GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Win Somoano's 100th, Olympic Sports Notes

by Pat James

In the North Carolina men's soccer program's 70-year history, only the 1951 team and this year's squad played nine matches without recording a shutout.

But in last week's wins over Winthrop and N.C. State, goalkeeper Alec Smir helped the fifth-ranked Tar Heels post back-to-back shutouts in their 10th and 11th matches of the season.

UNC held a 17-0 edge in shots during Tuesday's 4-0 victory over Winthrop, and Smir combined with Drew Romig to register the team's first shutout. But the second didn't come that easily.

The Tar Heels, who lead the country in scoring offense, managed only one goal against N.C. State on Friday. And although UNC controlled possession for the majority of the match, the Wolfpack threatened to score late.

N.C. State tallied three shots in the final 10 minutes, 39 seconds, including two in a 17-second span. But Smir made saves on each one and steered the Tar Heels to a 1-0 win, the 100th in Carlos Somoano's career.

Datres shines in exhibition
The baseball team trailed High Point 3-0 after the top of the first inning in Saturday's exhibition contest at Boshamer Stadium. But Kyle Datres quickly changed that.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the first, Datres tied the game with a three-run double. Then, following a six-run third by the Tar Heels, he hit a two-run homer in the fourth that pushed UNC's lead to 11-3.

Datres ultimately finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs and one run scored in a 16-3 win.

Ilse paces cross country teams
Two weeks removed from winning the Mountains to Sea Open and leading the women's cross country team to a victory, Morgan Ilse looked to continue her momentum at the Louisville Classic on Saturday. And she did so in a significant way.

In a meet billed as the nation's largest, Ilse finished ninth out of 328 runners in 16:51.17, a 40-second 5k personal best.

Ilse's performance helped the women to a 14th-place finish out of 37 teams. The men's team, propelled by Jeremy Brown's 72nd-place finish, took 15th out of 30 teams.

Second-half flurry helps field hockey

Despite outshooting Old Dominion 8-1 and holding a 6-0 edge on penalty corners, the field hockey team entered halftime of Sunday's game locked in a scoreless tie. But the Tar Heels didn't take long to find the back of the net in the second half.

Fifth-ranked UNC scored three goals within the first 12 minutes of the second half, helping the team to a 3-1 win at Duke's Williams Field at Jack Katz Stadium.

The Tar Heels' first goal came just three minutes, 15 seconds after halftime, when Gab Major scored on a penalty corner by Ashley Hoffman. About three minutes later, Hoffman scored what proved to be the game-winning goal on a direct penalty corner shot.

Boyles ignites offensive outburst
When Taylor Otto recorded a hat trick in the women's soccer team's 4-2 win over South Florida on Aug. 27, it marked the Tar Heels' first in four seasons. But it didn't take nearly as long for another.

In Saturday's 7-0 victory against Syracuse, Joanna Boyles registered her first career hat trick, scoring on a penalty kick, a shot from the left side of the box and a header.

Boyles' hat trick, coupled with a goal and two assists by Dorian Bailey, helped fifth-ranked UNC score the most goals its accounted for in an Atlantic Coast Conference game since Sept. 17, 1999, when the Tar Heels defeated Florida State 9-0.

Esterley holds block party
After posting 26 total blocks through her first 22 sets of the season, Katharine Esterley fueled UNC's blocking unit in matches at Clemson and Georgia Tech.

In Friday's 3-1 win (25-15, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16) over the Tigers, Esterley led the Tar Heels with nine blocks. She also registered eight kills and a .533 hitting percentage.

Esterley's nine blocks marked a career high. But she upped that in Sunday's 3-1 loss (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22) against the Yellow Jackets, totaling 10 of UNC's season-high 14.5 blocks. She finished with 19 total blocks on the weekend, an average of 2.4 per set.

GoHeels Exclusive: Tar Heels Win Somoano's 100th, Olympic Sports Notes

Players Mentioned

Drew Romig

Alec Smir

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