Men's soccer team falls short in NCAA title game

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In today's NCAA College Cup Championship game, the No. 7 University of North Carolina Tar Heels (20-4) upset No. 4 IU (17-4-1) 2-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium.\nBoth teams won emotional semifinal matches on Friday night to battle for the National Championship. UNC, after scoring two goals in 64 seconds to tie No.4 Stanford, won in four overtimes. The Hoosiers followed with a 2-1 double overtime win against No.8 St.John's.\nAs the title game began, the Hoosiers intitiated some early scoring threats. Freshman midfielder Ned Grabavoy created a good chance when he retrieved a deflected ball at the top of the box in the third minute of play. He blasted a shot back at the goal but it sailed just over the crossbar.\nHead coach Jerry Yeagley had said in Saturday's press conference that he hoped to stop the Tar Heels from playing the ball in the air. \nThe Hoosiers managed to keep the ball on the ground until the 11:37 mark, when UNC tallied the first score of the game. \nTar Heel junior midfielder Matt Crawford got the ball on the wide right side of IU's box. He spun on IU junior midfielder Phil Presser and lofted a pass in to junior forward Ryan Kneipper.\nSenior goalie Colin Rogers came six yards out from the goal, calling off junior back John Swann, who was marking Kneipper. Rogers then lunged toward the ball, but Kneipper out-jumped him and headed a shot into the back of the empty net to put the Tar Heels up 1-0.\nAlthough the Hoosiers -- who had only given up six goals on the season -- were surprised by the early goal, Yeagley said he was confident they would even the score. \n"I thought we were going to get (a goal) in the second half," Yealgey said. "I felt very confident after they scored that we would score. And it was just one of those days where a combination of excellent defending on their part (and) maybe a touch off on our part offensively, we weren't able to get the job done."\nAfter Kneipper's goal the Tar Heels appeared to be a step quicker on the field, maintaining the lead for the rest of the first half.\nIn the second half with the score still 1-0, a play sparked contoversey and loud disapproval from the IU cheering section. Sophomore midfielder Vijay Dias took the ball into the box and was tripped from behind by a Tar Heel defender. But no foul was called, and no penalty kick resulted.\nBut at the 74:50 mark, UNC was awarded a penalty kick when senior back Josh Rife fouled UNC freshman forward Marcus Storey in the box.\nSenior Tar Heel defender Danny Jackson, who had claimed earlier in the NCAA tournament that he would take the next penalty kick for his team, made good on his promise. He sent the ball into the left corner of the net and put the game out of reach for the Hoosiers.\nJunior forward Pat Noonan, IU's most potent offensive threat, managed only one shot on goal for the game. He credited UNC's defense for his team's inability to score.\n"(UNC) played a tough game," he said. "They got an early goal and never looked back. I want to congratulate (my teammates) too. I thought we kept fighting, never gave up, even when they got that (penalty kick). Unfortunatley we weren't able to get any goals of our own."\nFreshman back Danny O'Rourke, one of IU's brightest young talents, said he was disappointed with the loss but optimistic about next season.\n"(UNC) had a lot of fight and played us the way they needed to play us," he said. "Some of the calls could have gone both ways. Unfortunately for us, we were always a touch off in the box. But that happens and we're looking forward to the future now"