University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Head To Morganton For Big Weekend
August 24, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 24, 2007
MORGANTON, N.C. - On the Heels of a 4-1 win over Davidson earlier this week, the North Carolina men's soccer team heads west Friday to continue their preseason training at the City of Morganton's Catawba River Soccer Complex.
Burke Soccer Association is hosting the team over the weekend, highlighted by an exhibition game versus UNC Asheville Bulldogs Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Catwaba River Soccer Complex where nearly 1,000 fans are expected in a sellout at the first ever showcase soccer game in Morganton.
"With the training we have, we want to fine-tune our team. Being the last game before the season opener, we'd like to define roles for our team, as well as continue to improve, and facing UNC Asheville will provide those challenges," said North Carolina head coach Elmar Bolowich.
Bolowich, the 2001 NCAA Coach of the Year and national champion, has ran a soccer camp in Morganton for the past two years, along with Burke Soccer and a game for the next several years could be made a reality. Burke Soccer Association has been selling tickets since the middle of June and nearly 700 tickets had already been sold at lunchtime on Wednesday.
Burke Soccer's Director of Coaching Josh Gillon is thrilled to have the Tar Heels in town.
"To have this opportunity, to host a team of this caliber is fantastic for our community. Our club and sport will be on showcase this weekend and we all are very happy to host Carolina and UNC Asheville," said Gillon. "We want a packed house, we want this to be an annual event and host the team for longer periods of time and multiple games. Having a sellout crowd will only increase the chance of that."
On Friday evening the team will take part in a light practice at 7 p.m. at the Catawba River Soccer Complex. Burke Soccer Association will host, "Welcome the Tar Heels" at 6:30 p.m.which is open to the public and is free of cost. Players and coaches will be on hand for a meet and greet as well as autographs until 7 pm. Tickets will be sold at this event as well.
"We want everyone to come out and see what soccer at the top level is really like. I'd love to see people standing around the field, cheering, banging drums, blowing horns and making it a atmosphere to remember," added Gillon. "Soccer is such a beautiful game, and to have it on display in Morganton, in conjunction with Burke Soccer is hard to put into words."
The team will run a free youth clinic on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. after its short practice session. The public is invited to come take part.
CBS Sports has teamed up with Burke Soccer, UNC and UNC Asheville and have special UNC Soccer Shirts available for purchase at CBS Sports now, and Saturday at the game. There will also be a limited edition shirt for the game, but all supplies are limited.
For tickets or additional information, the team's schedule while in Morganton please log on to www.burke-soccer.org, or stop by CBS Sports to purchase your tickets now.
