Carolina Story

[mustangbill67]

Total Team Effort Sends Carolina To Elite Eight

Selfless Tar Heels can advance to Cary's College Cup with a win Saturday.

Nov. 29, 2005

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Simply put, Carolina junior forward Ben Hunter is on an amazing scoring streak. He's netted the Tar Heels last seven goals since the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and scored twice in each of Carolina's NCAA Championship wins last week.

But ask him about his red-hot play and he quickly praises his teammates for putting him in position to score. "My teammates are creating me the chances," says the Doncaster, England, product. "I'm just taking those shots and luckily they're going in at the moment. Long may it continue."

Following the third round win over Virginia, a reporter asks, "What about your second goal, Ben?" Hunter's reply: "I gambled, and Corey (Ashe) did great work on that wide side, so I had a simple tap-in."

Junior goalkeeper Justin Hughes, who might have the best view on the field of the action in front of him, agrees. "Even though one guys is producing the goals, I feel like it's a reflection of the team. There's a lot of hard work going on off the ball, and guys are creating chances."

It is this type of selflessness that has the Tar Heels playing in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tourney for just the fourth time in school history and first since the 2001 team claimed the program's first-ever national title. Unbeaten in its last ten games, Carolina hosts an equally-hot Southern Methodist squad Saturday at Fetzer Field with a trip to the College Cup in Cary on the line.

The Mustangs are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games and have defeated San Francisco, No. 5 seed UCLA and UNC Greensboro to reach the tournament's final eight.

But as long as the Tar Heels play the type of consistent, team soccer they have all season, they should be up to Saturday's challenge. "When you follow our team, there is a certain amount of consistency that came with our play, all season long for that matter," said 17th-year head coach Elmar Bolowich. "What you see right now is a level of maturity. The consistency, coupled with the maturity, is the result of where we are right now."





Carolina's consistency stems from a suffocating defense that has allowed just 14 goals this season and has set a school record with 15 shutouts, which is tied with Akron for the national lead. This defense has kept the Tar Heels in just about every game this season, including their three losses, one of which was avenged by the third round win over Virginia.

"It's solid from both sides to the middle," said Hughes about the backline that plays in front of him. "We want to have four guys behind the ball at all times. In the center, Andre (Sherard) and Teddy (Odgers) have been on the same page for awhile and both those guys know what the other is thinking. When you have a good flow in the back its pretty solid. The main thing is guys are fighting for each other and they are not going to back down and let something happen."

But this fighting spirit is not limited to Sherard, Odgers, David Boole and Michael Harrington on the backline. It flows through scrappy all-conference midfielders Dax McCarty and Scott Campbell and finishes with Hunter and Ashe, who has a career-high four assists - all in the last six games, up front. Toughness will certainly be an asset for the Tar Heels as they continue in their run towards a second national championship.

"There is not one player on this team that wouldn't work for the player next to him if that guy happens to be out of position or making a mistake," said Bolowich, who reached the 200-win plateau this season. "It's a total team effort right now. Yes, Ben has the stats for him, and by statistics alone you can single him out as a main force for us, and he is that provider. But you cannot lose sight of the fact that there are another 10 guys that absolutely work themselves to death in the games in order to deny other teams scoring opportunities so we are in a position to win a game 1-0 or 2-0."

[PonyPride]

Sounds a lot like the Ponies. Both teams seem to think if they play their own game, what the other team does doesn't matter.
Damn, I wish I could be there.