and not just talk about. Both games (one in the regular season and this one) were very competitive, both games were played at a great pace, a high entertainment level. Both teams left everything out on the field. I thought that our players, as well as theirs, really put their heart and soul into the game."
North Carolina Postgame Quotes
HEAD COACH ANSON DORRANCE:
On today's game: "I think for you guys, and I think for everyone that was here, what a fabulous soccer game. For a fabulous soccer game, you need two passionate teams playing and I think everyone saw that today. A 3-2 result, that's a soccer promoter's dream. Lots of goals, end-to-end action, it was just a fantastic soccer game to be a part of. Certainly, want to publicly congratulate Texas A&M - they gave us just incredible problems in the first half, dominated play, scored a nice chance and we really couldn't get much organized. I thought as the game wore on, we started to play a little bit better - finished some chances. Obviously, they finished another great chance. But we are absolutely thrilled to be taking this group to the final four. That's the big soccer party and we are just so excited to be there."
On Texas A&M's first half defense: "We've got to credit them. We just came in to the game, for some reason, without a lot of passion. Soccer is a contact sport, you can't be successful in this game if you don't bring some intensity to the match. They were winning every single 50-50 ball. It seemed like we were just tentative and just hoping things would go our way. A&M deserves all the credit for coming after us and making it very difficult for us to play. I thought, slowly but surely, as the second half began, you could see a much more passionate team. In fact, our first goal was a result of Ali Hawkins just throwing her body in to the fray. The ball was sort of misplayed in the box, it kept it alive, and Heather (O'Reilly) just struck very aggressive ball on the frame that happened to snake through all the bodies and go in to get us back in it. I was thrilled with that. Obviously, disappointed for what happened to Jessica Maxwell. Certainly that was more painful for us then the goal that ensued as the game resumed. That's a huge loss for us and I'm hoping that she's ok."
On whether it means more going back to the final four after not being there recently: "Absolutely. The final four, in my opinion, it absolutely everything. It's the party. Not that we look forward to being eliminated early in this event but once you get there then everyone can see your team play, cause it's nationally televised. You get to see all the other teams and it's just a great place to finish up your season. We get to train another week. We get to spend another week with our seniors that we're never going to see as soccer players, for us again. There are just so many good things about getting to that final stage. Having not been there for a few years, it's making it more special."
On changing the goalkeepers in the second half: "Ashlyn (Harris) wanted to play as soon as she came off her ACL, so we got her in early in the NCAA tournament. Initially, for the prospect of an injury to Anna (Rodenbough). Much to our excitement, she started to play a bit. So then we started to actually give her some time, we call it a scheduled substitution. Basically, in all of the games she's played so far we planned on putting her in. I have a lot of confidence in Anna. There wasn't any guarantee that Ashlyn was going to get in the game. At that point, what the heck, let's get here out there. The thing that Ashlyn does incredibly well, is she's a leadership force. I thought in a game like this, where it was going to come down to the wire, leadership was going to be an issue. In terms of communication, I've coached a lot of goalkeepers but Ashlyn's communication just separates here. She is very, very confident. I felt, in our climb back into this game, I needed someone out there who was going to help us just with her leadership presence. Her voice back there, a very calming effect. Anna will still be our starter going into this weekend. But we will consider, splitting them now in half. Which is the ultimate goal."
FORWARD HEATHER O'REILLY:
On playing for the U.S. Women's National team and UNC at the same time: "A lot of us have been doing it for years so there are differences but I think that when I came back here, I was kind of reenergized. There is something special about college soccer and I just like being here in Chapel Hill, it's a great place. I guess it was easy to adjust because as soon as I saw the people, all my friends and family, for Thanksgiving dinner, I remembered what we were looking to do in the next couple of games."
On what the message was at half time: "I think just that they were outfighting us. Playing with more passion then we were. We didn't get too many chances in the first half. I was frustrated because I didn't have one shot in the first half and I don't think the team really did either. Anson kept it pretty simple and he just said that we take care of the simple things and make our passes crisper and fight more, then the chances would develop and they did."
On whether it means more going back to the final four after not being there recently: "One of the hardest things I had to do was sit in the stands in Cary two years ago where we weren't there. A lot of our players couldn't even get themselves to go to the games but I wanted to go and watch. My senior year, I just didn't want to have to face that again. The parody in this sport is incredible. I think I get to see that first hand because I play a lot with the girls on the national level and I see the talent that's spread throughout the country. It's no easy task. People sometimes forget how incredible it is that we've gotten there so many times and won it so many years. It is getting more and more competitive and it really means a lot for me, my senior year."
On if she said anything to the team at half time: "I probably did and a lot of other people did too. Just that we're going to refuse to lose. I think that has kind of been our theme, that's always been our theme at Carolina. Just to kill ourselves, leave everything out there and we did that."
MIDFIELDER NIKKI WASHINGTON:
On her game saving clearance on the goal line in the game's final seconds and game-winning goal: "It was off a corner, I was far side and I was just trying to stay onside. As soon as she hit it, I read it. The last goal, I just dropped behind both of them, into the goal."
