University of North Carolina Athletics
1997 Season in Review
June 21, 1999 | Men's Soccer
October 1, 1998
Carolina finished the regular season 6-13 overall. The Tar Heels were 1-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing in seventh place in the league.
Twelve of Carolina's 19 games came against teams that were ranked in the national Top 25 at some point during the 1997 season. The Tar Heels' schedule included games with #7 Washington, #14 Portland, #6 Creighton, #4 Virginia, #6 Duke, #4 Maryland, #22 Furman, #8 N.C. State, #4 South Carolina and #7 Virginia, as well as Clemson and Wake Forest.
Carolina was undoubtedly one of the youngest teams in Division I men's college soccer in 1997. Of the 20 players on the Tar Heel roster, 13 had never played for the Tar Heels before the '97 season. Four of the remaining seven players on the roster were sophomores. There were only three upperclassmen on the UNC roster, and that figure included senior co-captain Brian Mascia, who redshirted the season after undergoing knee surgery.
Carolina upset #6 Creighton Sept. 21 in sudden death overtime in the adidas/Eurosport Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill. The two teams were tied at one at the end of regulation before Tar Heel senior Daniel Kulenic dribbled from midfield to the top of the Blue Jay box and drilled a shot into the back left corner of the net for the 2-1 UNC victory.
Senior Carey Talley earned first-team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season. Talley led Carolina in points (22) and assists (10) in 1997, tying for third in the ACC in assists and finishing seventh in points at the close of the regular season.
Carey Talley finished his Carolina career ranked eighth in school history in career points (74) and tied for ninth in career goals (26).
Carey Talley was named a third-team NSCAA/Umbro All-America and was selected as one of 15 candidates for the 12th-annual Missouri Athletic Club Sports Foundation Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award. The 15 candidates were chosen in balloting by coaches from the top 20 team's in the 1997 preseason rankings and the winner was selected in balloting by approximately 1,100 coaches.
Freshman forward Caleb Norkus, one of the nation's top recruits entering the 1997 season, played like one of the best freshman in the country over the second half of the year. After a slow start, Norkus scored his first collegiate goal versus #6 Creighton Sept. 21 and went on to score 20 points in his final 12 games of the season. Norkus' nine goals led the Tar Heels and were sixth in the ACC at the close of the regular season.
Norkus scored 11 points in a three-match span against #6 Duke, Wofford and #4 Maryland. Norkus had both of UNC's goals in the Duke game, had two goals and an assist versus Wofford and scored Carolina's only goal against Maryland.
Carolina played 10 games against ranked teams in 1997, going 1-9 in those contests. However, the Tar Heels lost five of those games by just one goal, and three of those losses were in sudden death overtime. Overall, Carolina lost eight matches by one goal and won four.
Head coach Elmar Bolowich tinkered with the Tar Heel lineup before the Sept. 21 match with #6 Creighton, and the move paid off in the form of a 2-1 UNC win in overtime. Bolowich moved senior Carey Talley from sweeper to midfield to take better advantage of Talley's ball distribution and offensive skills. Meanwhile, Bolowich shifted freshman Matt Laycock from the midfield to the sweeper spot. Talley responded to the move by scoring 15 points (three goals, nine assists) in his next 12 matches after the shift.
The injury bug bit Carolina all season long, particularly hurting the team's senior leaders. Senior midfielder Anson Ashby (sprained ankle) and senior forward Daniel Kulenic (pulled groin) each missed the Wofford match and were hindered by nagging injuries throughout the season. Senior Carey Talley played in all 19 Tar Heel games but missed significant portions of the Virginia and Maryland matches with a deep cut to his knee. In addition, senior co-captain Brian Mascia missed the entire year after undergoing knee surgery Sept. 5 to repair ligament damage suffered in the 1996 season. Sophomore Greg Danielson also missed the season with a chronic hamstring strain.
Freshman Michael Bucy was named to Soccer America's Men's Team-of-the-Week Nov. 4 after scoring game-winning goals in Tar Heel wins over Appalachian State Oct. 29 and at Wake Forest Nov. 2.
Former Tar Heel Eddie Pope firmly established himself as one of the very best American soccer players in 1997. He was named the Major League Soccer Defender-of-the-Year after leading D.C. United to its second consecutive MLS championship. Pope was also named to the MLS Best Eleven all-league team and is a star on the U.S. World Cup team in France.
