University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts No. 6 Clemson on Saturday
November 1, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2001
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vs.
No. 6 Clemson (12-3, 2-1 ACC)
Date & Time: 7 p.m., Saturday, November 3, 2001
Site: Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Carolina's Series Record vs. Clemson: Clemson leads 22-13-6
Websites: North Carolina (TarHeelBlue.com), Clemson (www.clemsontigers.com)
Tar Heels Host Clemson in Battle of Top-10 Teams
Eighth-ranked North Carolina (13-3, 3-3 Alantic Coast Conference) looks to defend its home field against another top-10 nationally ranked opponent on Saturday evening when it hosts No. 6 Clemson (12-3, 2-1 ACC) at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field.
Carolina lost its last outing, a 4-2 decision at No. 21 Wake Forest last Saturday night. Prior to that loss, the Tar Heels won nine straight games, outscoring their opponents, 31-2.
The Tigers enter Saturday's game with a record of 12-3, 2-1 in the ACC. Clemson has won four straight games and 11 of its last 12 contests after starting the season 1-2.
Carolina vs. Clemson
Clemson leads the all-time series with Carolina, 22-13-6. UNC has won three in a row over the Tigers, including two wins in 1999 and a victory in Clemson in 2000. Prior to UNC's three-game winning streak against Clemson, the Tigers had defeated Carolina seven straight times.
Last season, UNC beat Clemson, 2-1, for its first win at Clemson since 1968.
Carolina Seeks First Back-to-Back Winning ACC Records Since 1979-80
Should Carolina defeat Clemson on Saturday night, it would finish the 2001 season with an ACC record of 4-2. Since UNC was 5-1 in the ACC last season, with a victory over Clemson on Saturday the Tar Heels would secure its second consecutive winning record in the ACC. The last time Carolina had back-to-back winning records in conference play was in 1979 (3-1-1) and 1980 (3-2-1).
The 5-1 record in 2000 was UNC's first winning season in ACC play since 1980.
Tar Heels Have Turned it On in the Last Month
Since a Sept. 22 loss at Virginia, Carolina has won nine of 10 games and outscored its opponents, 33-6.
Carolina lost its last game 4-2 at Wake Forest, but had won nine in a row before that loss. In the winning streak, UNC had seven shutout victories, including the last five in a row. Carolina also had shutout wins over Duke and No. 21 William & Mary during its winning streak.
Last year, the Tar Heels set a school record by winning 15 games in a row, earning a No. 1 ranking in the nation along the way. Overall, Carolina has won 28 of its last 32 games.
In This Week's National Rankings
Carolina is ranked No. 8 in the NSCAA coaches' poll, No. 10 by Soccer America and No. 13 by the CollegeSoccer.com media poll. Clemson is ranked No. 6, No. 5 and No. 7 in the same polls.
Kneipper on a Roll Lately
Forward Ryan Kneipper (Dallas, Texas) is proving himself to be one of Carolina's most opportunistic players. Despite starting just three four games this season (including the last three contests), the junior from Dallas, Texas, is leads UNC with nine goals and is second on the team with 22 points.
Kneipper has scored at least one goal in five of the last six games, including a three-goal outburst at Charlotte and a two-goal game at Wake Forest. He has eight goals and 19 points in his last six games.
Kneipper scored some of the biggest goals of the 2000 season for Carolina, including the overtime game-winner in the NCAA Tournament first round over William & Mary and a goal in the NCAA second-round victory over Rhode Island.
Storey Making a Push for ACC Rookie of the Year
Freshman forward Marcus Storey (Missouri City, Texas) is making a strong case for ACC Rookie of the Year and all-conference honors this season. The speedy striker leads Carolina with 24 points and is tied for second the team lead with eight goals. On Oct. 12, Storey recorded the first multi-goal game of his career, tallying a hat trick in UNC's 7-0 win over Georgia State.
Storey entered the week second in the ACC with 24 points and tied for third in the conference with eight goals.
