University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Faces Indiana Sunday In NCAA Third Round
November 25, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 25, 2011
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News And Notes
• No. 1 North Carolina will continue its drive toward a fourth-straight NCAA College Cup appearance on Sunday when the Tar Heels host No. 16 Indiana in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina is coming off a thrilling 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina last Sunday which saw the Tar Heels come back from a pair of one-goal deficits to claim its seventh straight win.
• The Tar Heels pulled off the ACC double for the first time in school history and the eighth time a league team accomplished the feat by winning the regular season and tournament titles.
• The Tar Heels enter on an eight-match unbeaten streak and have won their last seven times out.
• Junior forward Ben Speas has turned his game up a notch in the postseason as he has scored three goals in the last two matches, including a brace against Boston College in the ACC Final en route to ACC MVP honors.
• Junior midfielder Enzo Martinez tallied his ninth goal of the season last Sunday vs. Coastal Carolina and is now one goal shy of becoming the first Tar Heel since 2000 to record double digits in goals and assists.
• Billy Schuler is one goal shy of joining the top 10 single season goal scorers in school history. Schuler has 14 goals this year and 27 for his career.
National Rankings
• The Tar Heels earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
• UNC opened the tournament ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls as Top Drawer Soccer has Carolina ranked the second-best team in the country. Soccer America has also tabbed the Tar Heels No. 2 in this week's poll.
• Carolina checks in at No. 3 in both the NSCAA Coaches Poll and the College Soccer News rankings.
• Indiana earned the No. 16 seed in the tournament after a 12-3-5 pre-tournament record.
• The Hoosiers were tabbed No. 11 by Soccer America and No. 13 by College Soccer News, while earning a No. 9 ranking from NSCAA.
• Top Drawer Soccer has the Hoosiers No. 10 among the remaining 16 teams in the tournament.
Series History
• The matchup will be the fifth overall between the Tar Heels and Hoosiers and fourth straight in the NCAA Tournament.
• Carolina holds a 3-2-0 advantage over Indiana having won the last two meetings, a 1-0 win in the third round in 2009 and the NCAA title showdown in 2001 when the Tar Heels claimed the national title with a 2-0 win.
Series History
2009 - at North Carolina 1, Indiana 0
NCAA Third Round - Chapel Hill, N.C.
2001 - North Carolina 2, Indiana 0
NCAA Championship - Columbus, Ohio
2000 - Indiana 1, at North Carolina 0
NCAA Third Round - Chapel Hill, N.C.
1994 - North Carolina 2, at Indiana 1
1988 - at Indiana 2, North Carolina 0
Probable Starters
| Pos. | No. | Player | Cl. | G | A |
| F | 25 | Rob Lovejoy | So. | 6 | 5 |
| F | 10 | Billy Schuler | RJr. | 14 | 4 |
| F | 17 | Ben Speas | Jr. | 5 | 9 |
| M | 5 | Mikey Lopez | Fr. | 3 | 4 |
| M | 3 | Kirk Urso | Sr. | 3 | 6 |
| M | 16 | Enzo Martinez | Jr. | 9 | 10 |
| D | 14 | Jordan Gafa | Jr. | 2 | 2 |
| D | 4 | Boyd Okwuonu | Fr. | 0 | 1 |
| D | 6 | Matt Hedges | Sr. | 5 | 1 |
| D | 9 | Jordan McCrary | Fr. | 0 | 1 |
| No. | Goalkeeper | Cl. | GAA | SV | |
| GK | 1 | Scott Goodwin | Jr. | 0.71 | 45 |
Tournament Time
• Carolina will be making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and its 12th in the last 13 years when the Tar Heels open up Sunday vs. Coastal Carolina.
• The Tar Heels have advanced to three-straight NCAA College Cups, reaching the final in 2008 and the semifinals in 2009 and 2010.
• UNC is 25-16-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament action and 8-2-4 over the last four seasons.
