Carolina Faces UCLA Friday In NCAA College Cup

December 6, 2011 | Men's Soccer

By: UNC Athletic Communications

Dec. 6, 2011

News And Notes
• Top seeded North Carolina will open the NCAA College Cup Friday, Dec. 9 at 8:30 p.m. ET against another traditional soccer power in the UCLA Bruins.
• The Tar Heels enter on a 10-match unbeaten streak that last nine of which have been of the win variety.
• Carolina has outscored its opponents 22-4 over the stretch with six shutouts.
• MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist Billy Schuler has been on a roll the last five weeks of the season as the junior forward has tallied 13 points in his last eight matches on five goals and three assists. Three of Schuler's five goals during the stretch have been overtime game winners.
• The Tar Heels along with Charlotte will enter with the youngest starting lineups of the four remaining teams. UNC had five seniors in the starting XI a year ago and just two this season.
• Senior Kirk Urso will be making his fourth straight appearance in the NCAA College Cup after coming off the bench as freshman in 2008 and starting the last three seasons. Urso will become Carolina's career leader in matches played on Friday.
• Junior goalkeeper Scott Goodwin is the first goalkeeper in school history to post back-to-back sub-0.70 goals against averages and currently holds the lowest career GAA at 0.64.
• North Carolina is the seventh school in NCAA history to reach four straight NCAA College Cups, five of the previous six claimed a national championship during their streaks.

National Rankings
• The Tar Heels earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history as the 2000 team was also the top overall seed.
• UNC opened the tournament ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls as Top Drawer Soccer had Carolina ranked the second-best team in the country before moving up to No. 1 this week. Soccer America tabbed the Tar Heels No. 2 in the final regular season poll.
• Carolina checks in at No. 3 in both the NSCAA and the College Soccer News rankings.
• UCLA enters the Quarterfinal showdown ranked No. 4 in all of the major polls.
• Top Drawer Soccer has the Bruins No. 3 among the remaining four teams in the tournament.

Probable Starters

Pos.	No.	Player	Cl.	G	A
F	25	Rob Lovejoy	So.	6	5
F	10	Billy Schuler	RJr.	15	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.	0.68	45

How We Got Here
• After earning a bye in the first round, the Tar Heels took on possibly the top offensive team in the country in the second round as UNC downed Coastal Carolina, 3-2, after finding the back of the net three times in the final 45 minutes.
• The third round saw the Tar Heels grind out a 1-0 overtime win over 16-seed Indiana as junior Billy Schuler finished off a free ball in the 97th minute.
• Carolina used goals from Matt Hedges and Ben Speas to advance to the College Cup with a 2-0 win over Saint Mary's on Saturday.

Series History
• The matchup will be the third ever between the Tar Heels and Bruins and first in the postseason.
• UCLA made the cross-country trip to open the 2008 seasons to take part in Wake Forest's adidas Classic in Winston-Salem, N.C. where the teams battled to a 1-1 tie.
• Kirk Urso tallied his first career goal against the Bruins in 2008, Billy Schuler also played for the Tar Heels in the draw.
• The only other meeting between the teams came in 1993 when the Tar Heels traveled to Fullerton, Calif. and fell 5-3 to the Bruins at the Chiquita Invitational.
• UNC is 2-2-1 all-time against Pac-12 opponents (0-1-1 vs. UCLA; 0-1-0 vs. Washington; 1-0-0 vs. Stanford; 1-0-0 vs. Oregon State)

Series History
1993 - UCLA 5, North Carolina 3
Fullerton, Calif.

2008 - North Carolina 1, UCLA 1
Winston-Salem, N.C.

Common Opponents
• Carolina and UCLA have done battle with three common opponents this year as both teams have played against Louisville, Saint Mary's and Oregon State.
• UNC is 3-0-0 against the squads, while UCLA is 4-1-0 against similar opponents.

UNC	Opponent	UCLA
W, 5-1 (H)	Oregon State	W, 2-1 (A); W, 1-0 (2OT) (H)
W, 2-1 (H)	Louisville	L, 2-0 (A); W, 1-0 (OT) (A)
W, 2-0 (H)	Saint Mary's	W, 2-1 (H)

Tournament Time
• Carolina is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and its 12th in the last 13 years.
• 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 27-16-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament action and 10-2-4 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 with its 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina in the second round.
• UNC's 27 tournament wins ranks 13th in NCAA history.

