North Carolina
Florida International
No. 24 Tar Heels Blank FIU In Opener
August 29, 2008 | Men's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Senior Brian Shriver, sophomore Dustin McCarty and junior Eddie Ababio each found the back of the net to lead No. 24 North Carolina to a 3-0 win over Florida International Friday in the season opener in the Carolina Nike Classic at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels (1-0-0) posted their most goals in an opener since an 8-1 win over East Carolina kicked off the 2001 national championship season.
No. 1 Wake Forest (1-0-0) opened the annual event with a 2-1 victory over VCU (0-1-0) Friday afternoon.
Ababio led the UNC attack with a goal and an assist and fired six of the Tar Heels' 18 shots compared to just four shots for the Golden Panthers (0-1-0), who were held without a shot until the 69th minute.
In his first career regular season start, senior Jacob Wescoe went the distance in goal and made one save to earn the shutout. FIU keeper Jesse Fullerton made five stops and allowed the three scores.
The Tar Heels struck first midway through the opening half when Shriver laced a shot from 15 yards past Fullerton for a 1-0 Carolina lead. After receiving a feed from Garry Lewis on the right side, Shriver sent the ball just inside the near post for his ninth career goal at the 21:06 mark.
After posting an 8-0 edge on the shot chart in the first half, the Tar Heels continued to control possession in the second half and put the game out of reach with goals by McCarty in the 67th minute and Ababio in the 82nd.
McCarty, who was playing his first game as a Tar Heel after transferring from Central Florida, took a cross from Ababio at the top of the box and sent a strike off Fullerton and into the lower corner of the net for a 2-0 UNC lead.
It was Ababio's turn 15 minutes later when he picked up a loose ball in the box, turned and fired from 12 yards for his fifth career goal and the 3-0 final margin.
Friday's win marked the Carolina debuts of newcomers McCarty, Chris Lebo, Kirk Urso, Sheanon Williams, Billy Schuler and Alex Dixon. Lebo, Urso and Williams each started their first collegiate match.
The Carolina Nike Classic concludes Sunday with Wake Forest against FIU at 2 p.m., followed by the Tar Heels and VCU at 4:30 p.m.
