University of North Carolina Athletics
Heels Open Road Swing Saturday
October 12, 2012 | Men's Soccer
Heels Open Road Swing Saturday
No. 2 North Carolina opens a two-game road trip Saturday when the Tar Heels head to Mt. Pleasant, S.C., for a Saturday night battle with the College of Charleston.
The Tar Heels own a six-match winning streak and are unbeaten in their last seven.
College of Charleston enters with a 6-7-0 mark but five of the seven setbacks have come against ranked opponents this season.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for junior forward Andy Craven who began his collegiate career at College of Charleston. Craven earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors before picking up an injury early in his sophomore campaign.
During Carolina's seven-match unbeaten streak the Tar Heels are outscoring their opponents 9-1. Craven has led the scoring during the unbeaten run as he has tallied a pair of goals along with Mikey Lopez.
Lopez and fellow sophomore Body Okwuonu will miss their second straight game traveling with the U.S. U-20 side in Spain.
Road Non-Conference Foes
• Carolina will be looking to get back on track against non-conference opponents on the road Saturday.
• The Tar Heels fell, 1-0, at James Madison back on Sept. 11 when the Dukes converted a first half penalty and hung on for the upset win.
• UNC has not lost more than one non-conference road game in the same season since 2004.
• Carolina is 19-1-1 against non-conference opponents under head coach Carlos Somoano's watch the last two years.
Goals Hard To Come By
• Carolina enters Saturday's match with the lowest goals against average in the country and currently the second-lowest in a single season in NCAA history.
• The Tar Heels have surrendered just three goals all season, posting nine shutouts and a 0.24 goals against average.
• Creighton set the lowest mark in NCAA history a year ago as the Bluejays surrendered five goals for a 0.20 goals against average.
• College of Charleston has scored 12 goals in their last six games after being shutout in its previous three games.
• The Cougars have scored five goals in their last two matches, both wins.
• The Tar Heel defense seemed to be in good shape Tuesday night without sophomores Boyd Okwuonu and Mikey Lopez as Daniel Tannous and Alex Olofson filled in and Carolina dominated possession throughout.
• The Tar Heels posted their third-straight clean sheet against in the 1-0 win over Davidson.
ACC Leaders
• Carolina became just the second team in ACC history to pull off the treble last year when it won the National Championship, the ACC regular season title and ACC Tournament crown in a single year.
• The ACC regular season title was the third straight for the Tar Heels after claiming the title in 2010 and 2011, while sharing the honor with Wake Forest in 2009.
• Carolina is looking to join Virginia as the only schools in the ACC to win or share four straight ACC regular season titles.
• The Tar Heels are unbeaten in their last 12 regular season conference matches and have not suffered a loss against a league opponent since Sept. 10, 2011, a span of 15 matches.
• The 15-match ACC unbeaten streak is the longest in school history, surpassing a 13-match unbeaten string from Oct. 24, 2009 to Nov. 14, 2010.
• Carolina is currently first in the ACC with 13 points through five matches, one point clear of Maryland (through four matches) and six points clear of Boston College, Clemson and Duke.
South Carolina Connections
• Carolina will head to the Palmetto State the next two weekends as the Tar Heels faced Clemson last Friday and College of Charleston Saturday.
• Freshman Joe Amon hails from Summerville, S.C. and played club soccer with fellow freshman Nico Rittmeyer for SC United.
• Junior Andy Craven played his first two years at College of Charleston before transferring to UNC prior to the 2012 season.
• Assistant Coach Jeff Negalha played at USC Spartanburg from 1997-98.
Goodwin Cleaning Up
• Carolina has shut the door on nine shutouts to begin the year and in the process senior goalkeeper Scott Goodwin became UNC's all-time leader in career shutouts with his 29th against Virginia (Sept. 14).
• Goodwin has recorded 33 shutouts in his time between the pipes and is just the 16th goalkeeper in NCAA history to record 30 shutouts in a career.
• Goodwin and the Heels had another 300+ minute scoreless streak snapped at Duke when Riley Wolfe scored in the 59th minute.
• With the 0.24 GAA through this year, Goodwin has lowered his career GAA to 0.58 and is now the UNC career leader.
• The 0.58 career goals against average currently ranks tied for the 12th lowest mark in the NCAA history.
Taking To The Road
• Carolina dropped its road opener back on Sept. 11 in a 1-0 defeat at James Madison and will be looking to replicate last season's road success Saturday.
• The Tar Heels lost at Virginia Tech in the first road game of the year before winning three straight matches and finishing with a 5-1 record after the loss in 2011.
• Carolina has posted an 11-4-0 mark in its last 15 road games dating back to the 2010 season.
• The Tar Heels are 0-2 all-time against College of Charleston away from Chapel Hill with losses in the 1992 and 1995 seasons.
• The Cougars racked up three goals in both of the matches winning 3-1 in the 1992 meeting and 3-0 in the 1995 contest.
The Defense Is Stingy Once Again
• The Tar Heels allowed only 18 goals in 26 matches a year ago as they posted a 0.69 goals against average for the year.
• The backline lost a MLS SuperDraft First Round pick in Matt Hedges but freshman Jonathan Campbell has filled in nicely in the early going.
• Carolina has allowed only three goals through the first 12 matches for a 0.24 goals against average.
• Boston University snapped a shutout streak of 390 minutes when it pulled a goal back late in the match. The Tar Heels had not allowed a goal since a second half effort in the NCAA Semifinal draw against UCLA.
• The goal by the Terriers was the only goal scored during the run of play against the Tar Heels in 2012 before Duke provided one Sept. 28. James Madison converted a penalty for the other goal.
• The 0.24 goals against average currently leads the country.
Bouncing Back After A Loss
• Carolina suffered its first loss since Oct. 18, 2011 when James Madison converted a penalty late in the first half en route to a 1-0 win.
• After a 1-0 overtime loss at Virginia Tech in 2011, the Tar Heels went 8-0-1 before suffering their next defeat and followed up their loss at Davidson by going 14-0-2.
• The Tar Heels battled to a scoreless draw against Wake Forest before back-to-back 1-0 wins over Virginia and Wofford.
• Carolina has won six straight and are unbeaten in its last seven matches since the 1-0 loss at James Madison.
Tar Heel Duo Headed To U-20 Marbella Cup
• Sophomores Mikey Lopez and Boyd Okwuonu were named to the U.S. U-20 MNT for its upcoming trip to Marbella, Spain, Oct. 6-17.
• The duo were part of a 19-member team announced by head coach Tab Ramos Monday afternoon.
• Lopez and Okwuonu have been a part of nearly every U-20 training camp the past year and were members of the U.S. squad at the Milk Cup in Scotland held in late July.
• The U.S. side will take on Canada, Scotland and Azerbaijan in friendlies at the Marbella Cup, set to be held Oct. 6-17.
• The U.S. will open play Oct. 10 against Canada at 11:30 a.m. ET before facing Scotland on Oct. 12 at 9:30 a.m. ET. The competition will conclude Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. ET when the U.S. faces Azerbaijan.
• The Marbella Cup is one of several competitions before the 2013 U-20 World Cup set for June 21 - July 13, 2013 in Turkey.
