University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Hosts Drake With Cup Bid On The Line
December 1, 2009 | Men's Soccer
Dec. 1, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - With a trip to the NCAA College Cup up for grabs, No. 5 seed North Carolina and Drake will square off for the first time Friday at 6 p.m. at Fetzer Field in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. A live webcast of the game will be available at TarHeelBlue.com though Carolina All-Access.
Unbeaten in their last seven games, the Tar Heels (15-2-3) have advanced to their second straight quarterfinal with shutout wins over Brown (2-0) and Indiana (1-0). The Bulldogs (16-6-2) have defeated Western Illinois (2-1), No. 4 seed Ohio State (1-0) and Boston College (6-4) en route to the Elite Eight.
Friday's winner will advance to the NCAA College Cup at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary to take on No. 1 seed Akron or No. 8 seed Tulsa in the national semifinals.
National Rankings
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 4 by Soccer America and the NSCAA. Drake is rated No. 24 in both polls.
Series History
North Carolina and Drake have never met in men's soccer. The Tar Heels last faced a team from the Missouri Valley Conference Sept. 6 and scored a 4-0 win over Evansville.
History At Tournament Time
Carolina is making its 17th NCAA championship appearance and it owns a 23-15-0 record in the postseason. The Tar Heels are making their 14th postseason trip - and 10th in 11 years - under head coach Elmar Bolowich, who is 19-12-0 in NCAA Tournament play. The Tar Heels are 15-7-0 in all-time NCAA Tournament action at Fetzer Field. Carolina, which has a 16-8-0 record in the tournament over its last 10 appearances, has made three College Cup appearances (1987, 2001, 2008) and captured the 2001 national title.
Tar Heels Earn Fifth Elite Eight Of The 2000s
With its 1-0 win over Indiana, Carolina has advanced to the national quarterfinals for the fifth time this decade and the second straight season. The Tar Heels, who have made six all-time quarterfinal appearances, reached the tournament's Elite Eight in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2009 this decade. UNC has reached the NCAA College Cup twice in the 2000s (2001, 2008) and captured the 2001 national title.
The Tar Heels join Maryland and Wake Forest as the only three teams to reach the final eight in both 2008 and 2009.
Quarterfinal History At Fetzer Field
Friday will mark the fifth NCAA men's quarter final played at Fetzer Field, and the Tar Heels hold a 2-2-0 record in the previous four contests. UNC defeated Northwestern, 1-0, to punch its ticket to the 2008 College Cup in Frisco, Texas.
UNC Is Soccer U.
For the second straight year, North Carolina has placed its men's and women's soccer teams in the final eight of the NCAA Tournament. No other school can make this claim over 2008-09.
The Tar Heels join Wake Forest and UCLA as the only schools to have both teams reach the quarterfinals in 2009. The UNC women advanced to the College Cup this weekend in College Station, Texas, and the men can match that feat with a win Friday over Drake.
A National Seed Once Again
For the fifth time since the NCAA went to seeding the top 16 national seeds in 2003, the Tar Heels claimed one of the valuable spots and a first-round bye. Seeded fifth this year, Carolina was seeded 13th in 2008, 14th in 2006, and fourth in both 2005 and 2003.
Well-Tested Tar Heels
Carolina has played 10 of its 20 matches against teams that reached the 48-team NCAA tourney field. The Tar Heels have compiled a 6-2-2 record in these games and are unbeaten - 2-0-2 - in four matches against the tourney's top 16 seeds.
Dixon On A Scoring Streak
Sophomore forward Alex Dixon has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season and just the second time in his career. He had his first career hat trick against Stetson Oct. 28 and has netted five of his seven goals in the last six games.
Sophomores Shining In The Postseason
Carolina's sophomore class has been responsible for all three of the Tar Heels' postseason goals - two from Alex Dixon and one from Billy Schuler. Classmate Kirk Urso has two of UNC's four assists in the tourney. Schuler and Dixon are the Tar Heels' top scorers with nine and seven goals, respectively, while Urso leads UNC with six assists.
Defense Pitching A Scoreless Streak
Since the close of the regular season, Carolina's defense has yet to allow a goal over a span of three games (ACC and NCAA tournaments) and 290 minutes. The Tar Heels' have notched 11 shutouts this season for their most since posting 15 in 2005.
Third Round: Carolina 1, Indiana 0
Alex Dixon's 28th-minute goal was all the offense No. 5 national seed North Carolina would need in a 1-0 win over Indiana Nov. 29 in the third round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship at Fetzer Field. The defense took over from their, as the backline posted its 11th shutout of the season to lift the Tar Heels to the national quarterfinals for the second straight season and the fifth time this decade.
The Tar Heels grabbed a lead they would not relinquish when Cameron Brown played a ball from midfield over the Indiana defense and to Dixon on the left. The Humble, Texas, product split two defenders, settled the ball and sent a six-yard shot under IU keeper Luis Soffner for a 1-0 Carolina lead at 27:01. Brown and Jordan Graye were credited with assists on Dixon's goal - his second of the postseason and seventh on the year.
From there, Brooks Haggerty, who made four saves, and the UNC defense made the lead stand. The Hoosiers were limited to just nine shots and two corner kicks, as Carolina recorded its third straight shutout since the close of the regular season.
Second Round: Carolina 2, Brown 0
Billy Schuler found the back of the net to give No. 5 national seed North Carolina an early lead, and Alex Dixon added a late goal to put the match away in the Tar Heels' 2-0 win over Brown in second round action of the 2009 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Nov. 22 at Fetzer Field.
Kirk Urso assisted on both goals for the Tar Heels, setting up a Schuler header on a free kick in the 20th minute and feeding Dixon near midfield in the 89th.
Brooks Haggerty went the distance in net for his eighth shutout and Carolina's 10th in 19 outings. He made two saves, and UNC's smothering defense held Brown without a shot over the first 57 minutes and to just five shots on the afternoon.
Tar Heels Winning With Balance
Carolina's formula for success this season has been a balanced team across the board. The Tar Heels are second in the ACC in scoring with 41 goals and in scoring defense with just 11 goals allowed. UNC is the only team to rank in the league's top two in both categories.
Offensively, goals have come from throughout the Carolina lineup. Eleven different players have found the back of the net. Four players own five-plus goals and six players have three or more goals on the season.
Fetzer's Friendly Confines
Carolina is 11-1-1 at home this season, with its lone loss coming against Boston College Oct. 17. Dating to the end of last season, the Tar Heels have dropped just one of their last 15 contests in Chapel Hill.
Tar Heels Primed For Postseason
Led by senior captain Zach Loyd, who has seen action in eight NCAA Tournament games, Carolina's roster is full of players with postseason experience. Highlights include:
• Zach Loyd: Eight games, seven starts. Assisted on game-winning score against Wake Forest in 2008 College Cup. Named to College Cup All-Tournament Team.
• Brooks Haggerty: Seven games, seven starts. 0.59 GAA, 21 saves, three shutouts in 2008 NCAA tourney. Named to College Cup All-Tournament Team. Shutouts in both games in 2009 give him five clean sheets in seven career NCAA starts.
• Billy Schuler: Seven games, seven starts. Tallied a goal and an assist in 2008 tourney. Scored game-winner against Jacksonville in second round in 2008 and game-winner versus Brown in the second round this season.
• Kirk Urso: Six games, three starts. Scored twice in 2008 tourney, against UIC and the game-winner against Northwestern in the quarterfinals. Assisted on both goals in the 2009 second-round win over Brown.
• Jordan Graye: Six games, six starts. Outside back helped lead UNC to three shutouts in 2008 NCAA tourney and shutouts against Brown and Indiana this season. Assisted on game-winner against the Hoosiers.
Tough To Beat With Two Goals
The Tar Heels have scored at least two goals in 12 of 20 games this season and are 11-0-1 when finding the back of net at least twice. This continues a trend for Carolina, which is now 32-2-2 when scoring twice over the last four seasons. UNC scored twice 13 times a year ago and went 11-2-0.
Carolina's Stingy Defense
North Carolina has allowed just 11 goals on the season and yielded just two scores on two occasions - to NCAA sides Wake Forest and Boston College. The Tar Heels have posted shutouts in over half of their games this season - 11 of 20.
Tar Heels Claim Share Of ACC Title
y virtue of a 5-2-1 conference record and 16 points in league action, Carolina captured a share of its first regular season ACC title since 2000. The Tar Heels share the regular-season crown with Wake Forest, which claimed the tourney's top seed by virtue of an 18-12 scoring edge in ACC play.
Schuler Finishes Strong
Sophomore forward Billy Schuler, who was named ACC and national player of the week for the final week of the regular season, has closed the year on a strong note. He scored three goals - including two game-winners - in the final week of the regular season and has scored five goals and posted 12 points over the last nine games. He leads UNC with 22 points and nine goals.
Loyd, Newcomers Stellar In The Back
Senior captain Zach Loyd, who has played at outside back and in the midfield throughout his Carolina career, is playing center back for the first time due to a season-ending knee injury to starter David Rodriguez in the preseason.
With Loyd in the mix, the Tar Heels have started three new defenders for much of the season - Loyd, Brett King and Drew McKinney. Results have been solid, as the Tar Heels have yielded just 11 goals and are holding the opposition to just 7.3 shots and 2.2 corner kicks per game.
Healthy Haggerty Strong In Net
Senior goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty was outstanding in the 2008 postseason run and has picked up where he left off in 2009. After battling injuries for much of his UNC career, Haggerty entered 2009 in the best shape of his collegiate career and owns a 0.57 goals against average and 44 saves in 1,591 minutes. He missed three games with a hip injury but returned in the regular-season finale and has allowed just one goal over the last four matches, including three straight shutouts.
Bolowich Earns Win No. 250
Already Carolina's all-time winningest coach, Elmar Bolowich claimed career win No. 250 with a 4-0 win over Evansville Sept. 6. The 21-year Tar Heel mentor entered the season ranked 24th among active coaches in victories and 29th in winning percentage.