Tar Heels In Search Of The Treble
• Carolina is looking to become the first ACC team since 1995 to claim the ACC regular season, ACC tournament and NCAA titles in the same year. Virginia is the only team to accomplish the feat having pulled off the treble in 1991, 1992 and 1995.
• 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 20-2-2 mark so far.
• Somoano could become the second coach in NCAA history to win a national title his first year as a head coach if the Tar Heels lift the trophy. Indiana's Mike Freitag was the last first year head coach to win a national title in 2004.
• For his efforts Somoano was named the ACC Coach of the Year 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.
• Somoano became the third coach in NCAA history to register at least 20 wins in his first year as a head coach as he joined Chuck Clegg (1982) of San Diego State and Mitch Murray (1991) of Santa Clara as the only coaches to accomplish the feat.
• Carolina's 20 wins in 2011 are the most for a UNC head coach in his first year:

UNC Head Coach First Year Records
Carlos Somoano - 20-2-2, 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

Captain Kirk Leaving His Mark
• Senior captain Kirk Urso will pass Eddie Ababio's (2006-10) matches played record on Friday as Urso will take the pitch in Carolina blue for the 90th time in his career.
• Urso has found the back of the net 15 times during his career, while dishing out 24 assists over his four years on campus.
• One more assist for Urso would put him in the career top 10 assist list at UNC.
• Urso will be the first player since Wake Forest's Zack Schilawski to appear in four straight NCAA College Cups. Schilawski and the Demon Deacons reached the College Cup from 2006-09.

Martinez, Schuler Named MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
• Carolina juniors Enzo Martinez and Billy Schuler were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinal list on Sunday after leading the Tar Heels into the NCAA College Cup.
• Of the 15 semifinalists North Carolina and Creighton both placed two members on the list.
• Schuler leads the Tar Heels in goals scored (15) and points (35), while Martinez has distributed 10 assists, while finding the back of the net nine times.

MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalists
Ashton Bennett, F, Jr., Coastal Carolina
Dom Dwyer, F, Jr., South Florida
Ethan Finlay, F, Sr., Creighton
Evans Frimpong, F, Sr., Delaware
Chandler Hoffman, F, Jr., UCLA
Brian Holt, GK, Sr., Creighton
Enzo Martinez, M, Jr., North Carolina
Darren Mattocks, F, So., Akron
Billy Schuler, F, Jr., North Carolina
Mark Sherrod, F, So., Memphis
Luis Silva, M, Sr., UC Santa Barbara
Yannick Smith, F, Jr., Old Dominion
Casey Townsend, F, Sr., Maryland
Andrew Wenger, F, Jr., Duke
Gyasi Zardes, CS Bakersfield

Different Group This Time Around
• This may be Carolina's fourth straight trip to the NCAA College Cup but of the 11 starters in the College Cup a year ago only Scott Goodwin, Enzo Martinez and Kirk Urso are starting for the Tar Heels in 2011.
• The 2010 squad featured five seniors in the starting lineup and a junior in Alex Dixon who all went on to sign contracts with Major League Soccer.
• The Tar Heels feature the youngest starting lineup among the teams remaining in the College Cup as they average 2.55 years per starter. Charlotte also has a 2.55 years per starter, while UCLA owns the oldest starting group at 3.09. Creighton is right behind the Bruins at 3.0 years per starter.
• Carolina has a good mix of experienced upper classmen in Kirk Urso, Billy Schuler, Enzo Martinez, Jordan Gafa and Scott Goodwin mixed with veteran transfers in Matt Hedges and Ben Speas along with talented freshmen in Mikey Lopez, Boyd Okwuonu and Jordan McCrary.

Second Half Scoring Outburst
• Carolina has outscored its opponents 55-16 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 38 goals after the halftime whistle in 2011, while allowing just eight scores.
• The 38 second half goals are more than the season goal totals for 181 schools and would rank among the top 20 in the country.
• Carolina has found the back of the net after the halftime whistle in 21 of 24 matches this season.
• The Tar Heels are 20-0-2 when scoring at least one goal this season.

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 four of the last seven games.
• The Allentown, N.J., native leads the Tar Heels with 15 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 11th in total goals and 18th in goals per game.
• Schuler was named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist on Sunday, he is one of 15 semifinalists for the top award in college soccer.
• Schuler has scored 28 career goals and is one goal shy of entering the top eight 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.
• Schuler has provided eight game winning goals for the Tar Heels this season, three of which have come in golden goal fashion as he dispatched NC State, Virginia and Indiana with overtime game winners.
• The 35 points that Schuler has accumulated is the most since Ryan Kneipper tallied 45 during the 2002 season.

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, Billy Schuler, 2011

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 26-match unbeaten streak dating back to the opening game of the 2010 season which is currently the longest active streak in the country.
• Fetzer Field has seen 13 wins and two draws this year in favor of the Tar Heels who have won five straight at home after a 1-1 draw with Maryland, Oct. 21.
• The longest home unbeaten streak in NCAA history was snapped this year as Akron had its streak end against Michigan State after 48 straight.

