GoHeels Exclusive: Men's Soccer Gets Boost, Olympic Sports Notes

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

The North Carolina men's soccer team entered Friday's match against Notre Dame having already clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division and No. 2 seed in the ACC Championship.

But the returns of two key players in the third-ranked Tar Heels' 3-0 win over the 16th-ranked Fighting Irish might carry more significance than seeding once postseason play begins.

For the first time since UNC's 6-1 victory over Rutgers on Aug. 27, goalkeeper James Pyle played and recorded a shutout in his return. The Tar Heels have surrendered just three goals over the past eight games. And Pyle, who started all 21 matches on last year's NCAA College Cup squad, will further solidify the defense.

UNC also received an offensive boost with the return of Alan Winn. Playing in his first game since a 0-0 draw against Louisville on Oct. 13, he came off the bench and scored his team-leading ninth goal at the 74:00 mark.

With Pyle and Winn back, the Tar Heels will host the winner of No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 10 seed Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Alcorta, Isle shine at ACCs

Entering this season, senior Caroline Alcorta and junior Morgan Ilse had spent two years together on the cross country team. But they rarely raced or practiced with each other because of injuries.

With both healthy, that's changed this season. And at the ACC Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Ilse and Alcorta stuck together and earned All-ACC honors after finishing 11th (20:26.3) and 12th (20:27.6), respectively.

For Isle, it marked the second time in her career she earned All-ACC honors. Alcorta garnered the recognition for the third time – and the first time since 2015.

The men's and women's team both took 11th in the meet.

Evert erupts in win over Liberty

Through 16 games this season, Malin Evert ranked second on the field hockey team with 48 shots, including 20 on goal. But she only had five goals to show for it.

Then in sixth-ranked UNC's regular-season finale on Sunday, Evert finally broke through, scoring a career-high four goals to lead the team to a 6-4 win over Liberty.

Evert gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead about three minutes in when she scored her first goal on a rebound off the Liberty goalkeeper. She followed that with a penalty corner goal about seven minutes later and a goal off an assist by Eva van't Hoog in the 23rd minute. Just 91 seconds into the second half, Evert scored her fourth and final goal, the most by any UNC player this season.

Griffin caps impressive fall season

In the first tournament of the men's golf team's fall season, Ben Griffin shot a 6-over-par 216 to tie for 25th at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational. From there, he only improved.

And at the UNCG Grandover Collegiate, held Saturday and Sunday at the Grandover Resort's East Course, Griffin concluded his successful fall season with a second-place finish. He shot 71 in all three rounds, carding a 3-under 213.

Griffin sat at 1-under through eight holes during Sunday's final round, which UNC finished 5-over in to take second in the tournament. He then made pars on his last 10 holes. With that, Griffin ended the fall with a team-best 70.8 stroke average, aided by his 19-under 197 at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate.

Nordhorn remains steady

After registering its fifth straight win in a 3-1 victory over N.C. State on Oct. 18, the volleyball team's 5-7 start to the season seemed distant. But with 3-0 losses at Florida State on Friday and Miami on Sunday, the Tar Heels haven't won a single set over their past three matches.

Through it all, Beth Nordhorn has remained consistent.

Nordhorn hit .400 and tallied a team-best 16 kills against the Seminoles and Hurricanes. Her .416 hitting percentage on the season leads the ACC among players who average at least three total attempts per set.

GoHeels Exclusive: Men's Soccer Gets Boost, Olympic Sports Notes

Players Mentioned

James Pyle

Alan Winn

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