University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Soccer Began 2014 Season on Tuesday
August 12, 2014 | Men's Soccer
With the summer break having come to a close, fourth-year head coach Carlos Somoano is happy to get back on the field with his squad.
"It's always an exciting time of year," said Somoano. "I know the guys are excited, but they need to stay focused and take one practice at a time right now.
"The first couple days will hopefully answer some questions on how were going to line things up at certain positions."
The staff put their 35-man roster through a rigorous two-hour practice on the Hooker Fields. The club has training sessions continuing all week in preparation for its first exhibition match that takes place Friday at 7 p.m., against Gardner-Webb at Fetzer Field.
"As anxious as all of us have been to get back, we need to stay focused on the day-to-day training sessions," added Somoano. "We have a great group of guys. That's the bottom line and I'm excited to be back on the field with them."
Team captain and All-America defender Boyd Okwuounu echoed similar thoughts as his senior season kicked off officially on Tuesday.
"It's great to be back. It's good to have the family back together and to see their faces again. We're hungry for this year, out to improve from last year.
"Our goal obviously is to win everything and be the best of everything, and I think we have a good opportunity to do that."
Friday's exhibition is free to attend, as is Monday's exhibition with the Carolina Railhawks on Monday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.
After practice, Coach Somoano accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge that came from University of Denver head coach Bobby Muuss. In response, Somoano challenged three others: Tar Heel assistant coach Grant Porter, former UNC assistant and current Orlando City academy coach Jeff Negalha and Carolina senior defender C.J. Odenigwe.
