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WUSA No longer a starter, Fotopoulos nets pair, rallying host Carolina past San Diego 4-3.CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Saturday, May 26, 2001) -- Reserve Danielle Fotopoulos scored twice in the second half, rallying the Carolina Courage to its first Women’s United Soccer Association victory 4-3 over the San Diego Spirit before 5,014 at Fetzer Field in the rain this afternoon. Forward Shannon MacMillan’s two goals and an assist for San Diego (1-3-2, 5 points) went for naught. Fotopolous and MacMillan are tied with Washington’s Pretinha for the league lead with four goals each. Fotopoulos, who had lost her starting job, netted the winner in the 85th minute. She took a pass from midfielder Hege Riise in the top left of the box and netted a hard roller into the far corner to make it 4-3. "Carolina has shown that type of character all season long, they just haven't gotten the results," said Spirit midfielder and captain Julie Foudy. "It was not surprising. We knew that they would be a formidable opponent despite their record." Fotopoulos, who entered in the 63rd minute, had given Carolina (1-4-1, 4 points) a 3-2 advantage in the 70th. This time she took a pass from Mikka Hansen and found net from the top of the box. Fotopoulos "lifted us, scoring not once but twice in critical moments," Carolina coach Marcia McDermott said. "That's what a pro does." MacMillan had tied the score at 3-3 in the 80th minute, slipping behind the Courage defense after passes from Shannon Boxx and Mercy Akide to nail a low shot into the lower left corner. "It's just hard to lose a game like this," MacMillan said. "You think that when you score three goals that you'll win. Today shows that we can score. We'll continue to believe in what we're doing, but we have to tighten our defense." Carolina dominated play in the first half but trailed 2-1 at intermission. After Silvana Burtini converted a pass from Kim Yankowski for a 1-0 Courage lead in the 28th minute, Boxx scored from a MacMillan feed three minutes later for a 1-1 tie. Just before the break, MacMillan took a pass from Tara Koleski and nailed a shot from outside the box into the top left corner for the 2-1 lead. Meredith Florance, who led the NCAA Division I with 26 goals, playing for University of North Carolina at Fetzer in 2000, netted her first WUSA tally in the 68th minute to tie the score for Carolina at 2-2. Carolina held a 21-13 shots advantage, 12-9 on frame. Spirit goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo made seven saves to six for the Courage’s Bente Nordby. Carolina took 12 corner kicks to one for the Spirit.
Carolina 4, San Diego 3
Lineups: Carolina - Bente Nordby, Staci Burt, Carla Overbeck, Tiffany Roberts, Beth Sheppard, Erin Baxter, Hege Riise, Kim Yankowski, Mikka Hansen, Silvana Burtini (Danielle Fotopoulos 63), Meredith Florance (Maren Hendershot 87). San Diego - Jaime Pagliarulo, Rhiannon Tanaka, Kim Pickup (Karissa Hampton 89), Fan Yunjie, Kristin Bengtsson (Gina Oceguera 83), Shannon Boxx, Julie Foudy, Sherrill Kester, Traci Arkenberg (Margaret Tietjen, 78), Shannon MacMillan, Tara Koleski (Mercy Akide 53).
Scoring:
Total shots: Carolina (Florance 5), San Diego 13 (MacMillan 8).
Shots on goal: Carolina 12 (Florance 3), San Diego 9 (MacMillan 6).
Saves: Carolina - Nordby 6; San Diego - Pagliarulo 7.
Fouls: Carolina 13 (Baxter 3), San Diego 17 (Pickup 3, Kester 3).
Offside: Carolina 4, San Diego 6.
Corner kicks: Carolina 12, San Diego 1.
Yellow card cautions: Carolina - Fotopoulos 81, Baxter 84; San Diego - Kester 45.
Referee: Brenda Wright.
Referee's assistants: Steven Taylor, Sandra Serafini.
Attendance: 5,014 at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Weather: Showers, 75 degrees.
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