University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Host Duke Thursday
October 10, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 10, 2007
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In the second game of a doubleheader between rivals North Carolina and Duke, the Tar Heel men will host the No. 8 Blue Devils at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Fetzer Field. The winner of the match will receive one point towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between UNC and Duke, which the Tar Heels lead 1-0.5. A webcast of the game will be available live and on-demand at ACCSelect.com.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with Duke, 35-33-8, but they are looking for their first win over the Blue Devils since a 3-2 overtime victory in 2003. Carolina dropped road games in Durham in 2006 and 2004, and the teams played to a pair of scoreless ties in 2005, including one in the ACC Championship game. No current Tar Heel has scored a goal against the Blue Devils.
TAR HEELS IN SIMILAR SPOT AS 2004
At 3-3-4 through 10 games, Carolina finds itself in a similar spot to 2004 when it started the season 3-5-2 but rallied to win seven of its final nine matches to host a first-round NCAA Tournament match. That team finished the season with a 10-9-2 record, including a 4-3 mark in the ACC.
CAROLINA IN MIDST OF TOUGH STRETCH
Thursday marks the middle game in a three-match ACC stretch against teams currently ranked in the nation's top 10. Carolina lost 2-1 at No. 4 Virginia last weekend. After hosting No. 8 Duke, Carolina will travel to Virginia Tech Oct. 19. The Hokies are ranked eighth in this week's NSCAA/adidas Top 25.
BROWN A SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Freshman midfielder Cameron Brown has been a spark off the UNC bench all season but has really come on of late with goals in each of the Tar Heels' games last week. He scored in the final minute of the win over Liberty and scored UNC's lone goal in the 2-1 loss at No. 4 Virginia. Brown is second on the team with two goals.
DERIC A FRESHMAN TO WATCH
Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Deric was recently labeled a "Freshman to Watch" by College Soccer News and with good reason. The Spring, Texas, native has started 9 of 10 games in goal with a 0.71 goals against average, four shutouts and 26 saves. Deric is third in the ACC in GAA, second in shutouts and seventh in saves.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
The Oct. 2 7-1 win over Liberty marked the Tar Heels' first seven-goal outburst since a 7-1 win at Campbell on Sept. 24, 2002. The seven scores also doubled the Tar Heels offensive output on the season, as they had scored just seven times in their previous eight outings. Seven different Tar Heels - Brian Shriver, David Rodriguez, Bill Dworsky, Ryan Adeleye, Zach Loyd, Scott Campbell and Cameron Brown - found the back of the net, marking the first time since 2001 that at least seven Tar Heels scored in a single match. Carolina had eight different goal scorers in an 8-1 win over East Carolina to open the national championship season.
CAROLINA CONTROLLING POSSESSION
Despite struggling to find the back of the net early in the season, the Tar Heels have dominated possession for much of their first 10 games and have generated plenty of scoring chances. Carolina leads the ACC with 82 corner kicks and is third with 172 shots taken with 43 percent put on goal. The Tar Heels' defense is holding the opposition to just 9.2 shots and 2.9 corners per game.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
While Carolina's offense struggled for much of the season, its defense has kept it in games to the tune of a 0.73 goals against average on the season, which ranks third in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels have surrendered just eight goals on the year and are one of just three teams to allow fewer than 10 goals all season. Top-10 squads Boston College and Wake Forest are the others.
HAGGERTY SEES FIRST ACTION
Sophomore goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty saw his first action of 2007 in the Oct. 2 win over Liberty after undergoing knee surgery in the preseason. He went 57 shutout minutes and made one save before Chris Litchford came on for the final 33 minutes. Freshman keeper Tyler Deric, who had started the previous eight games, was held out due to an ankle injury.
DWORSKY ON A ROLL
Sophomore forward Bill Dworsky leads UNC with four goals and 10 points, which both mark career bests. His fourth goal came in the 7-1 win over Liberty Oct. 11. Dworsky's 10 points are 11th in the ACC, while the four goals equal the ninth-best mark in the league. Dworsky now has 17 career points on six goals and five assists.
TAR HEELS DISPLAY YOUTH
UNC has put its youthful roster on display over the first half of the 2007 season with three freshmen (Cameron Brown, Daniel Choi and Tyler Deric) and two transfers (Joan Carvajal and Ryan Adeleye) seeing their first action in Carolina Blue. With redshirts Ryan Johnson, David Rodriguez and Chris Litchford also tasting their first collegiate action, eight of the 21 Tar Heels to see the pitch this season are essentially newcomers for head coach Elmar Bolowich.
