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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Drake
College Cup Bound: Tar Heels Down Drake, 2-1
December 4, 2009 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 4, 2009
Box Score |
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| Watch Highlights Courtesy of the NCAA.com
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Sophomores Kirk Urso and Alex Dixon each scored over a three-minute span in the second half to lift No. 5 seed North Carolina to a 2-1 win over Drake Friday in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship at Fetzer Field. With the victory, the Tar Heels (16-2-3) are headed to their second straight NCAA College Cup and will make the fourth national semifinal appearance in program history next weekend at Cary's WakeMed Soccer Park.
Carolina will face either No. 1 seed Akron or No. 8 seed Tulsa, who square off at 4 p.m. Saturday in a quarterfinal match.
Urso, who scored in the 55th minute, and Dixon, who followed in the 58th, continued a sophomore scoring streak for Carolina, which has gotten all five of its postseason goals from second-year players. Dixon found the back of the net for the third straight game for the Tar Heels, who have outscored their NCAA tourney opposition by a 5-1 margin.
"I thought for the most part of the game we controlled the tempo and did what we had to do," said UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich, who now owns a 20-12 postseason record and has led Carolina to three College Cup trips this decade. "We just couldn't get the goals in the first half while we had the chances to do so. Our goal coming out of halftime in the first 15 minutes was to score and put the pressure on Drake further. Then Kirk used the opportunity with a wonderful strike to break the ice, and Alex followed up with a counter attack goal."
UNC was less than a minute away from its fourth straight shutout before Drake's Kenan Malicevic scored at 89:19 to trim the score to the final one-goal margin.
The Tar Heels finished the night with a commanding 16-6 edge on the shot chart, and an 11-1 advantage on corner kicks.
"I liked what we did," said Bolowich. "We really worked the ball pretty well and created so many opportunities in front of the goal in a quarterfinal match. We don't want to sit back. We want to attack all the time. It's just an issue of getting a few more goals to make it easier on ourselves."
After possessing for much of the first half, the Tar Heels finally broke through with back-to-back goals early in the second period to grab a lead they would not relinquish.
Urso, who fired from long range on multiple occasions in the match, put one the back of the net at 54:47 for the game-winner. He took two touches on the right side and sent a 20-yard blast over Drake keeper Jordan Kadlec for a 1-0 UNC lead. Michael Farfan assisted on Urso's goal, which was his fourth of the season and first since the Oct. 13 win over Campbell.
"Whenever I get the chance to strike one from out there I'm looking for it," said the Lombard, Ill., product. "I've had a few goals this year (from distance), and that's one of my strengths so I try to hit them from there. I don't think they expected me to shoot from there. They were probably expecting a cross from that angle."
Just over two minutes later, Dixon scored for the third straight NCAA contest to put the game away at 57:01. Farfan blocked a Drake cross near midfield, and sophomore midfielder Billy Schuler fed a streaking Dixon for a breakaway goal on an 18-yard shot to the lower left corner.
Dixon now has six goals in the last seven games has peaked at the right time of the season. "The trainers have done a good job with me," said Dixon, who is second on the team with eight goals and 17 points. "I've been in there for an entire season getting healthier and healthier, so we've just got to keep it going and hopefully we won't have any breakdowns."
The Tar Heels appeared headed for their 12th shutout of the season, but Drake scored in the final minute when Evan Harrison fed Malicevic for his fifth goal of the year.
Brooks Haggerty finished with three saves for the Tar Heels, while Kadlec stopped six shots for the Bulldogs (16-7-2).
Carolina controlled possession for much of the first half - posting a 7-1 edge in shot and a 9-0 margin in corners - but misfired on a pair of quality chances to grab the lead before intermission.
Urso was aggressive early, firing from long range on multiple occasions. His 18th-minute strike from 40 yards nearly gave the Tar Heels a lead but it nicked off the crossbar and bounded straight down. Urso also hit the crossbar from long range in the 76th minute.
In the 38th minute, sophomore Schuler was fouled in the box, setting up a penalty kick attempt for senior defender Zach Loyd, who put a quality strike on frame, but Kadlec went to his right to save the PK chance and carry the clean sheet into half time.
Carolina will play in the College Cup in the Old North State for the first time in program history Friday against Akron or Tulsa. The Tar Heels have made three semifinal appearances this decade (2001, 2008 and 2009) after taking their first trip in 1987.
