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Niners/Tar Heels NCAA Championship

Discussion in 'SportsTalk' started by VA49er, Dec 12, 2011.

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Dec 12, 2011 at 8:49 AM #1

VA49er Full Access Member

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Godo win by the Heels over my Niners yesterday in the NCAA Soccer Championship. Heels won 1-0. I know lots of folks don't care for soccer but this was a magical season for both squads. From what I've read the Niners outplayed the Heels, but due to an awesome 25 yard Heel's goal that went over the Niner goalkeeper's head and terrible noncall on a Heel's foul, the Heels got the W. Charlotte had a late barrage of shots towards the end but couldn't find the net. Also cool to see 6 busload full of Niners fans made the trip to Alabama.

Furious finish leaves Charlotte 49ers short of goal.

HOOVER, Ala. For long stretches of Sunday's national championship men's soccer game between Charlotte and North Carolina, the underdog and unseeded 49ers outplayed the No. 1 seed from Chapel Hill.

But North Carolina scored the game's only goal, survived a late flurry from the 49ers and won the national title, 1-0. The victory disappointed thousands of 49ers fans who turned a converted minor-league baseball stadium outside of Birmingham into a home game for Charlotte.

"We were first in almost every category but the one that wins the game," said Charlotte coach Jeremy Gunn, whose team outshot the Tar Heels 19-10 and earned six corner kicks, compared with North Carolina's two. "That's the cruel part of soccer."

When the game between in-state rivals had concluded, the Charlotte soccer players avoided the confetti cannons spraying paper jubilation all over the Tar Heel victors and walked en masse to their fans.

Rather than sulking, the Charlotte players strode toward supporters and applauded them. The fans, in turn, gave the players a standing ovation for a dream season that included five straight victories in the NCAA tournament. Thanks to six busloads of Charlotte students and untold numbers of others making the six-hour drive from Charlotte, the 49ers probably had 7,000 fans among the 8,777 in attendance.

"It was phenomenal," Charlotte defender Isaac Cowles said. "I couldn't even hear a Carolina fan. All I heard was Charlotte."

But while Charlotte won the crowd battle, it was the Tar Heels who claimed the victory thanks to a curling, left-footed shot from 25 yards out from forward Ben Speas early in the second half. The goal was unassisted and spectacular, as Speas created a brief opening and then blasted the ball over 49ers goalkeeper Klay Davis' head.

"Ben had a moment of inspiration," first-year Tar Heels head coach Carlos Somoano said, "and it was incredible."

North Carolina now has 38 NCAA team championships in all sports combined, including two in men's soccer. Charlotte is still searching for its first.

The Tar Heels had been to the men's soccer version of the Final Four the past four seasons in a row, but had lost each of the previous three years. They beat UCLA in overtime Friday night on penalty kicks and then on Sunday faced a Charlotte team that had edged Creighton on penalty kicks earlier the same night.

"We relied on our heart and our guts to win this game," Somoano said. He added later: "Charlotte came out so aggressive and played so hard that we literally didn't have the legs to play the game that we wanted. It was the first time all year we weren't able to dominate the ball in a game."

The Tar Heels caught one big break early in the second half. Charlotte midfielder Donnie Smith had the ball inside the penalty box when it looked to many - including to the ESPNU TV announcers and to me - like he was fouled by the Tar Heels' Kirk Urso. Had a foul been called there, Charlotte would have gotten a penalty kick and a likely goal.

Urso said he didn't foul Smith, although when first asked about the incident postgame he said: "Oh, the one that could have been a PK maybe?"

Gunn, an Englishman, said he thought a penalty should have been called. He added that when he watched the replay that there would be a "good chance... a cup of tea might go flying across the room."

But Charlotte still had several more very good chances. The 49ers took five shots in a frantic 40-second span with less than five minutes left - one hit the crossbar and another was saved.

"We had them on the ropes the entire last 10 minutes," Charlotte forward T.J. Beaulieu said.

But it was really the 49ers who were on the ropes, because they had to score to push the game into overtime. They never could, as North Carolina's defenders repelled one charge after another.

The game was played on a converted minor-league baseball field - the home of the Birmingham Barons. It was where Michael Jordan played for one season in 1994 during his baseball foray, and he is still remembered with numerous pictures around the stadium.

