Saturday, July 7, 2007
The Columbia United FC "Clash of the Carolinas"
Blackbaud Stadium - Home of the Charleston Battery
Daniel Island @ Charleston, South Carolina----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GIRLS ALL-STAR MATCH, 3:00 p.m.
North Carolina 3-1 South Carolina
Live Updates = http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post88897DANIEL ISLAND, SC -- Katie Jordan of Southeast Raleigh High School notched a hat-trick as North Carolina captured the inaugural "Clash of the Carolinas" All-Star Match between the Tar Heels and South Carolina, 3-1, at Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island. The event, title sponsored by the Columbia United FC located in the Midlands of the Palmetto State, took place at the home of the USL First Division Charleston Battery.
On a humid but tolerable afternoon in the Port City, Jordan staked her North Carolina teammates to a 1-0 advantage at the 33:31 mark of the opening stanza when she placed her penalty kick to the lower right corner of the net past Lexington's Erica Deahl. The scoring opportunity was setup after Woodruff's Jessica Thomas, who for the first half hour had been the best player on the field for South Carolina, fouled Nicole Panek of Mount Tabor on the left side of the penalty area. The rest of the first half was more or less a "feeling out" period for both squads as the Tar Heels registered just three shots on goal compared to none for the Sandlappers.
The second half was totally different. Eastside's Abby Martin tallied South Carolina's first shot on goal just after the half started and as the ball rolled across the mouth of the goal, T.L. Hanna's Taylor Craft was pulled down as she attempted to shoot. Riverside's Renee Ballew calmly struck the penalty kick into the net to level the score at 1-1 just 50 seconds into the second period. The play was a see-saw affair until 15 minutes remained when a seemingly harmless goal kick by Deahl was intercepted by Jordan, who collected the ball 25 yards away and lobbed a perfect ball into the goal to give the Tar Heels a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later it was again Jordan tormenting the Sandlappers as Weddington's Katie Lutz found her darting through the middle of the pitch and slipped the ball to Jordan, who sliced the South Carolina defense to complete a hat-trick.
On Friday, teammates selected team captains for both squads. Leading the Tar Heels was Jennifer Partenheimer of Apex and Ashley Scott of Reidsville, while Travelers Rest's Maggie Blackwell and Riverside's Sarah Delap directed the Sandlappers. Coaches for the first "Clash" were Herk DeGraw (Grimsley), Izzy Hernandez (Broughton), and Zack Osborne (Page) for North Carolina, while Gwynne Armstrong (J.L. Mann) and Tom Reilly (Academic Magnet) guided the South Carolina squad. Lutz and Thomas were named the Most Valuable Players for N.C., and S.C., respectively.
GIRLS BOXSCORE
Team, 1st, 2nd, Final
NC - 1, 2 = 3
SC - 0, 1 = 1
-- Goals --
NC - Katie Jordan, 33:31 (penalty kick)
SC - Renee Ballew, 40:50 (penalty kick)
NC - Jordan (unassisted), 64:59
NC - Jordan (Katie Lutz), 67:09
GIRLS STATISTICS
North Carolina 3-1 South Carolina
Halftime: NC 1-0 SC
Goals: (NC) Katie Jordan 3; (SC) Renee Ballew.
Assists: (NC) Katie Lutz.
Shots: NC 11; SC 6.
Saves: NC 3; SC 6.
Corner Kicks: NC 0; SC 2.
Offsides: NC 0; SC 2.
Fouls: NC 8; SC 10.
Cautions: (SC) Katie Comalander, 66:36.
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BOYS ALL-STAR MATCH, 5:00 p.m.
North Carolina 2-2 South Carolina
Live Updates = http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post88913DANIEL ISLAND, SC -- Maybe next year. That's what the players and coaches that participated in the inaugural "Clash of the Carolinas" boys all-star match were left thinking after the North Carolina and South Carolina squads battled to a 2-2 draw at Blackbaud Stadium on Daniel Island. The event, title sponsored by the Columbia United FC located in the Midlands of the Palmetto State, took place at the home of the USL First Division Charleston Battery.
