Tar Heel front line pressures opponents

Though it was Courtney Jones' first collegiate hat trick"" she still was not overjoyed with her performance.

""The third one was my favorite" Jones said. The other two were ‘Yeah I scored"' but they were a little lucky. The goalie definitely got a hand on both of them.""

Jones' businesslike finishing paved the way for North Carolina to cruise to a comfortable 5-0 win against Maryland at Fetzer Field.

The team seems to have hit its stride coming into the ACC schedule" defeating its first two conference opponents by a combined score of 10-2.

Casey Nogueira and Merritt Mathias kicked in a goal apiece and Jessica McDonald also chipped in two assists both to Jones.

Each of the five goals came from inside the 18-yard box as UNC made a concerted effort to get the ball into the box to take high-percentage shots.

The team has stressed putting shots on goal this season" and the Tar Heels finally are starting to see the fruits of their labor.

""I would say the better shots this year come from (coach Anson Dorrance) drilling into our heads to shoot low" on the frame across the frame Nogueira said.

As soon as we hit a shot over we are hearing about it from the sidelines and we'll hear it later in the talk after the game" and in the pregame before the next game.""

This offensive surge" Dorrance said" can be attributed to overwhelming strike team speed.

""That front line of Nogueira" Jones and McDonald might be the fastest front line we have ever had Dorrance said.

I'm talking about going back to the beginning. The only front line that could compete with that front line speed would be Mia Hamm" Kristine Lilly and Rita Tower.""

The line he listed second played at UNC from 1989-1992 and combined to account for 189 career goals on the international level" for Team USA's women's soccer team.

Needless to say that's high praise for a first-year a transfer student and a 19-year-old junior.

The most striking difference from last year's offense is the speed with which the players attack getting the ball into Maryland's box quickly and putting pressure on the Terrapin defense to clear the ball or get in the way of a shot.

The defense for North Carolina was lights out in accounting for the other half of the scoring line.

The Tar Heel defense held Maryland to eight shots" most of which were blocked or rushed. The Terrapins put only two of those shots on goal to trouble the keeper.

That made it very easy for the four UNC goalkeepers that saw time as the quartet combined to shut out the Terrapins.

Goalkeeper was not the only position that experienced a mass shake-up as 26 players saw action for the Tar Heels.

""I think we're still unique in how many players we're willing to play" Dorrance said.

I think that benefits us because if you've got players that are fresh and passionate and enthusiastic" it's going to make up for a better player that is fatigued.""



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.