Longest Active Home Unbeaten Streaks
1. North Carolina - 26
2. Connecticut - 25
3. Creighton - 15
4. Charlotte - 12
5. James Madison, Iona, Duquesne - 11

Tar Heels Dominate ACC Awards
• The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the 2011 season honors on Thursday and several Tar Heels were among the honorees.
• Senior defender Matt Hedges was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for his part in helping the Tar Heels allow a league-low 13 goals. Hedges becomes the first Tar Heel to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors since the inception of the award in 2004.
• Freshman midfielder Mikey Lopez becomes the first Tar Heel since Jamie Watson in 2003 to capture ACC Freshman of the Year honors. Lopez wreaked havoc in the midfield for the Tar Heels as he found the back of the net three times and added three assists.
• Carolina nearly swept all of the awards as head coach Carlos Somoano was named ACC Coach of the Year as well.
• Four Tar Heels were named to the All-ACC First Team as Hedges was joined by goalkeeper Scott Goodwin, midfielder Enzo Martinez and redshirt junior forward Billy Schuler. The award was Schuler's second of his career after earning first team honors in 2009.
• Senior midfielder Kirk Urso earned second team honors, while Lopez was joined on the All-Freshman Team by defenders Boyd Okwuonu and Jordan McCrary.

Defense Keeping Shots To A Minimum
• The Tar Heels have out shot their opponent in 22 of 24 matches on the season. UNC has outshot its opponents by an average of more than three shots per contest and hold a 450-203 shot advantage on the year.
• Carolina is averaging 18.8 shots per contest while allowing 8.5 shots per contest.
• Due to the Tar Heels controlling possession style, opponents have had trouble finding shot opportunities.
• After allowing a goal in the first five matches of the season the Tar Heel defense tightened up in the back as Carolina did not allow a goal over a four-match stretch from Sept. 16-27.
• The shutout streak equaled the longest since a string of four straight in 2006 when the Tar Heels shut out William & Mary, UCF, Ohio State and Penn State to open the season.
• The 2005 team holds the school record for consecutive shutouts when the squad turned in eight straight clean sheets.
• UNC leads the ACC in goals allowed at 16 and 0.67 per contest.
• Goalkeeper Scott Goodwin posted the fifth-longest shutout streak in school history during the shutout run.

UNC's Longest Individual Shutout Streak
841:22 - Justin Hughes, 2005
685:03 - Kevin Kane, 1978
648:24 - Watson Jennison, 1992
501:33 - Michael Ueltschey, 2001
436:44 - Scott Goodwin, 2011

• A big reason for the shutouts and low GAA has been the play of the defense in front of Goodwin who has managed to keep shots from getting through to the target.
• Opponents have managed to get 2.75 shots per contest on target this season and have been held to 0 shots on goal five times this season.

Martinez Continues To Impress
• Junior midfielder Enzo Martinez paced the Tar Heels in scoring last year by tallying 10 goals and five assists but had taken more of a distributor position in 2011 dishing out three assists in the first four games before erupting against James Madison.
• Martinez found the back of the net two times against the Dukes while adding an assist and kept the streak going this past week tallying two goals and two assists.
• The Rock Hill, S.C., native tallied the lone goal in the win over Wofford for his first game-winning goal of the campaign and had a foot in all three goals in the win at Virginia, picking up a goal and two assists in the win.
• For his efforts Martinez was named to the College Soccer News National Team Of The Week.
• Martinez has dished out a team-high 10 assists on the season which ranks seventh in the country.
• Martinez has tallied either a goal or an assist in 13 of 23 matches this year and became the first Tar Heel since Matt Crawford dished out 16 assists in 2002 to reach double figures in helpers.
• Martinez found the back of the net in the 69th minute to propel UNC to the third round of the NCAA Tournament as he tallied his ninth goal of the season. He is one goal shy of becoming the first Tar Heel since 2000 to record double digits in goals and assists.
• Martinez was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist list on Sunday for his efforts this season. The 15 semifinalists will be trimmed down to three on Friday, Dec. 9.

Plenty Of New Faces
• After losing six players to professional contracts with Major League Soccer, Carolina has eight new faces in the starting lineup.
• With an injury to senior defender Andrew McKinney the backline has four new starters as senior transfer Matt Hedges leads the group in the middle. Junior Jordan Gafa has filled in for McKinney, while the freshmen duo of Boyd Okwuonu and Jordan McCrary have stepped right into ACC action.
• Freshman playmaker Mikey Lopez has moved into a starting role in the midfield with Kirk Urso and Enzo Martinez and all three forwards are new starters. Billy Schuler only played two games a year ago before getting injured and is joined by sophomore Rob Lovejoy and junior transfer Ben Speas.
• Nine Tar Heel newcomers have taken the pitch for Carolina in 2011.