University of North Carolina Athletics
From Fetzer To Finley: Excellence On The Pitch
December 3, 2014 | Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Dave Lohse, Featured Writers
Associate Athletic Communications Director
The coming weekend is a big one in the world of college soccer. Here in Chapel Hill, we will be focusing on the goings on in Westwood on Saturday night where our upset-minded men's team takes on second-seeded UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinals. A spot in the College Cup in Cary awaits the winner the following Friday night.
Meanwhile, down the Eastern Seaboard, the women's College Cup will be contested in Boca Raton, Fla., at Florida Atlantic University. Favored UCLA is not in that four-team field. The Bruins, who won a year ago, went through the regular season without a loss (although they did tie Carolina), before being upended by arguably the best Virginia team in history 2-1 in the quarterfinals in Los Angeles last Friday.
With UCLA's loss, the parity in the women's college game becomes even more evident. The Bruins, who started nine seniors in their quarterfinal match, seemed like a good bet to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Carolina did so in 2008 and 2009. Instead, there is a 75 percent chance the women's game will have a first-time winner. Virginia, Florida State and Texas A&M are all seeking their initial championship. Stanford, which won in 2011, is in search of its second.
For Carolina, the season ended a little soon. But that hardly means the Tar Heels had an ordinary season. In fact, given the obstacles, Carolina overachieved, a word head coach Anson Dorrance used without qualification late in the season. UNC lost six senior starters from last year's 20-5 unit, all of whom went on to play professional soccer. The Tar Heels already knew they would be rebuilding. Then, over the course of the spring, summer and fall, four other players expected to start on this team went down with injuries that sidelined them for the season. Three, unfortunately, were seniors and won't have another shot at playing collegiate soccer.
But Dorrance and his young charges did not lament. After starting the season 1-2-1 against a brutal schedule, Carolina went the months of September and October without losing, with only a tie against second-ranked Florida State marring its otherwise perfect record. The Tar Heels and the Seminoles shared the ACC regular season crown at 9-0-1. It was UNC's first regular-season title since 2010 and its first ACC season without a loss since 2008.
November was not as kind to the Tar Heels. An ACC Tournament semifinal loss to Virginia was certainly no shame. But in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels came out flat as a pancake. They surrendered an early goal to South Carolina and for 70 minutes the Gamecocks had their way at Fetzer Field. A flip switched with 20 minutes to go and the Tar Heels poured the pressure on in pursuit of an equalizer. It didn't happen. It's certainly a game the Tar Heels would like to have back, but with a team as young as Carolina it was not a complete shock in a matchup of No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams in a tournament bracket.
The Tar Heels have a lot to look forward to in 2015. Seven seniors depart but at the end of the year defender Satara Murray was the only starter in that group. The Heels return 10 starters, add a recruiting class with a lot of potential and have a long bench that Dorrance used liberally in 2014 and that will continue to fight for its minutes a season hence.
On the men's side, Carolina would like nothing better than to avenge a 1-0 loss to UCLA that happened way back on August 31 at Fetzer Field. It would be no surprise if Saturday night's game at Westwood were equally close. Despite having to make the cross-country trip and being the lower seeded team, the Tar Heels should not be counted out in any way.
Carolina's route to this point of the season is a bit odd, however. It entered October 5-4 and on a three-match losing streak. But Carolina went 7-0-1 over its next eight matches and was one of the hottest teams entering the post-season. A 1-0 loss to Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals apparently tarnished the Tar Heel resume in the eyes of the NCAA committee. When the bids were announced a week later, UNC found itself unseeded.
The Tar Heels then knew they would have to hit the road for most of their NCAA Tournament journey. After dispatching James Madison 6-0 in the first round at Fetzer Field, the Tar Heels traveled to Charlotte for the second round where they dispatched the 10th-seeded 49ers 2-1 behind a pair of nifty goals off the right foot of senior Tyler Engel.
A week later, UNC headed to Clemson to face the seventh-seeded Tigers before a sellout crowd of 4,241 fans. UNC never flinched in that atmosphere. Senior Rob Lovejoy headed home a goal off an Omar Holness corner kick in the first half and then with the scored tied 1-1, he scored a world class goal on a brilliant individual effort to give the Tar Heels the lead with the clock clicking under 20 minutes. As stellar as Lovejoy was, senior goalkeeper Brendan Moore was even better. He made seven saves, most of the highlight reel variety, and conceded a goal only on a penalty kick, which he got a piece of.
Fingers now crossed for this weekend, Tar Heel fans of action on the pitch can certainly be proud of both of their teams this fall. The men are in the quarterfinals for the seventh time in eight years and odds are that squad does not want the season to end yet for a significant contingent of outstanding seniors.
The women will have to watch the College Cup. There's nothing fun in that. But the future is bright indeed. The big question in Boca Raton may be whether Virginia or Florida State can become the first ACC team other than UNC to lift the national championship trophy. Texas A&M and Stanford stand in their way.
