University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Soccer Earns Highest-Ever NSCAA Poll Ranking
October 30, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2000
Chapel Hill, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina men's soccer team is ranked No. 2 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, released on Monday evening. The No. 2 ranking is UNC's highest ever in the NSCAA poll, eclipsing a No. 3 ranking on Sept. 22, 1987.
San Jose State (16-0-1) is ranked No. 1 in this week's NSCAA poll with 474 points. Carolina is second with 439 points, Indiana (13-3-0) is third with 430, Connecticut (13-2-2) is fourth with 402 and Stanford (14-1-1) is fifth with 383. The rest of the Top 10 is No. 6 Southern Methodist, No. 7 St. Johns, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 San Diego and No. 10 UAB. Other ranked ACC teams include No. 14 Clemson and No. 17 Duke.
Last week, the Tar Heels shutout Elon, 5-0, and defeated No. 18 Wake Forest, 4-1. Carolina has won 10 consecutive games with one game left in the 2000 regular season. Head Coach Elmar Bolowich has led UNC to a 16-2 record with a 5-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The 16 wins are the most in Bolowich's 12-year stint as Tar Heel head coach and the five ACC wins are the most in a single season in school history.
The Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the last two SoccerTimes.com polls, which are determined by a voting panel of 15 NCAA Division I head coaches. The new SoccerTimes.com poll will be released on Tuesday morning.
The Tar Heels are led by ACC and National Player-of-the-Year candidate Chris Carrieri, who leads the conference in points (58), goals (23) and assists (12, tied for the ACC lead with teammates Michael Bucy and Caleb Norkus). He leads the nation in scoring, is second in the nation in goals per game and third nationally in assists per game.
Carolina returns to action on Sunday afternoon when it plays No. 19 South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
