University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Having Fun And Focused In Frisco
December 11, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 11, 2008
FRISCO, Texas - After a full day of College Cup preparation at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, North Carolina's men's soccer team is focused on Friday's national semifinal against No. 1 Wake Forest, which will air at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN2 and online at ESPN360.com.
"We're excited to be here. It's great for our players - especially our seniors - to be part of the College Cup," said UNC head coach Elmar Bolowich at Thursday's press conference. "It's a very familiar field with two other ACC teams, but it is the College Cup and only one team will lift the Cup on Sunday."
The Tar Heels had a busy morning, kicked off by an on-camera session with ESPN for Bolowich, seniors Michael Callahan and Brian Shriver and freshman Billy Schuler. After answering a few questions, the players showed off their footwork for the cameras and posed for what are known in the television business as "hero" or "gladiator" shots. Look for their debut during Friday's pregame.
The team then took to one of the 17 practice fields at the Pizza Hut Park complex for a fast-paced one-hour, 30-minute practice in cold and windy conditions. The forecast calls for improved weather the rest of the weekend, including a high of 72 degrees for Sunday's national title game.
ESPN analyst and former professional standout John Harkes took in practice in preparation for tomorrow's broadcast, and chatted with Bolowich afterward. Harkes is well versed in the quality of ACC soccer, as he played at Virginia from 1985-87, while Bolowich was an assistant at UNC under Anson Dorrance.
After practice, the Tar Heels checked out their locker room for Friday's semifinal and got a quick walk through on the Pizza Hut Park pitch, while the grounds crew was hard at work painting the College Cup logo at midfield.
Bolowich, Callahan and local product Cameron Brown then met with the media for a brief press conference where the focus was on Carolina's dramatic run through the NCAA tourney and how to slow down Wake Forest's high-scoring attack.
"We'll have to put in a great effort for 90 minutes," said Callahan, the Tar Heels' senior captain. "If we do that, I think we can put ourselves in a good position. They're a great counter-attacking team, so we have to stay in position."
From there it was back to the hotel for an afternoon of rest before tonight's NCAA banquet, which honors all four teams.
Stay tuned to TarHeelBlue.com for full coverage of tomorrow's national semifinal.
