North Carolina
Rhode Island
Men's Soccer Advances To NCAA Quarterfinals With 3-1 Win Over Rhode Island
November 26, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 26, 2000
Chapel Hill, N.C. - North Carolina, the top seed in the 2000 Men's College Cup, scored three goals in a 13-minute span of the second half and defeated Rhode Island, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at Fetzer Field. Chris Carrieri, Caleb Norkus and Ryan Kneipper all scored for the Tar Heels, who won their 15th game in a row.
The victory is Carolina's 21st of the season, breaking the school record for wins in a season. Carolina went 20-5 in 1987 and reached the NCAA Final Four.
Carolina (21-2) advances to next weekend's quarterfinal round and will host two-time defending NCAA champion Indiana. The Hoosiers defeated Washington, 2-1, on Saturday to advance to the quarterfinals. The day and time of next weekend's game will be announced on Monday.
No. 17 Rhode Island (17-6-1) , which had won six straight games, sees its season end.
After a scoreless first half, Carrieri scored Carolina's first goal at the 53:30 mark when his cross deflected off URI defender Neil Lewis and ricocheted into the net. Just over two minutes later, at the 55:49 mark, Caleb Norkus scored the eventual game-winner, taking passes from Logan Pause and Noz Yamauchi and scoring on a nifty combination of passes in the box.
The Rams cut the UNC lead to 2-1 at 65:08 when Nicholas McCreath took advantage of a defensive breakdown by the Tar Heels and scored. Less than two minutes later, Carolina responded with a goal by Kneipper off an assist from Sean McGinty at 66:58.
Michael Ueltschey played very well in the goal for UNC, recording six saves.
