University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Soccer Earns NCAA Tournament Bid
November 15, 1999 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 15, 1999
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina men's soccer team received its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1994 Monday night when the NCAA Selection Committee named the Tar Heels as an at-large bid to the 32-team 1999 NCAA Men's College Cup tournament field. Carolina will play at Furman in the opening round on Sunday. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the Wake Forest-Virginia Commonwealth game.
"Our team is very excited to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament," Tar Heel head coach Elmar Bolowich said Monday night. "I'm thrilled for our senior class because it is a group of three players that has worked very hard for four years and had not received a Tournament bid and this was their last chance. I'm very happy for Joey DiSalvo, David Popp and William Woodroffe."
Bolowich now has led Carolina to five NCAA Tournament appearances ' in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1999.
"This program has seen some significant changes in the last few years," olowich continued. "To see all that hard work pay off is very gratifying."
After posting a record of 8-8-1 in 1996, UNC went 6-13 overall and 1-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1997 for the program's first losing season in 40 years. In 1998, a young Tar Heel team dominated by freshmen and sophomores went 11-6-2 and 3-3-0 in ACC to nearly earn an NCAA bid.
This fall, the Tar Heels have posted a record of 12-6-1 and reached the semifinals of the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1995 with a 1-0 overtime win over Clemson in the first round. Led by first-team All-ACC forward Chris Carrieri and second-team All-ACC defender Daniel Jackson, the Tar Heels have played one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. Five of UNC's six losses have come to nationally-ranked opponents.
Carolina last earned an NCAA Tournament bid in 1994, when the Tar Heels posted a 13-6 regular-season record and finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 3-3. That year, UNC lost to James Madison, 3-0, in the NCAA Tournament First Round in Chapel Hill.