The game kicked off with temperatures in the mid-80s, but the action on the field was much hotter! South Carolina got things started in the 15th minute when Northwestern's Ryan Kropp connected on the first of his two scores. Kropp collected a precision pass from Daniel's Seth Kulasekera at the top of the penalty area, turned, and fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net to give the Sandlappers a 1-0 advantage that South Carolina would hold at intermission. In the last minute of the half, Kropp and Wando's Will Moore combined for a great give-and-go on the right side of the penalty area. However, for the second time that half a South Carolina player was chopped down in the box, but no penalty kick was awarded. Just seconds later at the other end of the field, North Carolina had its best chance of the game on a bang-bang play at the six-yard box that went just wide. Bishop England goalkeeper Phillip Ricciardone was forced to make just one save vs. the Tar Heels in the opening period despite North Carolina tallying five shots on goal, while South Carolina mustered four.
North Carolina dominated possession in the second half and midway through the final stanza the Tar Heels really tested Brookland-Cayce goalkeeper J.C. Gypin, who provided the Sandlappers with three critical stops to keep its northern neighbors scoreless. At the hour mark, Ashley's Brett King lined up a direct kick from 23 yards out on the left side of the penalty box and hit a screamer towards the upper left corner that sent Gypin sprawling to his right to parry the ball over the crossbar. Minutes later, Gypin stopped a point-blank shot from eight yards out to stymie the Tar Heels. But, after deflecting an initial shot by North Carolina, Gypin was beaten on a back side rebound shot by Jonathan Yates of Page, who put the Tar Heels on the scoreboard at the 70:07 mark. A joyous outburst rang out from the North Carolina bench after knotting the score at 1-1 and the Tar Heels capitalized on that momentum less than one minute later when Chapel Hill's Tommy Drake took advantage of a defensive "line change" for a go-ahead 2-1 goal. With a come from behind win in the balance, North Carolina appeared on its way to victory, but Kropp had different plans when he connected on a rocket from six yards away with 1:35 remaining to end the match at 2-2.
On Friday, teammates selected team captains for both squads. The duo of Drake and King guided the Tar Heels, while Kropp's high school teammate Vance Benson and Greenville's Blair Rushing led the Sandlappers. Coaches for the first "Clash" were Larry Bosc (East Mecklenburg), Doug Kidd (Watauga), and Rob Wilcher (T.C. Roberson) for North Carolina, while Frank Ridlehoover (Gaffney) and Dick Smith (T.L. Hanna) directed the South Carolina squad. Drake and Kropp were named the Most Valuable Players for N.C., and S.C., respectively.
BOYS BOXSCORE
Team, 1st, 2nd, Final
NC - 0, 2 = 2
SC - 1, 1 = 2
-- Goals --
SC - Ryan Kropp (Seth Kulasekera), 15:22
NC - Jonathan Yates (unassisted), 70:07
NC - Tommy Drake (unassisted), 71:06
SC - Kropp (unassisted), 78:25
BOYS STATISTICS
North Carolina 2-2 South Carolina
Halftime: SC 1-0 NC
Goals: (SC) Ryan Kropp 2; (NC) Tommy Drake, Jonathan Yates.
Assists: (SC) Seth Kulasekera.
Shots: NC 12; SC 8.
Saves: NC 2 (Will Macvick 1, Alex Moreno 1); SC 6 (Phillip Ricciardone 1, J.C. Gypin 5).
Corner Kicks: NC 4; SC 0.
Offsides: NC 2; SC 0.
Fouls: NC 8; SC 14.
Cautions: none.
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United Soccer League First Division Match, 7:30 p.m.
Charleston Battery 0-0 Puerto Rico Islanders
Match Report = http://www.charlestonbattery.com/news.asp?y=2007&page=1&id=320