Carolina has had three players named ACC Rookie of the Year in the 11-year history of the award - Temoc Suarez in 1993, Carey Talley in 1994 and Chris Carrieri in 1998.
Bolowich Picks Up 150th Career Victory
Carolina head coach Elmar Bolowich earned his 150th career win on Oct. 12 against Georgia State at the adidas/Spartan Classic in Greensboro, N.C. Bolowich has 154 wins entering Saturday's game against Clemson.
Now in his 13th season as the head coach of the Tar Heels, Bolowich has molded the Carolina program into a national power in the last several years. He is the third-winningest coach in school history, behind Marvin Allen (174 victories) and Anson Dorrance (172).
Last season, the Tar Heels were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and boasted one of the nation's top offensive units. The 2001 Tar Heels were expected to be a more defensively-oriented unit, but its offense has come together at midseason.
Ueltschey Asserting Himself in Goal
Senior goalkeeper Michael Ueltschey (Jackson, Miss.) led the ACC and was 10th in the nation last year with a 0.77 goals-against average. He also led the ACC with nine shutouts and a save percentage of 0.807.
This season, Ueltschey may be playing even better. He has taken on more of a leadership role in the goal and has allowed just 0.83 goals per game against a schedule that has included five nationally-ranked opponents. Ueltschey has posted 7.6 shutouts so far this season and ranks eighth in the nation in goals-against average.
Yamauchi Leads ACC, Ties Career High in Assists
Senior midfield Noz Yamuachi (Chapel Hill, N.C.) has been one of the ACC's best playmakers for the last several years, and he may be having his best season yet in 2001. Yamauchi leads Carolina and the ACC with nine assists this season, tying his career high set as a sophomore in 1999.
Pause's Early Comeback Paying Dividends for Tar Heels
Sophomore midfielder Logan Pause (Hillsborough, N.C.) was expected to miss the entire season after tearing the miniscus in his left knee and undergoing surgery over the summer.
Pause returned to the field less than halfway through the season, seeing his first action in the Sept. 29 win over Duke. In his first game back on the field, he scored the game-winner in the 1-0 win over the Blue Devils. The next week against Maryland, Pause had the assist on the game-winning goal by Chris Leitch. He also scored the game-winning goal in the Oct. 21 win at NC State.
Pause was named the ACC Co-Player of the Week and to Soccer America's 11-man Team of the Week on Oct. 1. He began practicing at full speed on Sept. 26.
McGinty Named to Soccer America's Team of the Week for Sept. 10-16
Sophomore forward Sean McGinty (Charlotte, N.C.) scored both UNC goals in the win over UNC Greensboro on Sept. 16 and was named to Soccer America's 11-man Team of the Week on Sept. 18.
Tar Heel Defense Trying to Repeat Last Year's Success
Carolina returns all four members of last year's defensive unit, which led the ACC with 0.75 goals allowed per game in 2000. Starting goalkeeper Michael Ueltschey (a senior) and starting defenders Danny Jackson (senior), Chris Leitch (senior) and David Stokes (sophomore) all played virtually every minute of every game last year.
Ueltschey led the ACC in shutouts, goals against average and save percentage in 2000 and has again been impressive this season, becoming a vocal leader in the back for UNC.
Jackson was named a second-team All-America in 2000 and looks to earn first-team honors this year as Carolina's central defender. Leitch and Stokes are both superb on-the-ball defenders who also could merit all-conference and All-America consideration.
Carolina Leads the ACC and is Fifth Nationally in Scoring
Carolina lost 78 percent of its goals and 56 percent of its assists from the 2000 squad and entered this season with a great deal of inexperience up front.
The combined efforts of several new and relatively inexperienced players have been very effective of late for Carolina. The Tar Heels' top three scorers are all players who are either new to the program or were not starters last year - freshman Marcus Storey, junior transfer David Testo and junior Ryan Kneipper.
The trio has combined this year for 67 points on 25 goals and 17 assists. The Tar Heels entered the week leading the ACC and ranking fifth in the nation in scoring at 3.06 goals per game this season.
