1. O'Reilly powers UNC past No. 1 Florida State
- by Soccer America , Sep 22, 2006
U.S. international Heather O'Reilly showed why she's the best striker in college soccer as she scored a pair of goals to power No. 4 North Carolina to a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Florida State Thursday night before a crowd of 2,181 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
O’Reilly scored the opening goal of the ACC showdown on a brilliant 28-yard strike in the 23rd minute and then broke a 1-1 tie in the 84th minute by bending a ball past FSU goalkeeper Ali Mims for the game-winner.
UNC had the game seemingly under control -- it finished with a 17-7 shot advantage -- but a horrendous error by Tar Heel keeper Anna Rodenbough got FSU back in the game in the 62nd minute. Rodenbough let a bouncing ball get past her, allowing Seminole star India Trotter to score into an empty net.
UNC improved to 9-1-0 with its ninth straight win. The loss was the first for Florida State, which is 6-1-0.
No. 16 Virginia edged No. 14 Wake Forest, 2-1. Jess Rostedt broke a 1-1 tie in the 73rd minute with her fourth goal of the season. In other ACC openers, Duke beat Virginia Tech, 3-1, Clemson edged Maryland, 1-0, and N.C. State downed Miami, 1-0.
In the only other game Thursday night involving a Top 25 team, No. 23 BYU edged Washington, 1-0, in Seattle on Brooke Bowman's goal in the 35th minute.
- WOMEN'S WEEKEND
The top women's match this weekend takes place Friday night when No. 3 Santa Clara hosts No. 5 UCLA. The Broncos won the first four games in the series, but UCLA beat Santa Clara, 1-0 and 2-1, the last two years after their 2003 meeting ended in a 1-1 tie. UCLA (6-1-0) has won six games in a row after opening with a 3-1 loss at Penn State. Freshman forward Lauren Cheney has scored in all three matches she has appeared in this season since arriving in Westwood after playing for the USA at the 2005 Under-20 Women's World Championship. Santa Clara is coming off a tough weekend during which it fell to Boston University, 1-0, and needed overtime to beat Tennessee, 1-0.
