Tar Heels Endure ASU Fouls

But the Mountaineers' 29 fouls and seven cards did not keep the Tar Heels from scoring, as UNC defeated ASU

3-0 Monday night at Fetzer Field.

The game's physical nature placed a strain on the Tar Heel offense, but it was the first-half's overall effort that concerned UNC coach Elmar Bolowich.

"I was not very pleased at halftime with the way we performed in the first 45 minutes," Bolowich said. "They played extremely hard and they tried to not let us get into our rhythm."

ASU coach Dave Golan wanted his players to play hard, even if it meant attaining a few fouls in the process.

"We knew to play a team of this caliber that we'd have to play aggressive," Golan said. "It is not like we went after any of the players, but we wanted to play hard and come out with the victory."

Tar Heel Mike Gell posted the first goal for the second-straight game, scoring in the 11th minute of play on an assist from Chris Leitch for the 1-0 game.

Gell scored against East Carolina in the Tar Heels' (2-0) season opener, an

8-1 home victory against the Pirates

(0-1) on Friday night.

But it was the hard-nosed play of the Mountaineers (0-1) that gave UNC fits. Two ASU players were handed red cards, the first when North Carolina's Noz Yamauchi was knocked down for a second time by Andrew Rhodes.

While giving up six inches to the

5-foot-10 Rhodes, Yamauchi said he was willing to keep battling throughout the night.

"I got hit a couple of times, but I just tried to isolate him and draw some fouls," Yamauchi said. "I come against this all the time, so I get used to it."

Like Bolowich, Yamauchi emphasized the Mountaineers' aggressive play as a key to the game.

"I think they just had more heart in the first half, and we talked about that at halftime," Yamauchi said. "We are happy with the result, but we still have some things to work on."

Gell also tallied an assist in the 47th minute on a David Testo goal. Once Testo settled the ball, the junior flipped it over his head and fired it into the right side.

The strike was one of few offensive moments for UNC, as the Tar Heels also amassed 26 fouls and three cards to keep pace with the Mountaineers.

In the 86th minute, Jonathan Davis was fouled in the box, which resulted in UNC's first penalty kick. The free boot was given to Yamauchi, who pelted the ball low and right for an easy goal. The insurance goal made it 3-0.

Davis was another victim of the rising attacks, but knew the smaller ASU team would have to resort to different measures as the underdog.

"I knew they were going to come after us," Davis said. "Sometimes you over-prepare as a small school when you play someone bigger, but they figured they would have to play rough to win."

Bolowich said ASU's play was enough to warrant some frustration at times

"We did not keep our cool in terms of the play," Bolowich said.

All was cool in North Carolina's win against East Carolina. Eight players recorded goals for the Tar Heels, including Matt Crawford, Sean McGinty, Marcus Storey and Ryan Kneipper.

ECU's lone goal came at the 84th minute on a center strike by Joe Ellington.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.