University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 11 Tar Heels Open at VCU Tournament
September 1, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 1, 2005
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After a pair of exhibition wins over in-state rivals, No. 11/17 North Carolina is set to open the 2005 season at VCU's Alltel/Nike Classic this weekend. The Tar Heels will face the No. 11/12 Rams at 8 p.m. Friday, followed by a 1 p.m. meeting with Richmond Sunday. Carolina hopes to avenge last year's 5-2 loss to VCU at the Carolina Nike Classic, while it has never faced the Spiders.
CAROLINA AT A GLANCE
• The Tar Heels return seven starters and 18 letterwinners from last year's team that went 10-9-2 and tied for third in the ACC with a 4-3-0 league mark.
• Junior forward Corey Ashe returns as Carolina's leading scorer with a team-best nine goals and 18 points. Missing from the roster are MLS draftees Tim Merritt, Marcus Storey and Jamie Watson.
• Senior captain Ford Williams and junior Justin Hughes team to give UNC one of the nation's top goalkeeping tandems.
• Newcomers Stephen Bickford, Scott Campbell and Ben Hunter joined the program in the spring and are expected to have an immediate impact on the UNC offensive attack, which produced just 35 goals a year ago.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
VCU: The Rams are led by preseason All-America forward Dominic Oduro, who led the Colonial Athletic Association with 16 goals and 33 points a year ago. VCU was 12-6-3 a year ago and 7-1-1 in the CAA, winning its third consecutive regular-season title. Picked by the CAA coaches to win the league once again, the Rams return seven starters and 14 letterwinners this season.
Richmond: The Spiders, who were 3-13-2 last season, return 17 letterwinners this season. Seniors Colin Vint, Steven Wolfe and Chris Lahoud were among the team's top-five scorers a year ago and are expected to lead a young Richmond team.
SERIES WITH VCU
The Tar Heels and Rams have met in each of the last three seasons, with VCU holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. A year ago, the Rams claimed a 5-2 win in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels posted a 2-1 win at home in overtime in 2003, while VCU won the teams' only meeting in Richmond, 1-0, in 2002.
ASHE RESUMES SCORING PACE
Junior forward Corey Ashe led the Tar Heels with nine goals a year ago and he picked up where he left off in the exhibition win over Appalachian State. The Virginia Beach, Va., native scored twice versus the Mountaineers from virtually the same spot on the field and proved to be the difference in the Tar Heels' 4-2 victory.
NEWCOMERS SHINE IN EXHIBITIONS
The Tar Heel newcomers were impressive in the team's pair of exhibition victories in August, led by junior transfer Ben Hunter, who scored two goals and added an assist. In addition to Hunter's exploits, freshman Stephen Bickford chipped in with a goal and an assist, and rookie Brian Shriver netted the game-winner against Appalachian State. Classmate Scott Campbell also added an assist versus the Mountaineers. Carolina defeated ASU, 4-2, and UNC Wilmington, 2-1.
TAR HEELS UNBEATEN IN OPENERS SINCE 1997
Carolina has not dropped a season-opener since a 4-1 loss to Washington in 1997, the last time the Tar Heels had a losing season. UNC is unbeaten in its last seven openers and had won six straight until a 1-1 tie versus Penn State last season.
TAR HEELS' TIES TO VIRGINIA
The 2005 UNC roster features three players from the state of Virginia, including two from the Richmond area - junior midfielder Blake Beach (Glen Allen) and redshirt freshman defender Abe Chenathara (Midlothian). Junior forward Corey Ashe is a native of Virginia Beach. Additionally, Tar Heel assistant Carlos Somoano spent six seasons as an assistant at VCU before joining Elmar Bolowich's staff prior to the 2002 season.
BICKFORD, CAMPBELL HONORED AS TOP ROOKIES
After being rated as two of the nation's top prep talents a year ago, forward Stephen Bickford and midfielder Scott Campbell were honored by College Soccer News as two of the nation's "100 Freshmen to Watch in 2005." Bickford earned NSCAA/adidas High School Player of the Year honors in 2004, while Campbell was named Miami Herald Player of the Year. Ranked among the nation's top 15 recruits by StudentSportSoccer.com, both players enrolled at Carolina in January and spent the spring training with the Tar Heels. UNC's recruiting class was also rated as No. 5 by College Soccer News.
BOLOWICH CLOSING IN ON 200
Heading into his 17th season in Chapel Hill, head coach Elmar Bolowich needs just two wins to become the first Carolina men's soccer coach to reach the 200-win plateau. Already the program's winningest coach, Bolowich owns a career mark of 198-112-20.
CAROLINA CLAIMS PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKING
Entering the season, the Tar Heels are ranked No. 11 by Soccer America and No. 17 by the NSCAA. Carolina entered last season ranked No. 6 in both polls but fell out of the rankings after a pair of losses at the Carolina Nike Classic. The Tar Heels, who finished 10-9-2 a year ago, did not reenter the polls in 2004.
CAROLINA PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN COMPETITIVE ACC
In the annual preseason coaches poll, North Carolina was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels earned a pair of first-place votes and 66 total points to finish behind preseason favorite Duke, which tallied five first-place votes and 74 points. Maryland was third with 63 points and the remaining two first-place votes.
POSTSEASON SUCCESS
The Tar Heels are in search of their school-record seventh straight trip to the NCAA Championship. UNC has been to the postseason each season since 1999 and captured the 2001 national title.
