University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 2 Tar Heels Host Carolina Nike Classic
September 8, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2005
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Friday's GameTracker
South Carolina-Wake Forest
Rutgers-North Carolina
Sunday's GameTracker
Rutgers-Wake Forest
South Carolina-North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After opening the season with a pair of wins in Richmond, Va., last weekend, No. 2 North Carolina (2-0-0) returns to Chapel Hill to host the annual Carolina Nike Classic. The Tar Heels face Rutgers (1-1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday followed by a 3:30 p.m. Sunday meeting with South Carolina (0-2-0). No. 10 Wake Forest (1-1-0) rounds out the field.
CAROLINA AT A GLANCE
• Carolina is 2-0-0 following wins over then-No. 11 VCU and Richmond last weekend. The Tar Heels opened the season with back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1991.
• Four different Tar Heels scored last weekend, while junior defender David Boole assisted on three of the four goals.
• Senior Ford Williams played all 180 minutes in goal and picked up a pair of shutouts.
• The Tar Heels return seven starters and 17 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.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are 1-1-0 after splitting with San Diego State and Holy Cross last weekend. Freshman midfielder Adam Lloyd has Rutgers' lone goal on the season in the 1-0 win over Holy Cross. Sophomore Matt Vanoekel posted a shutout in the victory, while junior Lubos Ancin got the start in goal in the loss to San Diego State.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks are 0-2-0 on the young season after losses to Clemson and College of Charleston. Junior forward Mike Sambursky has scored the only goal of the season for USC in a 2-1 overtime loss at Clemson. Freshman Mike Gustavson has played all 192 minutes in goal and owns a 1.41 goals against average.
SERIES WITH SOUTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels have won five straight over the Gamecocks and have not allowed a goal over this stretch. Carolina has outscored South Carolina 8-0 since 2001, including a 2-0 win at Fetzer Field last season. The Gamecocks last win in the series was a 3-2 victory in Chapel Hill in 1999. UNC and USC have met each season since 1982 with the Tar Heels holding a 14-10-1 lead in the series.
CAROLINA NIKE CLASSIC HISTORY
The Tar Heels own a 10-2-0 all-time record in the Carolina Nike Classic, which has been held each year since 1998, with the exception of 2001. Carolina had won 10 straight in the tournament until losing to Florida International and VCU a year ago by a combined 8-4 margin. The Tar Heels will look to snap the two-match losing skid in its home tournament against Rutgers Friday.
POSITION SWITCH PAYS FOR BOOLE
Junior David Boole is playing outside back for the first time as a Tar Heel, and the switch is paying immediate dividends. He assisted on three of Carolina's last four goals last weekend and helped anchor a defense that allowed just two shots on goal in two matches. For his efforts, Boole was named the ACC Player of the Week and was chosen for College Soccer News' and Soccer America's national teams of the week. Junior Michael Harrington is also playing on the backline for the first time as a Tar Heel.
NEWCOMERS MAKE IMPACT
Freshmen Scott Campbell and Stephen Bickford, as well as junior transfer Ben Hunter, all made an impact on the offensive side of the ball at the Alltel/Nike Classic. Hunter assisted on Dax McCarty's game-winner against VCU, while Campbell and Bickford both scored in the 3-0 win over Richmond. Campbell also chipped in with an assist. This trio, which joined the Carolina program in January, accounted for six of the Tar Heels' 13 points so far this season.
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 last weekend with the game-winning goal in the Richmond win. Ashe now has 14 career goals, including six game-winners.
CAROLINA OPENS WITH BACK-TO-BACK BLANKINGS
After struggling on the defensive end to open last season, the Tar Heels posted back-to-back shutouts to open a season for the first time since 1991 last weekend. Carolina blanked both VCU and Richmond and allowed just two shots on goal all weekend. The Tar Heels outshot the Rams and Spiders by a combined 34-13 mark and surrendered just three shots versus Richmond. Senior goalkeeper Ford Williams went all 90 minutes in goal and picked his 16th and 17th career shutouts. Carolina has not opened a season with three straight shutout wins since 1968, the first season the Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament.
ASHE ADDS GAME-WINNERS AGAINST GAMECOCKS
Junior forward Corey Ashe has scored the game-winning goal in each of the last two season versus South Carolina. After missing nearly a month with a sprained ankle, Ashe netted Carolina's lone goal in a win at South Carolina in 2003, and he followed a year later with the first goal in the 2-0 win over USC in 2004 in Chapel Hill.
TAR HEELS EARN HIGHEST RANKING SINCE 2002
After being ranked in the top 20 in both preseason polls, the Tar Heels currently are ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/adidas Coaches' Poll and No. 5 by Soccer America after an impressive opening weekend. Carolina's No. 2 ranking by the NSCAA marks its highest since September 3, 2002, when it was ranked second in both polls. The Tar Heels opened the season with a 1-0 win over then-No. 11 VCU and followed with a 3-0 victory over Richmond.
BOLOWICH EARNS WIN NO. 200
In his 17th season in Chapel Hill, head coach Elmar Bolowich reached the 200-win plateau with the 3-0 win over Richmond September 4. Already the program's winningest coach, Bolowich owns a career mark of 200-112-20.
TV TIME FOR TAR HEELS
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Fox Soccer Channel and 12 Division I men's soccer programs - including North Carolina - have reached an agreement to broadcast a "College Soccer Game of the Week" on Friday nights this fall The Tar Heels will be televised twice this season - at Maryland October 14 and home versus Duke October 28. Both games will begin at 8 p.m. Fox Soccer Channel is channel 144 on Time Warner Digital Cable in the Triangle area.
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.
CAROLINA CLAIMS PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKING
Entering the season, the Tar Heels were 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.
