robert.cessna@theeagle.com
The Bryan/College Station (TX) Eagle
http://www.theeagle.com/
Published Monday, December 07, 2009 6:05 AM
The Tar Heels pose with the championship trophy. This is UNC's 21st national title (20 NCAA, one AIAW) and third in four years. (AP)
North Carolina's remarkable seniors ended their careers with yet another national championship, and fittingly at the place it all started with an eye-opening loss.
The Tar Heels made an early goal by Jessica McDonald stand up for a 1-0 victory over the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Stadium before 8,536 wet-but-enthusiastic fans.
It was the program's 21st national championship and the third for the senior class, which finished with a record of 94-9-3. The group's first game was a 1-0 loss in double overtime to Texas A&M in the 2006 season opener.
"I think that ending our careers here is quite a testament to how far we've come," said senior All-American Whitney Engen. "We all kinda looked at each other [after that first game]. We knew we came to Carolina to win, and here we'd lost our first game of the season. And to come full circle and to win our last game here, it meant a lot to a lot of us."
Engen was part of a smothering defense that throttled Stanford, which was the second-highest scoring team in the country.
The Cardinal (25-1-0) managed only nine shots -- including two in the first half, its lowest total of the season for any 45-minute period.
"They put you under pressure, and they make it difficult for you to get into a rhythm," Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "It was hard for us to get into a rhythm and really play our type of soccer."
UNC never deviated from its style, which was to defend by attacking.
Engen, who was named the Women's College Cup's Most Outstanding Player on Defense, and fellow senior defender Rachel Givan played all 90 minutes. They made the all-tournament team along with senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris as the Tar Heels ended the season with 10 shutouts in their final 11 games.
UNC dominated from the get-go, making things easier for its defense.
McDonald, a junior, one-timed a perfect 25-yard bending pass from fellow forward Casey Nogueira at the 42:10 mark. Stanford defender Alina Garciamendez couldn't do a thing as McDonald flicked the ball past goalkeeper Kira Maker from just inside the 6-yard box.
"We have a unique style," UNC head coach Anson Dorrance said. "We sprint to close down people and make it difficult for any team to play. We've tried to develop a system that's hard to play against that's based on pressure and work ethic. I think it's hard for other teams to replicate that in practice. We try to play absolutely as fast as possible offensively."
That style allowed UNC to play fast, keeping Stanford on its heels.
The Tar Heels (22-3-1) kept the ball in the Cardinal's end for almost two-thirds of the first half. UNC had each of the half's seven corner kicks, just missing a couple of chances to take an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
"One of my graduates [former player Rita Tower] came up to me after the game and she said, 'Anson, do you guys work on corner kicks?,'" Dorrance said. "I said, 'Rita, give me a break, we work on all this stuff.'
"Here, the alumni aren't even satisfied that we won the championship, they're a little disappointed in our corner kicks. The alumni are tough to deal with [because] their standards are pretty high."
That's because UNC is the only program to play in all 28 NCAA Tournaments and is the only program with an unbeaten, untied season. The Tar Heels have done that four times -- 1991, '92, '93, and 2003.
The Cardinal opened the second half aggressively in trying to be the fifth team to accomplish that feat, but the Tar Heels still managed more shots even though they went with an extra defender.
Stanford's chances diminished when 26-goal scorer Kelley O'Hara received an automatic ejection after getting her second yellow card for sliding into Engen. That forced the Cardinal to play the last 17:45 a player short.
O'Hara, the nation's top scorer, and 21-goal scorer Christen Press combined for four shots, only one on goal.
"I had a lot of respect coming in for their front line," said Engen, who played with both players in the summer. "I also knew we had to trust in our system for it to work. We don't change our system for anyone. We held a great line today, and Ash came out big from behind and led us, and we played really well today."
Stanford struggled to string together 2-3 passes against Carolina's pressure.
"I felt like we had so many open players and we were just struggling to get them the ball," Press said.
Short-handed Stanford still managed a couple of chances late. Press rifled a 25-yard shot that Harris momentarily bobbled. Press also broke free at 88:12, firing a long shot past Harris for an apparent tying goal, but she was ruled offside.
UNC was able to clear the ball in the final seconds, which allowed senior Nogueira and sophomore forward Courtney Jones to hug right in front of the Tar Heels' bench in the final 10 seconds.
The players rushed toward Harris, several of them stopping to embrace along the way. They donned championship hats and T-shirts while awaiting the awards ceremony. And while the all-tournament team was being announced, third-string goalie Amanda Tucker managed to run down and douse Dorrance, who made a few good defensive moves to at first avoid the bath.
Stanford's two shots in the first 45 minutes were by Teresa Noyola at 27:45, which was well wide, and by Verloo weakly on goal with 2:30 left.
Stanford's best rush in the first half was waved off for being offside. Onrushing Press sent a crossing pass to Courtney Verloo, who shot it in the net, but the Carolina players were signaling offside before the ball even found the net.
The game was played on a 47-degree day with a light mist falling.
Nogueira was named the 2009 Women's College Cup's Most Outstanding Player on Offense. She scored in UNC's 1-0 victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals.
Other Tar Heels on the all-tournament team were McDonald and midfielder Tobin Heath, who also had an assist on McDonald's goal.
It was the second straight year North Carolina denied a team an unbeaten, untied season. Notre Dame also finished at 25-1 last year with a 2-1 loss to UNC in the championship.
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