University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Notre Dame
Tar Heels Return Championship To Chapel Hill
December 3, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Dec. 3, 2006
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CARY, N.C. - Senior striker Heather O'Reilly went out in grand style with a goal and an assist and freshman forward Casey Nogueira celebrated her first career start with the same numbers as top-seeded North Carolina (27-1) claimed its 18th NCAA women's soccer championship Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Notre Dame at SAS Soccer Park before a crowd of 8,349.
The Tar Heels finished a magical season with 27 successive wins after a season-opening 1-0 double overtime loss at Texas A&M, tying the school record for victories in a season and returning the NCAA championship it has won 18 times in the past 25 years to Chapel Hill for the first time since 2003. Carolina also owns a 19th national title won in 1981 under the auspices of the AIAW. The Tar Heels improved 18-3 in the NCAA championship games under Coach Anson Dorrance's leadership.
In a game in which the Tar Heels dominated possession and had a 20-9 edge in shots, it still came down to the final minutes for the Tar Heels to salt the game away before handing an outstanding Notre Dame side (25-1-1) its only loss of the season. Carolina improved to 5-1 in NCAA Tournament games against the Fighting Irish. Sunday marked the first meeting between the two teams since the 2000 NCAA semifinals.
O'Reilly was the sparkplug offensively for the Tar Heels and Nogueira provided the rest of the offense Carolina needed to prevail in a hard fought championship game. O'Reilly was named as the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Tournament and Nogueira also made the All-Tournament Team. Other Tar Heels on the All-Tournament Team included junior defender Robyn Gayle, the Defensive MVP, as well as freshman defender Kristi Eveland, sophomore midfielder Yael Averbuch and freshman midfielder Tobin Heath.
O'Reilly's offense was the key as she celebrated a national championship just a day after she lost the voting for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy to Notre Dame's Kerri Hanks by a single point. O'Reilly put the Tar Heels on the board at 17:57 with a remarkable goal, one of a world class variety. It was her 12th of the season and 59th of her career. Nogueira centered the ball from the right side to O'Reilly who zoomed past the Notre Dame defense, drew Fighting Irish goalkeeper Lauren Karas out of the goal, dribbled around her and then lofted a shot to the far post over three Notre Dame defenders from 15 yards out.
The goal was the 15th NCAA Tournament goal for O'Reilly as she tied Mia Hamm for second place in Carolina history in tourney tallies. Only Christine Sinclair of Portland (25 goals) and Lindsay Tarpley of UNC (16 goals) have now scored more NCAA Tournament goals than O'Reilly.
UNC had two more great chances to extend the lead in the first half but Karas made big saves on shots by Whitney Engen at 26:06 and Sterling Smith at 43:23.
Leading 1-0 at the half, the Tar Heels came out in the second half starting seven freshmen - the most first-year players in a single half of play in Tar Heel history to take the field at the beginning of a period. Only O'Reilly, Gayle, junior defender Ariel Harris and Averbuch were upperclassmen on the field at that point.
Less than 1:30 into the half, the Tar Heel lead became two goals. O'Reilly won a header from a Notre Dame defender and dropped it at the feet of freshman Whitney Engen. Engen dribbled into the far right corner and sent a cross to Nogueira who was unmarked in the box. Nogueira headed the ball far post, earning her second game-winning goal of the College Cup.
The goal by Nogueira came in her first career start and harkened back to a similar situation when Tar Heel Catherine Reddick earned the first start of her freshman year in the NCAA championship game against UCLA in 2000. In that game, Reddick, now a major star of the U.S. National Team, also scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Tar Heel victory.
Nogueira would end up having three more chances to score with her laser-like shots but she missed the frame in the 72nd, 76th and 85th minutes.
In a game marred by 41 fouls, one by the Tar Heels' 20 such infractions near midfield set up Notre Dame's lone tally at the 80:30 mark. Hanks sent a ball into the box that was headed on by ND's Brittany Bock over the outstretched hands UNC goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris from the six-yard line. The goal was Bock's 12th of the season.
Notre Dame had a couple of tremendous chances to tie the game but the Tar Heel defense held firm the rest of the way. Harris saved a header by Bock at 86:11 of the match and then a wild scrum in front of the goal in the 88th minute became a very dangerous situation for the Heels. A shot by Michele Weissenhofer was blocked by the UNC defense and Tobin Heath eventually cleared the ball out of the box and out of danger.
The Fighting Irish had one last shot at the tie when the Tar Heels were called for a foul at the 24-yard line. Hanks took the free kick but it sailed wide right in the Fighting Irish's last chance to earn the equalizer.
O'Reilly finished her with 59 goals, tying her with Lindsay Tarpley and Meredith Florance for 10th place on UNC's career goal scoring chart. O'Reilly bookended her career by winning NCAA Tournament Offensive MVP honors as a freshman in 2003 and a senior in 2006.
