University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 1 Carolina Hosts NC State Wednesday
September 5, 2006 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 5, 2006
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 1 North Carolina will look to extend its school record-tying, season-opening shutout streak Wednesday when it hosts rival NC State at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels (4-0-0) have yet to allow a goal this season and are coming off wins over nationally-ranked Ohio State and Penn State at the Carolina Nike Classic. The Wolfpack (2-2-0) split two games at last weekend's Duke/adidas Classic, falling to USF and rallying for a win over American. Wednesday's match kicks off what promises to be a very competitive season of Atlantic Coast Conference soccer.
CAROLINA AT A GLANCE
• With a pair of shutouts at last week's Carolina Nike Classic, the Tar Heels now have blanked 12 of their last 14 opponents and have 19 shutouts in their last 28 games dating to the start of the 2005 season. Carolina has only allowed 17 goals over this stretch.
• The Tar Heels have posted a school-record four shutouts to open a season for the second straight year.
• Carolina returns 95 percent of its scoring from 2005 (39 of 41 goals). Midfielder Dax McCarty is the lone Tar Heel to score a goal last season not back on the roster in 2006.
• The Tar Heels return 10 starters from last year's team that went 17-4-3 and reached the ACC Tournament final, as well as the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.
• Senior goalkeeper Justin Hughes recorded his 16th and 17th career shutouts last weekend and has allowed just six goals over 15 games since moving into the starting line-up in mid-October 2005.
• Carolina's offensive attack has been extremely balanced in the early going, as five different players have scored goals and five different players have tallied assists.
CAROLINA-NC STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Tar Heels own a 45-19-11 all-time record against NC State. They have not lost to the rival Wolfpack since 1997 and are 9-0-3 over this stretch. Carolina and State have tied three of the last six meetings, including the regular season match last season at SAS Soccer Park. Carolina won the teams' last meeting, 1-0, in the ACC quarterfinals. UNC has won four straight at home against the Pack, last losing at Fetzer Field to NCSU in 1996.
SCOUTING THE WOLFPACK
NC State enters Wednesday's match with a 2-2 record with wins over St. Francis and American and losses to Hartford and USF. Alan Sanchez leads the Pack with two goals, while Jorge Mora has a team-best two assists. On the season, NCSU has been outscored 6-4. Christopher Widman has gone the distance in goal and sports a 1.50 goals against average and 10 saves in 360 minutes.
TAR HEELS SEEKING SEASON-OPENING SHUTOUT MARK
For the second straight season, Carolina has opened with a school-record four consecutive shutouts. And for the second straight season, the Tar Heels face rival NC State in their fifth match of the season. Last year, State's Aaron King scored the first goal of the season against UNC in the 77th minute of their fifth game, giving the Tar Heels 437 minutes of scoreless soccer to open 2005. Carolina will look to better that mark Wednesday.
THE WOLFPACK HUNTER
Carolina senior forward Ben Hunter must like seeing red, as he scored all three of the Tar Heels' goals against NC State in 2005. In the regular season meeting, he scored off a penalty kick and a free kick in the teams' 2-2 tie, and Hunter followed with a third unassisted goal in the ACC quarterfinal win. This season, Hunter has one goal, the game-winner in the season-opening win over William & Mary.
HEELS AFTER SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN IN ACC HOME OPENERS
Carolina has come out of the ACC gates strong at home of late, winning five straight league home openers. The Tar Heels last lost their home ACC opener in 2000 and have defeated Duke twice, Virginia twice and Clemson once since then. UNC has not opened its conference home slate with NC State since 1978.
HUGHES OUTSTANDING IN GOAL
Despite battling a groin injury, senior goalkeeper Justin Hughes, a candidate for the Herrman Trophy, has been as advertised in net. The Wake Forest, N.C., product has four shutouts to his credit and has made 11 saves to far this season. Since becoming the Tar Heels' full-time keeper in mod-October 2005, Hughes has allowed just six goals in 15 games and has picked up 11 of his 17 career shutouts over this run. With Hughes in net, Carolina has been scored on in just two of their last 14 games.
SHRIVER STARTS STRONG
Sophomore Brian Shriver is off to a quick start in 2006 and leads the Tar Heels with three points on a goal and an assist. He scored the game-winner in the 1-0 victory over Penn State and also assisted on the second goal in the season-opening win over William & Mary. A regular spark off the bench as a freshman in 2005, Shriver now has 14 career points on six goals and two assists.
