University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC And Wake Forest Set To Battle For ACC Lead
October 7, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After starting 4-0 in the ACC for the first time in school history the North Carolina Tar Heels have a chance to continue making history Friday night when they look to move to 5-0 against Wake Forest at 7 p.m.
The Tar Heels are riding a two-game winning streak after snapping a 16-game unbeaten streak at Virginia Oct. 1 before scoring five unanswered goals against Radford on Tuesday for a 5-1 win over the Highlanders.
Wake Forest enters with an identical two-game winning streak after beating Virginia Tech, 2-0, and Appalachian State, 1-0, in Winston-Salem.
Andy Lubahn leads the Demon Deacons with four goals in 10 games, while Akira Fitzgerald has turned away 39 shots in net posting a 0.98 goals against average this season.
National Rankings
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 4 by the NSCAA Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News polls and No. 3 by the Soccer America Top 25. Wake Forest is ranked No. 25 in Top Drawer Soccer's rankings but is unranked in the other polls.
Series History
The Tar Heels and Demon Deacons have met 38 times on the pitch with Carolina holding a slim 20-10-8 record. The series has seen an ebb and flow throughout the years with the Tar Heels dominating the early dropping just one match in the first 18 meetings from 1980-94 (13-1-4), while the Demon Deacons have regained control as of late dropping just two decisions since 2001. The Tar Heels have not won at Fetzer Field agains Wake Forest since a 4-1 win in 2000 a string of four matches.
Last 10 meetings
2009 - T, 2-2 (2OT) - Winston-Salem
2008 - W, 1-0 - Frisco, Texas
L, 2-4 - Chapel Hill
2007 - L, 0-1 (OT) - Cary, N.C.
L, 0-2 - Winston-Salem
2006 - T, 0-0 (OT) - Germantown, Md.
L, 0-1 - Chapel Hill
2005 - W, 1-0 (OT) - Winston-Salem
2004 - L, 0-2 - Chapel Hill
2003 - L, 0-4 - Winston-Salem
Last Meeting
Junior midfielder Michael Farfan assisted on No. 2 North Carolina's first goal and scored its second to lead the Tar Heels in a 2-2 tie with No. 6 Wake Forest in a back-and-forth contest at Spry Stadium. Wake Forest scored in the 82nd minute to force overtime.
Scott Goodwin saw his first collegiate action in the contest as he came on with four minutes remaining in regulation for an injured Brooks Haggerty.
Tar Heels Sit Atop ACC Table
The Tar Heels accomplished a feat for the first time in more than 40 years last Friday when Carolina improved to 4-0 in conference play. The 12 points in 4 matches is the first for a Carolina squad. The Tar Heels had never started 4-0 in conference play.
The Tar Heels are currently three points ahead of Wake Forest at nine points, while the Demon Deacons are 3 points back with a game in hand at 3-0-0.
Second Half Success
Carolina has scored 17 goals on the year but have seen 11 find the back of the net in the second half alone. The Tar Heels netted four goals in the second half on Tuesday.
The Ever-Changing Ababio
Senior Eddie Ababio has seen his role change from year-to-year since stepping on campus. Ababio started out as a forward in his freshman season before making the transition to defense as a sophomore.
The Tampa, Fla., native played his sophomore and junior seasons in the backline and was the left back the opening two games of this season before moving back up top against NC State.
Ababio netted goals against the Wolfpack and Wofford before finding himself on the backline once again for the clash at Virginia. With Enzo Martinez moving into a forward role, Ababio moved back into his outside back position for the forseeable future.
Tough After A Loss
The Tar Heels have been resilient in bouncing back from wins over the past three seasons posting a 9-4 record following a loss since the start of the 2008 season. The Tar Heels are 6-0 following their last six losses.
2010 - 2-0
2009 - 3-0
2008 - 4-4
Non-Conference Supremacy
Since the start of the 2008 season the Tar Heels are 19-3-1 in non-conference regular season action, including a 3-2 mark this season.
