University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 4 UNC Heads To Virginia Friday
September 22, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Tar Heels will take to the road for a third consecutive match and fourth in their last five on Friday when Carolina faces off against league foe Virginia at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va. Carolina is coming off back-to-back 1-0 road wins against Wake Forest and Wofford and will be in search of its second straight conference win on Friday.
National Rankings
The Tar Heels were pegged the No. 1 team in the country after knocking off previous No. 1 Louisville in the third match of the season before the 1-0 setback at Virginia Tech. Carolina slipped as low as No. 8 (NSCAA) after the loss but have returned to the top six in every poll after the road win at Wake Forest. The Tar Heels top out at No. 3 (TDS) and hold the No. 4 spot in the College Soccer News and Soccer America poll. Carolina is tabbed No. 6 this week by the NSCAA poll.
Virginia is ranked No. 16 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 48 and is unranked in the other polls entering the contest but is receiving votes in the NSCAA and College Soccer News rankings.
Series History
Despite winning the past two meetings, the Tar Heels trail the all-time series against the Cavaliers by a 35-32-7 margin entering Friday's contest.
The last six meetings between these two squads have all been decided by one goal with Carolina garnering the win in four of those matches.
UNC claimed a 1-0 overtime win against UVA in 2009 and used a rare corner kick goal a year ago in Charlottesville to capture the last two matches.
The win in Charlottesville in 2010 was the first for Carolina since 1977, a span of 16 matches.
Last Five Meetings
2010 - Carolina 1, at Virginia
2009 - at Carolina 1, Virginia 0 (2OT)
2008 - Virginia 1, at Carolina 0
2007 - at Virginia 2, Carolina 1
2006 - at Carolina 2, Virginia 1
Goodwin And D Turning In Clean Sheets
After allowing a goal in the first five matches of the season the Tar Heel defense has appeared to tighten up in the back as Carolina has not allowed a goal in its last two contests.
Goalkeeper Scott Goodwin registered five saves against Wake Forest and the defense held strong against Wofford as well.
The shutout streak is the longest since a string of three straight a year ago when UNC kept a clean sheet against Clemson, NC State and Boston College.
UNC leads the ACC in goals allowed at five.
Martinez Starting To Turn It On
Junior midfielder Enzo Martinez paced the Tar Heels in scoring last year by tallying 10 goals and five assists but has 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. The Rock Hill, S.C., native tallied the lone goal in the win over Wofford for his first game-winning goal of the campaign.
Up Next
The Tar Heels return home for six consecutive home matches starting on Sept. 27 when Carolina looks to avenge a loss from a year ago against Old Dominion followed by the NSCAA Game of the Week against Duke on Sept. 30 which is set to be televised on Fox Soccer.
