JOHN ROTTET - jrottet@newsobserver.com
Indiana's Andy Adlard, left, goes head to head with UNC's Dustin McCarty during 2nd half soccer action at Fetzer Field on the UNC campus.
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina is just one win away from returning to the College Cup--but it took the slimmest of edges to do so.
Forward Alex Dixon scored the game's only goal with 18 minutes remaining in the first half, and that was all that was needed for the No. 4 Tar Heels (15-2-3) to defeat Indiana (11-10-2) 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Fetzer Field.
"This wasn't our most beautiful performance for sure," North Carolina head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "Next Friday we need to see a different fire and spirit to advance."
North Carolina will face Drake, who defeated Boston College 6-4 Sunday as well, in the quarterfinals.
Sunday's contest was a game of equal opportunities, as the teams' scoring opportunities were nearly the same. Though the Tar Heels outshot the Hoosiers 14-9, many of their shots never had a chance of coming within a few yards of the goal, let alone getting past the goaltender.
The difference came in what each team did with its opportunities. Indiana missed several headers from just feet away from the net and let several corner kicks sail over open forwards.
North Carolina only made good on one chance, but it was the difference in a game otherwise filled with "what ifs."
From just inside midfield, midfielder Cameron Brown lofted a beautiful pass into the streaking Dixon, who had beaten two defenders. Dixon took a step back and let the defenders go by, and found himself in a one-on-one situation with goalie Luis Soffner. Dixon kicked the ball underneath Soffner for the easy goal.
"We were trying to utilize [my speed] as another dimension," Dixon said.
"It's important for us that we get that first goal because if we do, we can hold them scoreless," defender Jordan Graye said. "We go into games thinking, 'we're going to shut this team out.' "
The Hoosiers' best chance for a goal came with just over two minutes remaining in the half, as Darren Yeagle found himself with a wide open net and the ball coming right for his forehead. On the attempt, however, Yeagle weakly headed the ball wide and it went out of bounds, leaving several Hoosiers to clutch their heads in agony.
"We should've gotten to that one," Indiana head coach Mike Freitag said. "If you don't convert your chances, you can't win.
Once the Tar Heels got to halftime, the percentages drastically favored them--they had not lost a lead when ahead at halftime, and Indiana was 0-4 when trailing at the intermission.
North Carolina goalie Brooks Haggerty carried the team the rest of the way with timely saves. Haggerty also did a good job in corralling errant passes and snapping off corner kicks, preventing the Hoosiers from making something out of nothing. In fact, most of Indiana's opportunities came only when North Carolina suffered a defensive lapse or had a turnover passing the ball.
Haggerty finished with four saves in total. Soffner had six for the Hoosiers.
Afterwards, North Carolina players shared high-fives and hugs, but that was the extent of it--after all, this is just old hat for them. And it will be the final win if they play as they did today.
