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Sports Monday Make Way For Courage, N.C. Sports Most everyone in North Carolina knows Julius Peppers was picked second overall in April’s NFL Draft, but the Carolina Panthers stink. Everyone knows the Carolina Hurricances played for the Stanley Cup in June, but they got stomped by the Detroit Red Wings. Many know the Charlotte Hornets ... well, they moved to New Orleans, so never mind. What every one might not know about is the one profes sional sports suc cess story that North Carolina can lay claim to - the Carolina Courage. On Saturday, the Courage completed one of the most TIM CANDON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR miraculous, single-season turnarounds in pro sports history. One year removed from a league-worst record of 6-12-3, Carolina defeated the Washington Freedom, 3-2, to win the the WUSA’s Founder’s Cup and bring North Carolina its first pro title. Here’s my confession: I like soccer. I woke up at the wee hours of the morn ing to watch the World Cup this sum mer, and I continued to watch when all the freeloaders jumped off the band wagon after the 2002 World Cup. Because I have no friends, I spend my Saturdays sitting alone in my apart ment, flipping back and forth between an MLS game and a WUSA match. On Saturday, it was the aformen tioned WUSA championship or MLS’ Colorado Rapids against the San Jose Earthquakes in a reasonably meaning less regular season match. Although I hold a mild grudge against the Courage because Carla Overbeck never called me back for a story I wrote this summer, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Some might claim the effects of eating a half-gallon of Breyer’s Oreo Mint Chocolate Cookie ice cream altered my mind, but the game lessened my usually constant state of channel surfing. The quality of the championship cemented my opinion. The WUSA has an excellent product The level of play in the WUSA is not only equal to that of MLS, if that’s any measuring stick, but the fouls are just as vicious, and the goals are just as plentiful. There were actually more goals in the WUSA match (five) than the MLS match (three) Saturday. I am sad to say that I didn’t attend any games during Carolina’s march to the Founder’s Cup, but I had a good reason. The Courage moved from their temporary home at Fetzer Field to the brand-spanking new SAS Stadium in Cary, and I was stranded in Chapel Hill without the benefit of a car (or friends). Always looking ahead and never content to five in the now, I’d like to make a couple suggestions to WUSA Commissioner Tony DiCicco on how to improve the two-year-old league. First, don’t expand. Expansion kills the competitive balance of the game and dilutes the talent pool. Have you seen the Tamp Bay Devil Rays or the Memphis Grizzlies? Second, don’t change your mini mum age requirement rule. Currently, players must be 21 years old in order to enter the league, which means the col lege game keeps and develops its mar quee players, and they are ready to play on a professional level from the outset of their career. NBA, take notice. Third, find a better media outlet than PAX. PAX only readies about 90 million homes in the United States. Give Dick Ebersol a call. NBC is hurting for sports since their wildcard, the XFL, folded. Finally, get more media to report on the games. If sportswriters can accurate ly report on the games, then their read ers will see what they’re missing. Part of the popularity of sports lies with the media that covers it. Would the Super Bowl or the World Cup be as popular if the media was absent? We’ll just have to sit by the wayside to see if DiCicco will heed my advice. So, when the WUSA season opens next summer, will I watch? You bet Will I have any friends by then? Probably not. 77m Candon can be reached at tcandonQemail. unc. edu. V DTH/ANNE MEADOWS North Carolina defender Roy Kelly (left) challenges UConn forward Michael Mordocco during Saturday's exhibition game in Cary. Former Tar Heels Adjust to Minor Leagues Paycheck, experience key parts for players By lan Gordon Senior Writer Call it baseball’s way to keep its guys humble. You get drafted in June’s amateur draft, sign your first contract and then get shipped to play for your first profes sional ballclub. But unless you’re the next Mark Prior, a right-handed pitcher who start ed his first game for the Chicago Cubs just eight months after he was legally able to purchase alcohol, you can for get about seeing the big city any time soon. Unless, of course, Oneonta, N.Y., or Dunedin, Fla., fits your definition of a booming metropolis. Those are just two of the places that the North Carolina baseball team’s recent quartet of draftees ended up in this, their first summer as professional ballplayers. And though Russ Adams, Scott Autrey, Adam Greenberg and Chris Maples all have had different levels of success following their final seasons as Tar Heels, each has gone through