Curtis Fails to Escape Claws of UNC's Leitch

With UNC leading 2-1 late in the second half, Leitch knew he'd have to beat Blue Devil Ali Curtis to the ball to prevent the 1999 Hermann Trophy winner from scoring and tying the game.

After all, that was his job. He did it well, keeping Curtis from getting possession. Leitch limited Curtis to just one shot in UNC's 4-2 victory at Koskinen Stadium.

UNC coach Elmar Bolowich assigned Leitch the task of containing the high-scoring Curtis, whose eight goals ranked second in the ACC.

"Normally I stay on the right side, and normally (David) Stokes stays on the left side, but today (Bolowich) said to follow Ali wherever Ali goes," Leitch said.

That's exactly what he did. When Guren tried to set up Curtis in the 86th minute, Leitch raced past Curtis and engaged him in enough contact to keep the Duke attacker from reaching the ball before it trickled over the end line.

It resulted in a goal kick and a collective sigh of relief from the Tar Heels.

The play also showed a world of frustration in Duke's star. Curtis shoved Leitch into the fence behind the endline after the ball went out of play.

"It was basically a fight," Leitch said of the entire play. "I didn't even play the ball. I knew if I got my body leaning against him, he wasn't going to be able to get his foot out.

"Basically, I think he was a little frustrated toward me because he hadn't been getting the ball."

That's because throughout the game, Curtis' chances were limited by his new shadow -- Leitch.

In the 55th minute, a Duke midfielder sent a long ball into the UNC defensive zone. Curtis attempted to use his strength and ball-handling skill to maneuver toward the goal, but Leitch was able to keep him from turning and getting a shot off.

Leitch again denied Curtis a scoring chance in the 84th minute, when Curtis gathered a throw-in at the top of the

18-yard box. Before the Blue Devil had a chance to turn, Leitch snuck in his left foot and cleared the ball.

"When he gets the ball with his back turned to my goal, I don't let him turn," Leitch said. "He's facing his goal, so therefore he can't do anything dangerous."

Considering UNC hadn't beaten Duke since 1996, and considering that Curtis scored the game-winner in last year's 1-0 regular season contest, stopping Curtis was no small feat.

"My heart goes out to Leitch," UNC's Chris Carrieri said. "He's a baller. We told him before the game that he needed to shut him down, and he did his job."

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