What the 49ers needed Sunday was one of Jordan's last-second shots. Instead, they had to settle for No. 2 in the country and getting to participate in a remarkable final in front of a fan base that practically drowned out the Tar Heels' postgame celebration with cries of "Forty-Niners! Forty-Niners!"

"That was probably one of the best collegiate games of soccer people are going to see - and in a national championship game," Gunn said. "What more could you ask for?"

Well, you could ask for a win, of course. But as Gunn said, soccer can be a cruel game - even to those who love it most
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Dec 12, 2011 at 9:45 AM #2

VA49er Full Access Member

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Good stuff...

Charlotte leaves College Cup a winner in defeat

HOOVER, Alabama -- The Charlotte students wouldn't stop cheering. Their team had lost 1-0 to North Carolina in Sunday's College Cup men's soccer final, but the six busloads of students who came to Hoover kept singing, kept chanting, kept going.

No. 1 North Carolina won the College Cup. Unseeded Charlotte won the nation's respect.

Every so often sports provides moments you don't forget. The raucous Charlotte students recognizing their team after a bitter loss was one of those. Charlotte's players reciprocated by going into the stands to shake hands and give hugs.

It was Charlotte that took more shots, 19-10. It was Charlotte that should have had two penalty kicks, one in each half, that weren't called. It was Charlotte that produced a flurry of five shots within 40 seconds in the closing moments, including one that hit the crossbar.

So the Charlotte students kept cheering. Your eyes couldn't leave the Charlotte scene even as North Carolina players celebrated on the field as a deserving champion.

"To have their voice drown out the national championship celebration is definitely something meaningful," Charlotte defender Isaac Cowles said.

Hoover won with a nice debut as College Cup host. North Carolina won as the national champion.

And yet Charlotte, the team that never scored a goal in two days, felt like the biggest winner.
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Dec 12, 2011 at 10:21 AM #3

gottalaff Smartass

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UNC is a soccer school....

Was the game on TV?
Dec 12, 2011 at 11:08 AM #4

VA49er Full Access Member

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gottalaff said: ↑

UNC is a soccer school....

Was the game on TV?
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Yes, both the Charlotte/Creighton, Chapel Hill/UCLA final four games and then the Charlotte/Chapel Hill game were all on ESPNU. Evidently there were a little over 8,000 fans at the Charlotte/Chapel Hill match with Charlotte having over 7,000 of those fans.
Dec 12, 2011 at 11:21 AM #5

gottalaff Smartass

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VA49er said: ↑

Yes, both the Charlotte/Creighton, Chapel Hill/UCLA final four games and then the Charlotte/Chapel Hill game were all on ESPNU. Evidently there were a little over 8,000 fans at the Charlotte/Chapel Hill match with Charlotte having over 7,000 of those fans.
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I know it's only soccer, but why would they hide a national championship on ESPNU?
Dec 12, 2011 at 12:15 PM #6

VA49er Full Access Member

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gottalaff said: ↑

I know it's only soccer, but why would they hide a national championship on ESPNU?
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Guessing you are correct with the "I know it's only soccer" comment.
Dec 12, 2011 at 8:39 PM #7

Pi. New and improved Pi.

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Soccer is gay and nobody cares.
Dec 13, 2011 at 2:58 PM #8

VA49er Full Access Member

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Pi. said: ↑

Soccer is gay and nobody cares.
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That's your opinion, obviously. Several busloads of Niner students apparently disagree. I'm betting most of those weren't soccer fans before this run. Look, I know lots of people don't like soccer. I used to be one of those people. However, this run was great for the school and the team. Even if one hates Judy, and no longer has Lutz to hate, one can't help but feel proud of this team and it's accomplishments.
Dec 13, 2011 at 4:32 PM #9

Ashford Lawrence Banned From TBR

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VA49er said: ↑

That's your opinion, obviously. Several busloads of Niner students apparently disagree. I'm betting most of those weren't soccer fans before this run. Look, I know lots of people don't like soccer. I used to be one of those people. However, this run was great for the school and the team. Even if one hates Judy, and no longer has Lutz to hate, one can't help but feel proud of this team and it's accomplishments.
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I concur.
Dec 21, 2011 at 3:30 PM #10

VA49er Full Access Member

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Crap!

Jeremy Gunn Named Stanford's Men's Soccer Head Coach

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