University of North Carolina Athletics
Game Of The Week: #3 UNC vs. #2 Notre Dame
September 17, 2015 | Men's Soccer
MATCH INFORMATION
Venue: Fetzer Field
Date: Friday, Sept. 18
Kick: 5 p.m.
Broadcast: ESPNU/WatchESPN
FAMILY FRIDAY
A family of four can purchase four tickets for only $10 for the match against Notre Dame. This promotion will run during every Friday home game of the 2015 season.
TAR HEEL FUTBOL WEEKEND
Bring your Illinois (Sept. 19) football game ticket and receive a $3 ticket.
AUTOGRAPHS
The junior class will be signing autographs on the track after the match.
Go out and kick it with #3 @UNCmenssoccer at Fetzer tomorrow when #UNCXI take on #2 Notre Dame at 5pm. Get hyped https://t.co/bw0WyLmFEt
— GoHeelsTV (@GoHeelsTV) September 17, 2015
NATIONAL RANKINGS
North Carolina checks in third this week according to all four major soccer polls - NSCAA, Top Drawer Soccer, Soccer America and College Soccer News. Notre Dame is second in all four polls this week.
ONE VICTORY SHY OF 700...
Carolina's next victory will be its 700th in program history dating back to 1953. The Tar Heels own a 699-316-99 all-time record.
EARLY GOALS, AND OFTEN
Six of the nine goals scored by Carolina this season have come in the first half, but more specifically they've come in the late stages of the opening 45. Three goals have been tallied in the last four minutes of the first half, including back-to-back games that came in the last five seconds against Santa Clara and William & Mary.
SCORING LEADERS
Raby George leads the team with six points on three goals. Reserve forward Tucker Hume is second with five points on two goals and one assist. Zach Wright has two goals and four points, while Andy Lopez and Jonathan Campbell have three points on one goal and one assist each.
SALAS CALLED TO U-20 NATIONAL TEAM
Freshman Martin Salas was recently named to the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team for a tournament in Serbia. Salas started for the U.S. on Sept. 3 against Serbia, and then came off the bench in the match against France the next day. He was back in the starting XI against Israel on Sept. 7, playing 45 minutes.
PYLE “ING” UP THE SHUTOUTS
James Pyle has three clean sheets in his red-shirt freshman campaign. He recorded shutouts in the opening weekend of the season against FIU and Tulsa. Pyle earned his third shutout last Friday, a 2-0 win at Virginia Tech. Pyle has a twin brother, William, who is a sophomore keeper at South Carolina.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
Jonathan Campbell and Omar Holness were named to the Top Drawer Soccer preseason Best XI teams. Campbell was selected on the second team, while Holness to its third team. College Soccer News also named Holness to its All-America third team.
LONE “TAR” STATE
It's no secret that North Carolina has had the good fortune of recruiting players from the state of Texas. This season alone the roster has eight players that hail from the Lone Star State. Since 2008, 15 native Texans have competed for the Tar Heels.
In MLS, FC Dallas boasts four former UNC student-athletes (Danny Garcia, Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd and assistant coach Marco Ferruzzi). Houston Dynamo has Tyler Deric, Rob Lovejoy and Sheanon Williams on its roster.
COMSIA STARTS FROM THE JUMP
Freshman central defender Alex Comsia has started all five matches in his first season at Carolina. The dual citizen of Canada and France has competed for both home countries on the international stage. Most recently he played for Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games, starting the match vs. Brazil. At the age of 18, he was the second youngest member of the U23 team.
HOLNESS CALLED TO JAMAICAN NATIONAL TEAM
Junior Omar Holness had the good fortune of being called to the Jamaican National Team over the summer for the 2015 Gold Cup. He was in uniform for wins over Haiti in the quarterfinals and the United States in the semifinals, and in the championship match won by Mexico.
MATURE MIDFIELDERS
Starting midfielders Raby George, