University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Meets Wake Forest In College Cup Semis Friday
December 10, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 10, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 13 seed North Carolina and top-seeded Wake Forest will take their rivalry to the pinnacle of collegiate soccer Friday when the two Atlantic Coast Conference powers meet in the first of two national semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Eastern in the 2008 Men's Soccer College Cup at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. The match will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with J.P. Dellacamera and John Harkes on the call. The game can also be viewed online at ESPN360.com.
The No. 23-ranked Tar Heels enter the match with a 14-7-1 record, while No. 1 Wake Forest is 21-1-1.
Friday's second semifinal will feature No. 2 seed Maryland and No. 3 seed St. John's. The winners will meet at 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 Sunday for the national title.
UNC advanced to its third College Cup in program history with a 1-0 win over Northwestern Dec. 6 in the quarterfinals at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels also advanced to the final four in 1987 and 2001 and won the 2001 national title. UNC is 2-1-0 in three all-time matches at the College Cup. The Tar Heels are 1-1-0 in the semifinal round, losing at Clemson in 1987 and outlasting Stanford in OT in 2001. UNC beat Indiana, 2-0, in its lone title game appearance in 2001 in Columbus, Ohio.
Carolina is 20-14-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament play with 13 of those victories coming this decade.
North Carolina leads its all-time series with Wake Forest, 19-10-7, but the Tar Heels are winless in the last five meetings and have won just once in the series since 2000. UNC's last victory over the Demon Deacons was a 1-0 win at Wake Forest on a Michael Callahan overtime goal in 2005. Friday will mark the third NCAA Tournament meeting between Carolina and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels are 2-0-0 in the tourney against the Deacs, posting first-round wins in 1988 and 1990.
Carolina has won three straight in the postseason using the formula of a strong defensive effort and timely scoring. The Tar Heels have posted two shutouts thus far, and junior goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty has allowed only two goals, while making 10 saves in the postseason.
Offensively, freshman Kirk Urso and Billy Schuler have combined to score three of Carolina's five postseason goals, including a pair of game-winners. Seniors Callahan and Garry Lewis have also found the back of the net in the tourney, while leading scorer and first-team All-ACC forward Brian Shriver has a pair of assists. Shriver leads Carolina with 31 points and 13 goals.
Wake Forest enters Friday's semifinal off a 5-0 win over South Florida and has won its last two by a combined 12-0 margin. Cody Arnoux leads the Deacons in scoring with 42 points and 17 goals. Akira Fitzgerald has posted 13 shutouts in goal.
