North Carolina
Towson
Men's Soccer Advances Past Towson, 3-0, in NCAA Tournament
November 25, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 25, 2001
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Eighth-ranked North Carolina got two goals and an assist from Ryan Kneipper and shutout Towson, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in NCAA Tournament second-round action at a soggy Fetzer Field. Kneipper played a role in all three Carolina goals, posting his third multi-goal game of the season.
Kneipper now leads Carolina with 11 goals and 28 points this season. Both figures are career highs for the junior from Dallas, Texas, who was named second-team All-ACC this season.
Kneipper scored the first goal of the game for the Tar Heels. Grant Porter crossed the ball from 35 yards out to the right side, and Kneipper headed the ball just past Towson keeper Chris Hurley for his 10th goal of the season at the 22:31 mark.
UNC dominated the early minutes of the second half, controlling ball possession in the Towson half of the field and firing shot after shot toward the Tiger goal. Two of those shots found the back of the net in the first 15 minutes of the second half, and Kneipper played a role in both goals.
Kneipper assisted Chris Leitch on a beautiful give-and-go play at the 55:12 mark. Leitch, a defender, brought the ball forward, made the short pass to Kneipper and kept running upfield, taking the return pass and beating Hurley one-on-one and scoring in the upper right corner of the net.
Four minutes later, Kneipper took a pass from David Stokes and scored his second goal of the game at the 59:07 mark.
The Tar Heels outshot the Tigers, 27-7. The shutout victory was Carolina's 12th of the season. Michael Ueltschey, the Tar Heels' career leader in shutouts, now has 28.1 in his career. On Sunday, he broke the school record for shutouts in a season. He now has 11.6 this season, breaking the old mark of 11 set by Kevin Kane in 1980 and Watson Jennison in 1991.
The shutout was Carolina's 12th as a team this season, tying the school record set in 1980. The entire Carolina defense, including Ueltschey, Leitch, Stokes and Danny Jackson, played stellar soccer throughout the game.
Carolina advances to next weekend's third round and will face the winner of Sunday afternoon's Wake Forest-American University game. Next weekend's third-round game will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill.
Scoring:
1. UNC - Ryan Kneipper (Grant Porter), 22:31
2. UNC - Chris Leitch (Kneipper), 55:12
3. UNC - Kneipper (David Stokes), 59:07
Goalie Stats: Chris Hurley (Towson) 10 saves, 3 goals allowed, Michael Ueltschey (UNC) 5 saves, 0 goals allowed
Shots: Towson 7, UNC 27
Attendance: 475