the same adjustments to fife on the road as to the big leagues. “It’s been all right,” said Maples, a third baseman who was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Tigers. “You’re getting paid to play baseball, and you have to remember that.” Maples’ summer has been filled with ups and downs, starting with his torrid start in extended spring training in Lakeland, Fla. He batted .412 in 17 at bats before getting moved to Oneonta of the short-season Class-A New York- Penn League. Despite the fact that Hillsborough’s Maples had never been to a sleepy Women's Soccer's Depth Too Much for Notre Dame UNC notches 3 goals before halftime From Staff Reports FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The second ranked North Carolina women’s soccer team got an early start on its campaign to win back the national title this season. The Tar Heels defeated seventh ranked Notre Dame 4-2 in an exhibition game at Purdue on Friday. UNC got goals from forwards Alyssa Ramsey and Susan Bush, as well as defender Catherine Reddick. Both teams used their benches exten sively in the scrimmage. With the help of an own goal, the Tar Heels built a safe 3-0 lead in the game before the Fighting Irish staged a late rally. Ramsey opened the scoring for the Tar Heels in the 17th minute, finding herself 4k. Vfe-? wmgtm - DTH/BRIAN CASSELLA Former Tar Heel infielder Russ Adams (above) led UNC with a .370 batting average last season and swung his way to success in the minor leagues. Northeastern town like Oneonta - “nothing to brag about,” he insists - he said he has adjusted well to the new league and different environment. Maples has had his share of struggles, as well. On July 2, he broke the hamate bone in his left wrist while fouling off a pitch and was sidelined for nearly five weeks after surgery. In 75 at-bats at Oneonta, Maples is hitting .213 with one home run and 11 RBIs. Autrey, Tampa Bay’s seventh-round pick, went without a win until Aug. 7, when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 2-1 Hudson Valley victory against Staten Island. The win was Autrey’s first open for a shot into the right side netting after an Anne Felts comer kick. In the 41 st minute, Reddick caught Irish goalie Erika Bohn coming off her fine near the left post and scored into the other side of the net to put UNC up 2-0 at the half. North Carolina’s lead grew to 3-0 just 73 seconds into the second half after a cross from the right side was mishandled by Bohn and went over the end line for a UNC own goal. The Irish broke through in the 64th minute on a goal by Amy Warner, assist ed by Amanda Guertin and Maggie Manning. Bush scored six minutes after Warner’s goal on a sharp-angled strike from the right side that skipped under Notre Dame reserve goalie Lauren Kent Men's Soccer's Showdown With UConn Ends in Draw By Tim Candon Assistant Sports Editor CARY - It was billed as the “Clash of the National Champions,” pitting Connecticut, the 2000 NCAA champs, against last year’s champion, North Carolina, in a final exhibition before the season gets under way. But to UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich, there Former Champs Impressed With New Venue See Page 9 is no such thing as an exhibition. “You don’t want to play friendlies,” Bolowich said. “In friendlies you lower your standards. “We ask our players to play 100 per cent all the time. That’s the only way we can get stronger." With that in mind, does Bolowich stick to the soccer adage that says you must win your games at home, and hope for a tie on the road? And since SAS Stadium is technical ly not UNC’s home, can the Tar Heels walk away from their 2-2 draw with UConn Saturday night happy? “It’s a great start for the season,” for ward Ryan Kneipper said. “It’s good to since he defeated James Madison in an NCAA regional game. The 6-foot-2,205-pound right-hander is 2-3 with a 3.06 ERA in nine starts in the New York-Penn League. He has struck out 31 and walked 12 in 47 innings. Autrey and Maples weren’t the only UNC players to get their starts in the two-state, 14-team league. Russ Adams, whom Toronto made the highest-drafted Tar Heel when it selected fiim with the 14th pick of the first round, started out playing for the Auburn Doubledays in Auburn, N.Y. Adams earned a $1,785 million for a 4-1 UNC lead at 69:21. Notre Dame added the last goal of the game at 74:32 as Manning scored, assisted by Warner. Both teams had 11 shots in the game, but the Tar Heels dominated the comer kicks 13-2. Three different goalkeepers played for UNC in the contest, combining for five saves. Senior Jenni Bran am had three saves and freshman Tyler Griffin registered two. The Tar Heels played the Fighting Irish minus four freshman players who are representing the United States on the Under-19 National Team at the World Championships in Vancourver, British Columbia. The freshmen include forward Linsday Tarpley, midfielder Lori Chalupny and defenders Kendall Fletcher