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Riding
the Legs of a Freshman
by Aaron Mesmer
After Carolina freshman forward Lindsay
Tarpley finished leading the under-19 national
team to a world championship, she came to
Carolina thinking one thing: win the NCAA
championship.
"I'd
love to see our team win for national championships,"
she said. "I think that's the dream of everybody."
If the Heels do just that, they'll likely
have Tarpley to thank for it.
"She's
just an extraordinary individual player
who's very creative on the ball and a lot
of fun to watch," UNC Coach Anson Dorrance
said.
For opposing teams, however, she isn't fun
to play against. Her 10 goals and 10 assists
have come despite missing the first two
games of the season.
"Tarpley
is one of the top freshmen in the country
right now," Dorrance said. "We think she's
going to get better every year and we're
excited she's a Tar Heel."
Tarpley said she's just as excited to be
one.
"It's such a great environment to be in
and be a part of. I just feel so lucky to
have the opportunity to be here," she said.
Teammate Alyssa Ramsey said Tarpley's quickness
to the ball is her greatest asset. Because
of this, Ramsey said Tarpley is able to
create goals and assists out of nothing.
"I
didn't expect [going from the under-19 team
to UNC] to be so easy," Tarpley said.
Despite the thrill of representing her country
on the U.S. team, she find the closeness
of the Tar Heels even more appealing.
"We're
a college team. We spend almost every second
of the day together," Tarpley said.
"It's like a family."
With the end of the regular season approaching
and the ACC and NCAA tournaments not far
behind, Tarpley will try to lead her "family"
to a national championship.
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