NEWCOMERS MAKING THEIR MARK
While Carolina is searching for its timing offensively, the Tar Heels' newcomers have made quite an impact. Freshman Zach Loyd and sophomore transfer Garry Lewis have accounted for two of the team's last three game-winning goals, and several other newcomers have logged significant minutes. Loyd and Lewis have started all four games, and rookies Bill Dworksy and Eddie Ababio have seen time up front.
HEELS CONTINUE DOMINANCE IN CAROLINA NIKE CLASSIC
After last weekend's wins over Ohio State and Penn State, the Tar Heels own a 14-2 all-time record in their home tournament, which has been held each season since 1998 with the exception of 2001. Carolina's only losses in the event came to VCU and Florida International in 2004. A year ago, the Tar Heels shut out Rutgers (1-0) and South Carolina (2-0) in the tourney. UNC is now 3-0 against the Big Ten in the Carolina Nike Classic thanks to a win over Michigan in 2003 and this season's wins over the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes.
HUGHES, ODGERS, SHERARD NAMED TO WFU, UNC ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
Goalkeeper Justin Hughes and defenders Ted Odgers and Andre Sherard have been honored in each of the last two weeks for their outstanding defensive play with spots on the all-tournament team at the Wake Forest adidas Classic and the Carolina Nike Classic. Hughes made five saves in Winston-Salem, including a key diving stop in the second half of the 1-0 win over UCF, and followed that up with six stops in the Tar Heels' home tournament. Wake Forest claimed both tournament titles on goal differential.
TV TIME FOR TAR HEELS
Carolina is schedule to make a pair of national television appearances this season on the Fox Soccer Channel. The network will broadcast a total of 20 men's and women's matches with the Tar Heel men set to appear at Clemson Sept. 15 and at home against Maryland Oct. 6. Both games will start at 8 p.m. UNC's women will host Florida State on FSC Sept. 21.
TAR HEELS EXCEL AS NO. 1
Thanks to a 4-0-0 mark as No. 1 this season, Carolina is now 13-1-0 all-time when it sits atop the national rankings. The Tar Heels were 9-1 in 2000 when rankd No. 1 and also earned the No. 1 spot following the 2001 national title run. UNC is 8-1 when rated No. 1 by two of the major polls, Soccer America or NSCAA.
North Carolina's All-Time Results As No. 1: Date Opponent Score 10/18/2000 Charlotte W 3-0 10/22/2000 NC State W 7-1 10/25/2000 Elon W 5-0 10/28/2000 #18 Wake Forest W 4-1 11/5/2000 at #10 South Carolina W 2-0 *11/10/2000 at Wake Forest# W 1-0 *11/12/2000 vs. #6 Virginia# W 1-0 OT *11/19/2000 William & Mary@ W 3-2 OT *11/26/2000 Rhode Island@ W 3-1 *12/2/2000 #9 Indiana@ L 0-1 *8/25/2006 vs. William & Mary W 2-0 *8/27/2006 vs. UCF W 1-0 *9/1/2006 #20 Ohio State W 1-0 *9/3/2006 #13 Penn State W 1-0 *Denotes No. 1 ranking by Soccer America or NSCAA. #ACC Tournament; @NCAA Tournament
STRONG DEBUT FOR LEWIS
Sophomore midfielder Garry Lewis had a strong opening weekend as a Tar Heel, starting both games at the Wake Forest adidas Classic. The Orange Park, Fla., native took six shots in two games and scored the game-winner against UCF on a header in the 10th minute. The goal was his first at Carolina and fifth of his career after scoring four times at St. John's in 2005. Lewis also started both games of the Carolina Nike Classic.
CAROLINA CLAIMS NO. 1 PRESEASON RANKING
For the first time since capturing the 2001 national championship, North Carolina sits atop the Soccer America Men's Top 25 Poll for the third straight week. The Tar Heels return 10 starters from a squad that posted a 17-4-3 record and reached the NCAA quarterfinals a year ago. Carolina was one of four Atlantic Coast Conference teams ranked in the top six and one of seven in the preseason top 19 by Soccer America. The Tar Heels were rated just ahead of No. 2 SMU, the team that eliminated them in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Joining top-ranked Carolina in the Soccer America preseason rankings from the ACC were: No. 3 Virginia, No. 4 Maryland, No. 6 Clemson, No. 15 Duke, No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 19 Virginia Tech. In addition to having six ranked conference foes on the 2006 slate, the Tar Heels will also face No. 11 Penn State Sept. 3 at the annual Carolina Nike Classic.