The Tar Heels were a perfect 8-0-0 in non-conference action a year ago after posting an 8-1-1 mark in 2008.
Carolina opened the season with a 3-0 loss to No. 1 Akron before responding with a 4-1 win over Seton Hall. The Tar Heels stormed back for a 2-1 overtime win over Wofford Sept. 21. A 2-1 decision in favor of Old Dominion delivered Carolina its second loss of the year before the Tar Heels claimed a 5-1 win over Radford Oct. 5.
Snapping Several Streaks
Carolina's 1-0 win at Virginia Oct. 1 helped the Tar Heels snap a 16-match unbeaten streak at the Cavaliers' Klöckner Stadium. The Wahoos had posted a 15-0-1 record during the run. Carolina had not beaten Virginia in Charlottesville since 1977.
A 2-1 win over No. 5 Maryland on Sept. 24 snapped a nine-game unbeaten streak the Terps held going into the matchup.
The Tar Heels had not beaten the Terrapins since 2003, including a trio of losses in Maryland's championship season in 2008.
Farfan Earns Honors
Senior midfielder earned a trio of honors this week for his performance in the 2-1 win over Maryland on Sept. 24.
Farfan became the second straight Tar Heel to earn Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week honors after Jalil Anibaba earned the honor after the shutout against Duke.
College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer named the Wildomar, Calif., native to its National Team of the Week as well as Top Drawer Soccer's squad.
Triangle Derby Champions Yet Again
For the third straight season and just the fourth time since the national championship season of 2001, Carolina defeated both Duke and NC State in the regular season to claim the unofficial Triangle derby. The Tar Heels scored a 2-1 win over the Wolfpack Sept. 12 and followed with a 2-1 victory over the Blue Devils Sept. 18 in 2009. This season the Tar Heels took down the Wolfpack and Blue Devils by 1-0 margins.
Tar Heels Dealt A Blow
Junior forward Billy Schuler will miss the rest of the 2010 season after suffering a shoulder injury in the 4-1 win over Seton Hall on Sept. 5. Schuler collided with the Pirate goalkeeper after chasing down a long through ball.
The injury reaggravated one that Schuler suffered during the spring. The MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List member underwent surgery on Tuesday and will likely miss the 2010 campaign.
In Schuler's absence senior Eddie Ababio has returned to a familiar position shifting from left outside back to forward. The change has benefitted the Tar Heels as Ababio has notched two goals in four games. The Tampa, Fla., native scored the game winner against NC State and netted the game-tying score against Wofford on Tuesday.
Also missing this year is senior Cameron Brown who was a two-year starter for the Tar Heels in the midfield. Brown suffered an ACL tear during the summer while he was plaing in the PDL. Brown is progressing well and is expected to be in top shape come the spring season.
Goodwin Impressive In ACC Play
Sophomore goalkeeper Scott Goodwin owns a 3-0 record in ACC play this year allowing just one goal in 360 minutes of action.
Goodwin entered the year having just four games of experience under his belt after replacing an injured Brooks Haggerty for a short time midway through the 2009 season.
The Raleigh, N.C., native posted a pair of clean sheets as a freshman including a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech.
Goodwin entered the Maryland game not allowing a goal in ACC play but had his streak cut short at 368 minutes after the Terps' Matt Kassel scored in the 75th minute.
Lichaj Named To USMNT Squad
Former Tar Heel Eric Lichaj was named to the U.S. Men's National Team squad of 20 for its upcoming friendlies against Poland (Oct. 9) and Colombia (Oct. 12).
Lichaj was a defender for the Tar Heels in 2006 as a freshman before signing with English Premier League side Aston Villa.
The ACC is well represented on the squad with seven former players among the chosen 20.
Former ACC Players on USMNT
Alejandro Bedoya - Boston College
Maurice Edu - Maryland
Clarence Goodson - Maryland
Stuart Holden - Clemson
Eric Lichaj - North Carolina
Oguchi Onyewu - Clemson
Michael Parkhurst - Wake Forest