and Amy Steadman. Men’s Soccer Checks Out New Complex North Carolina forward Ryan Kneipper raves about SAS Stadium, anew athletic complex located in Cary. See Page 9. L *. IMV . Hj come out and start with a match like that. It gives us a good idea of where we’re standing, and this was a good test to see how we play with anew defense against a solid, good opponent.” Any questions concerning the new defense were silenced, at least tem porarily. “I thought our defense played a hell of a game,” Bolowich said. “We’ve got to take some confidence from this game because that is a heck of a team.” Bolowich’s praise for his defense comes off the fact that the Tar Heels did not allow a goal during the flow of the game. Led by David Stokes, the backline thwarted several UConn advances, and UNC goalkeeper Jay Batt was never seriously challenged. In addition to Stokes and company, part of the defensive success lies with the attack. North Carolina came out with offen sive pressure that wouldn’t allow UConn to get a shot off until the 18th minute. But with all the hard work up front, the Tar Heels were unable to convert several scoring chances. In the fourth minute, Kneipper bonus and quickly reported to the New York-Penn League, where he dominat ed. Before his promotion to the high Class-A Florida State League on July 20, Adams hit .354 with seven dou bles, three triples and 13 stolen bases in 113 at-bats. “It was a good place to start,” Adams said. “I was with a lot of guys who were college guys, so it was an easy transi tion.” It was also a good place for Adams to continue honing his skills at shortstop. He played primarily at second base dur ing his junior year at UNC, but the Blue Jays liked him on the other side of the Igjll Steadman, who tore an anterior cruciate ligament for the second straight year in the Under-19 National Team’s first game in the tournament, will red-shirt this season and retain four years of ath letic eligibility at North Carolina. The other three will make their debuts in UNC uniforms in the Junior forward Alyssa Ramsey led UNC's offense last season with 17 goals and 19 assists. Tar Heels’ home opener against Guilford on Sept 6. North Carolina opens its 2002 regu lar season Friday at the adidas Invite in Lincoln, Neb. The Tar Heels face No. 10 UP NEXT: ■ Cross country teams get ready for season. ■ Field hockey seeks another NCAA berth. See Tuesday's paper. flicked a header on to David Testo, who was seven yards from the goal, but he misplayed the ball and UConn goalie Adam Schuerman collected it. A minute later, Testo sent a ball over the UConn defense to Kneipper, who had beat the offsides trap. In all alone, Kneipper ripped a shot at the near post, but Sdiuerman made the save. “It’s key for our offense to help with the defense, “ Kneipper said. “We have to start the defense up top and put the pressure on first. And if we don’t put that pressure on, then we’re putting too much on the shoulders of our defensive players.” UNC finally found pay dirt with just under two minutes to play in the first half. Midfielder Marcus Storey was taken down inches from the UConn endline, setting up a free kick. Matt Crawford served a curling ball to Kneipper, who flicked a header from six yards out into the right comer of the net, giving UNC a 1-0 advantage. Thinking they would take the lead into the locker room, the Tar Heels sat back to let time expire, only time hit a standstill with 13 seconds remaining on the clock. See MEN'S SOCCER, Page 9 bag. “One, he likes to play (at shortstop),” said Chris Buckley, Toronto’s scouting director. “A bunch of our scouts saw him play short and said that we’ve got to give him a chance there. Besides, if he stays at short it will only help him. “He doesn’t remind me of any one player. He does remind me of a major league guy. He’s a real even-keel guy.” Since his call-up to the Dunedin Blue Jays, Adams has hit .248 with one home run and 11 RBIs in 129 at-bats. He said he’s still adjusting to the better, more See BASEBALL, Page 9 Nebraska at 8 p.m. Downhill Putt Proves Costly For Bray BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - North Carolina junior Dustin Bray lost in the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Amateur Championship on Saturday after Hunter Mahan, of McKinney, Texas, sealed a 1-up victory during the 36-hole challenge. Bray, the ACC men’s champion, had one last chance to send the match to extra holes, but he missed an 8-foot downhill putt on No. 18. Both bogeyed the final hole, but the win went to Mahan, the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur champion. Bray defeated Ryan Moore, the cur rent U.S. Amateur Public Links champi on, on Friday to move into the semifinals. The tournament is being played at the famed 6,988-yard, par-70 South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club. 12
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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