North Carolina
Winthrop
Tar Heels Defeat Winthrop, 6-0, in NCAA Tournament First Round
November 22, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 22, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Ryan Kneipper scored five goals, three of which came in a six-minute span early in the second half, to lead the University of North Carolina men's soccer team past Winthrop, 6-0, on Friday evening in the first round of the 2002 NCAA College Cup at Fetzer Field.
Kneipper's five goals equalled the UNC single-game record, set originally by James Reston in 1962. The previous school record for goals in an NCAA Tournament game was two, achieved on four occasions, including twice by Kneipper last year. The NCAA Tournament record for goals in a game by a single player is seven.
The five goals are the second-most in a game by any player in Division I men's soccer this season. Kneipper now has a career-high 18 goals this season. He has 12 career NCAA Tournament goals, one off the career NCAA record of 13 set by Virginia's A.J. Wood from 1991-94.
"I don't think I've ever scored five goals in any game, even back to club and high school soccer," Kneipper said after the win. "It's kind of overwhelming right now to think about. I hadn't scored a goal in a couple of games. Sometimes you just feel it as a forward, and I felt it tonight."
Matt Crawford, who was named a first-team Academic All-America earlier this week, tied an NCAA Tournament record with three assists in the game. Crawford now has a career-high 16 assists this season, leading the ACC and setting a new school record for assists in a season.
"I think we played a very good game overall for the 90-minute stretch," UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "We came out very organized. I was a little concerned with our first half getting into our rhythm, but we put some focus on getting going right away in this game, and we did that. I've got to give credit to the team for keeping the shutout. Logan (Pause), David (Stokes), Tim (Merritt) and Grant (Porter) played very, very well on defense."
The Tar Heels improve to 14-6-1 this season. Winthrop falls to 15-7-1 as its season comes to a close. The Tar Heels advance to the second round and will play next Wednesday night at Penn State.
Kneipper got the scoring started early for the Tar Heels, taking passes from David Testo and Matt Crawford and heading the ball into the lower right corner of the net, past the oustretched hands of Eagle goalkeeper Steve Winton, at the 9:42 mark.
Kneipper scored again less than 10 minutes later on another header to the same spot of the goal, this time off assists from Sean McGinty and Crawford at the 17:55 mark. On Kneipper's third goal, Marcus Storey crossed the ball from the left side of the field to Sean McGinty in the center of the box. McGinty flicked the ball back to Kneipper, who controlled it and drilled it into the net for a 3-0 Tar Heel lead at the 63:50 mark.
Kneipper made it 4-0 with a one-touch goal from seven yards out off passes from Storey and Grant Porter at the 69:19 mark. Kneipper's fifth goal, on a free kick at the 70:31 mark, made it 5-0 UNC. David Stokes scored Carolina's final goal of the night off an assist from Crawford at the 72:25 mark.