• Carolina claimed its 25th NCAA Tournament win and became the 15th team in NCAA history to reach the 25-win plateau. Indiana leads with 78 all-time wins.
Home Cooking
• Carolina earned home-field advantage throughout the NCAA Tournament with a 17-2-2 pre-tournament record and have been one of the top teams in the country at home over the last two seasons.
• The Tar Heels hold a 24-match unbeaten streak dating back to the opening game of the 2010 season.
• Fetzer Field has seen 11 wins and two draws this year in favor of the Tar Heels who have won three straight at home after a 1-1 draw with Maryland, Oct. 21.
A Double For The Tar Heels
• Carolina posted a 5-1-2 league mark and were unbeaten in its last seven matches to finish atop the table in the ACC for a third consecutive year in 2011.
• The Tar Heels finished with 17 points, two ahead of runner-up Maryland, after posting an undefeated record a year ago. Carolina finished in a tie with Wake Forest for the regular season title in 2009.
• After being upset at Virginia Tech in the ACC opener the Tar Heels rolled off back-to-back wins at Wake Forest and Virginia before drawing against Duke. Following a 2-0 win over Clemson the Tar Heels drew Maryland before closing with an overtime win against rival NC State and a 2-0 rout at Boston College.
• The Tar Heels would go on to win the ACC Tournament crown as well, outscoring its opponents 8-1 over the week en route to the title.
Somoano Leaves Mark In First Season
• Head Coach Carlos Somoano has made an impressive debut in his first season as the Tar Heel head coach leading the Tar Heels to a 18-2-2 mark so far.
• For his efforts Somoano was named the ACC Coach of the Year Thursday joining former Tar Heel head men Marvin Allen, Anson Dorrance and Elmar Bolowich.
• Somoano became just the second coach in ACC history to earn Coach of the Year honors in his first year, joining former Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance.
• Carolina's 18 wins in 2011 are the most for a UNC head coach in his first year:
UNC Head Coach First Year Records
Carlos Somoano - 18-2-2, 2011
Anson Dorrance - 14-3-1, 1977
Elmar Bolowich - 9-9-1, 1989
Marvin Allen - 6-3-0, 1947
Alan Moore - 4-4-1, 1951
Second Half Scoring Outburst
• Carolina has outscored its opponents 52-16 on the year but have only managed to post a 17-7 advantage in the first half this season.
• The Tar Heels have scored a remarkable 35 goals in the second half in 2011, while allowing just eight scores after the halftime whistle.
• The 35 second half goals are more than the season goal totals for 170 schools and would rank among the top 30 in the country.
Schuler Rounding Into Form
• Redshirt junior forward Billy Schuler has turned his play up a notch in the final weeks of the season as he found the back of the net in three of the last five games.
• Schuler sat out the ACC Quarterfinal win over NC State due to a leg injury suffered in training but will be back to full strength for the NCAA Tournament.
• The Allentown, N.J., native leads the Tar Heels with 14 goals on the season and has set a personal single-season record having reached double figures in goals scored.
• Schuler ranks among the top 15 goal scorers in the country as he entered the week 12th in total goals and 18th in goals per game.
• Schuler has scored 27 career goals and is one goal shy of entering the top 10 in school history despite only playing three full seasons for the Tar Heels.
• A shoulder injury in the second game of the season ended Schuler's 2010 year but after off-season surgery the forward entered 2011 healthy.
UNC Single Season Goals Leaders
25 - Chris Carrieri, 2000
20 - Derek Missimo, 1989
18 - Ryan Kniepper, 2002
16 - Josh Ghanim, 1959; Louis Bush, 1967; Shawn Ritchie, 1983; Temoc Suarez, 1993-94
15 - Marc Devey, 1983, Caleb Norkus, 2000
14 - Donald Cogsville, 1988, Todd Haskins, 1993; Ryan Kniepper, 2001; Brian Shriver 2008; Billy Schuler, 2011
