Texas A&M
North Carolina
Aggies Fall to No. 1 North Carolina
Aug 20, 2010 | Soccer
Aug. 20, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The two-time defending national champion North Carolina proved their No. 1 ranking Friday night at the Aggie Soccer Stadium as they came away with a 3-0 win over the eighth-ranked Texas A&M soccer team.
In front of a crowd of 2,822, the Aggies (0-1-0) dropped their first season opener at home and fell to 15-3 all-time in their first match of the year.
"North Carolina was athletically dominant tonight and they proved that they wanted it more," said A&M head coach G Guerrieri. "This is a great lesson for our players. We have the talent, but we have to come out and make it look a lot better than we did tonight. I know our players are disappointed, but the good news is that this is the first game of the season. They'll bounce back and I'm confident that we'll be able to use this as something that will fuel our fire in the future."
The Tar Heels raced out to a quick 1-0 lead just over two minutes into the match when Meghan Klingenberg scored from 30 yards out into the far-side netting.
The Aggies remained poised, however, and had one of their best scoring opportunities of the half on a counter in the 16th minute. Senior Amber Gnatzig sent a through ball into the penalty box to a running Whitney Hooper. The senior forward's sliding shot went across the goal and just wide.
Nevertheless, Carolina added a second goal in the 20th minute as Ali Hawkins headed in a corner kick that Rachel Givan served into the six-yard box.
Texas A&M came close again in the 28th minute when senior Alyssa Mautz created space and struck a laser off the bottom of the crossbar. The ball then bounced off of the UNC goalkeeper and rolled out of bounds for one of A&M's four corner kicks on the evening.
The Tar Heels carried their 2-0 advantage into the locker room.
Nine minutes into the second half, junior Bri Young, who led the Aggies with four shots, lifted a powerful one-hopper on frame from 35 yards that UNC keeper Anna Sieloff had some trouble with, but that she still kept out of the goal.
Two minutes later, Carolina's Amber Brooks put the game out of reach. A&M goalkeeper Kristin Arnold punched out an initial corner kick, but Klingenberg sent in a second cross that Brooks headed into the back of the net.
The Aggies still managed scoring threats throughout the rest of the match. In fact, in the 60th minute, junior transfer Merritt Mathias lined a shot from outside the penalty box that Sieloff got a high hand on to grace off the crossbar. Hooper followed with a blocked rebound shot.
North Carolina held a slight advantage in shots, 17-15, with a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. The Tar Heels also led 8-4 in corners.
Texas A&M plays its second game of the season on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against St. John's at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. Prior to A&M's match, Michigan State and Carolina square off at 10:30 a.m.
"To be able to play our first few games at home is great, but we have to get back on winning track and Sunday is the day that is circled to get that done," Guerrieri said.
