University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Maryland
No. 5 Carolina Downs Top-Ranked Maryland, 1-0
October 5, 2003 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 5, 2003
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Freshman Corey Ashe scored the game-winner at the 68:50 mark, and rookie goalkeeper Justin Hughes notched his second shutout of a top-10 team this season to lead the No. 5 North Carolina men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No.1-ranked Maryland Sunday at Fetzer Field.
With the win, Carolina (8-1-2, 2-1-0 ACC) improves to 5-0 on its home turf this season. The Tar Heels are also 6-1 in one-goal games and have tallied shutouts in the six of their 11 games this season. Maryland falls to 9-1-0 and 3-1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the loss. The victory was the Tar Heels' first over the nation's No. 1 team since a 5-1 victory over top-ranked Virginia on Sept. 25, 1994, also at Fetzer Field.
In a match-up of the top two defenses in the ACC, Ashe finally broke through the scoring column in the 69th minute when he put a 10-yard shot in the upper left corner of the net past Maryland goalkeeper Noah Palmer. Ashe was fed by junior forward Marcus Storey and freshman forward Jamie Watson, who dribbled through the center of the Terrapin defense to the box. Ashe's goal was his second this season and the first-game winner of his Tar Heel career. Seven different players have scored game-winners in the Tar Heels' eight wins this season.
The goal was just the third allowed this season by Maryland.
Making his fourth start this season, Hughes tallied his second shutout. He made two saves and now has 15 stops on the year. He entered Sunday's action with a 0.30 goals against average.
oth teams had solid scoring opportunities in the first half that were thwarted by the opposing defense. Hughes made two saves, while Palmer halted four shots in the opening period. The Terps outshot the Tar Heels, 9-6, in the first half.
Storey and Watson nearly put the Tar Heels on the board in the 52nd minute when they both fired point blank shots at Palmer, who made a pair of saves to preserve the shutout. Maryland came close the tying the score in the 77th minute when an Abe Thompson free kick hit the cross bar. The Terps outshot Carolina, 17-11.
With a 2-2 tie against then-No. 1 Wake Forest last Oct. 26, UNC is now 1-0-1 in its last two games against the nation's top-ranked team. The Tar Heels are 3-0 versus top-10 teams this season, having already knocked off St. John's and Connecticut.
Carolina returns to action next weekend at the UNC Greensboro adidas Classic. The Tar Heels play Mercer on Friday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. meeting with Kentucky on Sunday Oct. 12.
Scoring: 1. UNC - Corey Ashe (Marcus Storey, Jamie Watson), 68:50 Goals: Corey Ashe (UNC) Assists: Marcus Storey (UNC), Jamie Watson (UNC) Goalie Stats: Justin Hughes (UNC): 0 goals allowed, 2 saves, 90 minutes; Noah Palmer (MD): 1 goal allowed, 7 saves, 90 minutes Shots: UNC 11, UM 17 Yellow Cards: Noah Palmer (UM), 22:19; Marcus Storey (UNC), 76:51; Jamie Watson (UNC), 78:55; Clarence Goodson (UM), 78:55 Attendance: 3,086Score by Halves Team 1 2 Final No. 1 MD 0 0 0 No. 5 UNC 0 1 1
