November 27, 1998

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The top-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team rode the backs of some of its talented substitute players Friday night to a berth in the 1998 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament semifinals as the Tar Heels defeated ninth-ranked Dartmouth College 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals before a crowd of 3,120 fans at Fetzer Field.

North Carolina improved to 24-0-0 on the season while the Big Green saw its season end with a record of 16-2-2.

The victory propels the Tar Heels into the NCAA semifinals for the 17th successive year, every year the NCAA has held an women's soccer championship. UNC will play either Notre Dame or Portland in next Friday's NCAA semifinals at Greensboro, N.C. The Fighting Irish and the Pilots play an NCAA quarterfinal game on Saturday at 12 noon in Notre Dame, Ind.

UNC also advanced to the the semifinals of a national tournament for the 19th straight year. Carolina played in the semifinals of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletic for Women (AIAW) national tournaments in 1980 and 1981.

Friday night was a time for Carolina's bench to shine. Non-starters accounted for two of UNC's three goals and three of the team's four assists.

At the 36:38 mark of the game, UNC junior midfielder Beth Sheppard, who had entered the match just 3:02 earlier, scored her third goal of the season (all in either the ACC or NCAA Tournaments) and her first game-winning goal of the campaign. Sheppard rifled a shot into the right side of the goal from about eight yards out, taking an assist from freshman forward Anne Remy, who had entered the game at the 35:00 mark.

Carolina would go on to score twice more in the second half of the game. At the 66:40 mark, freshman defender Danielle Borgman took a pass from Remy and drove a curving shot into the upper left corner of the goal from about 22 yards out. Junior midfielder Rebekah McDowell also assisted on the goal. The Tar Heels finished off the scoring at the 84:17 mark when senior forward Rakel Karvelsson scored on a rebound after Remy's initial shot was saved by Luckenbill.

Overall, UNC outshot the Big Green on the game 25-4. Dartmouth goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill, the third-ranked goalkeeper in the nation, made eight saves while allowing three goals. UNC's Siri Mullinix, the nation's second-ranked goalkeeper, made one save.

Carolina posted its 19th shutout of the season in 24 games.

The Tar Heels have now won 45 games in a row over the past two seasons. They have gone unbeaten in their last 69 games (68-0-1) over the past three years.

1998 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal
Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.

                   1st 2nd Final
#9 DARTMOUTH        0   0   0
#1 NORTH CAROLINA   1   2   3

SCORING SUMMARY:
1. UNC--Beth Sheppard (Anne Remy), 36:38
2. UNC--Danielle Borgman (Anne Remy, Rebekah McDowell), 66:40
3. UNC--Rakel Karvelsson (Anne Remy), 84:17

Shots: Dartmouth 4, North Carolina 25
Corner Kicks: Dartmouth 1, North Carolina 6
Goalkeeper Saves: Kristin Luckenbill (DC) 8, Siri Mullinix (UNC) 1
Back Saves: Sue Eastman (DC) 1, Katy Hearey (DC) 1, Chrissy Castro (DC) 1, Lindsay Stoecker (UNC) 1
Fouls: Dartmouth 8, North Carolina 8
Offside: Dartmouth 4, North Carolina 2
Yellow Cards: Sue Eastman (DC), 37:23; Siri Mullinix (UNC), 88:34

Starting Lineups:
Dartmouth--Kristin Luckenbill (GK), Jamie Lang, Jessica Prairie, Katy Hearey, Jessica Post, Sue Eastman, Jennifer Murray, Chrissy Castro, Melissa Roth, Katie Roda, April Rosada
North Carolina--Siri Mullinix (GK), Tiffany Roberts, Rebekah McDowell, Laurie Schwoy, Lorrie Fair, Lindsay Stoecker, Raven McDonald, Cindy Parlow, Meredith Florance, Danielle Borgman, Jena Kluegel

Officials: John Wilson (Referee), Boyce Hudson (Assistant Referee), Charles Mitchell (Assistant Referee), Mike Carcieri (4th Official)

Team Records: Dartmouth 16-2-2, North Carolina 24-0-0

Attendance: 3,120

QUOTES FROM NORTH CAROLINA

Quotes from North Carolina Head Coach Anson Dorrance:
"I was very pleased with the performance of the entire team. We played exceptionally well the first half. In the pre-game we talked about moving the ball quickly and the irony was we moved the ball so quickly that we did not compose ourselves in the attacking box. I was very pleased with our play in the first half. That was an outstanding Dartmouth team, very well organized in the back, and even thought we played exceptionally well in the first half, I did not think that we had any sitting chances. That is a credit to an exceptional Dartmouth program with an brilliant goalkeeper."

QUOTES FROM DARTMOUTH

Quotes from Dartmouth Head Coach Kelly Blasius Knudsen:
"I am very proud of my team. We never gave up, we kept playing and we kept working hard. You have to respect UNC, they are a truly excellent team. They have so many players all around the field in every position that are dangerous, from up front right on through to their keeper who can start their attack pretty forcibly from the back. We've never played them. We hear all about them, but it is different to actually see them on the field. At the half we felt that we were still in a position to contend. We were not going to sit back and defend and try to keep the score as is. We came to the second half wanting to play and score."

On Carolina's defensive pressure:
"We anticipated them to play us that tight, but we haven't seen a team all season that pressured us the way Carolina did. We had to play one and two touch ball and move the ball so quickly that it was somewhat difficult to move the ball at all because you just didn't have the time."