University of North Carolina Athletics
THB Up Close: Another Record Season?
November 8, 2001 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2001
By Bill Freehling
UNC Athletic Communications
Improving upon the 2000 season - arguably the best in the 55-year history of men's soccer at UNC - is no easy task. Yet that is exactly what this year's squad intends to do.
Last year, the team posted a 21-3 record, won the ACC championship, ranked No. 1 in numerous final regular-season national polls and came within a game of reaching the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the goal is to amend the final part of that litany of success and earn a spot in the Final Four, to be held Dec. 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio.
"That's on the forefront of our minds this year," said senior co-captain Danny Jackson, a defender who has started every game he's played in his four-year career. "I do believe we have the ability to accomplish those goals."
The trip to soccer's most elite stage would be especially sweet this year because senior co-captain and defender Chris Leitch lives very close to Columbus. The team has openly stated they want to make the trip partly for Leitch, who is thrilled about the possibility.
"Knowing if we play well we'll be playing in my back yard is really exciting to me," Leitch said. "That would be awesome. That's where I want to be this year."
The team appears to be well positioned for its goal. With one regular-season game remaining, it has posted a 14-3 record and ranked no. 7 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll released Nov. 5.
With a win over South Carolina in Chapel Hill on Friday evening and a strong performance in the ACC Tournament, the team has a good chance to earn a high seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket.
Fetzer Field has been good to the Tar Heels this year, as the team has gone 8-0 in home matches. The team's three losses all came to teams ranked in the Top 10 of the Nov. 5 NSCAA poll - Virginia (No. 2), Saint Louis (No. 5) and Wake Forest (No. 9).
Jackson said the most recent loss - Oct. 27 at Wake - was crucial to refocusing the team. "It opened our eyes to seeing what losing is all about. We didn't want to let that happen again."
Depending on the outcome of the Clemson-Wake Forest game on Saturday, Carolina will enter the ACC Tournament - held Nov. 15-18 at Clemson - as the second or third seed. Coach Elmar Bolowich, who is in his 13th year as Carolina's head coach, said the team's success this year is a result of many factors.
Its offense - bolstered by a solid freshman class - has compensated for the loss of Chris Carrieri, who entered the MLS as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft after leading the nation in scoring last year. The team has only been shut out once this year despite losing more than 78 percent of its goals from last year's team.
olowich said another key was the team's rock-solid defense, an experienced bunch anchored by seniors Jackson, Leitch and goalkeeper Michael Ueltschey. Carolina has outscored opponents 50-13, giving up an average of just 0.76 goals per game.
The individual accolades have already begun for the Tar Heels. Freshman forward Marcus Storey, who leads the team in scoring with 24 points, is a strong candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year. Three players have been named ACC player of the week - sophomore midfielder Logan Pause, junior midfielder/forward Ryan Kneipper and Ueltschey.
Ueltschey recently set the school's record for career shutouts with 25.1. He downplayed the individual accomplishment, however. "It represents where our program has gone starting four years ago," he said of the record.
Where the program has gone in the past four years is what makes this story so special. In 1997, the team suffered its first losing record in 40 years and finished last in the ACC. It failed to make the NCAA tournament between 1995 and 1998. The squad is now poised to qualify for three consecutive tournaments for the first time in Bolowich's tenure at UNC.
"It was a steady buildup over the past few years," Bolowich said about the program's resurgence. "In terms of our personnel, we knew we were a strong team."
olwich admitted that the team "took a little nose dive" for a few years, however. He said some of the players recruited during that time didn't fit into the program. "I recognized I had to make some changes," he said.
He said he began recruiting people based on their character more than their talent, although a combination of the two remained the goal. "Talent combined with character would be the perfect fit for a student-athlete to come into this program."
Judging from the team's performance in the classroom and on the field, Bolowich's philosophy has been successful. The squad's grade point average has consistently ranked among the highest of any men's team at Carolina. Last year, 12 team members were named to the ACC Honor Roll and eight qualified for the Dean's List.
Other factors account for the program's rebirth in the last few years, Bolowich said. In 1998, additional funding allowed him to hire two full-time assistant coaches. Before this, he had to hire part-time assistants who never stayed long.
"That enabled me to get and retain quality coaches for a longer time," he said of the funding. Oliver Weiss is in his third season as top assistant and Scott Calabrese is in his second year as goalkeeper coach.
The team has also benefited from the state-of-the-art McCaskill Soccer Center, a $1.8 million facility that opened in 1999. It includes locker rooms, coaches offices and team rooms, and helps attract potential players. "It gave our program a great tool to recruit with," Bolowich said.
In addition, the advice of former Tar Heels has helped guide the team. Six Bolowich-coached players were in the MLS in 2001, including Eddie Pope, a member of D.C. United regarded as perhaps the best defensive player in the league. Bolowich said the alumni stay in frequent contact with both coaches and players.
Regardless of the tournaments' outcomes this year, the men's soccer team has firmly established a winning attitude that will ensure continued success in the future, Ueltschey said.
"This team has gotten a taste of winning, and I think it'll stay," he said. "It's a mentality. You learn how to win even if you're not the best team or you have a bad game. That's the sign of a championship team."
Bill Freehling is a second-year master's student in Carolina's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He lives in Durham.
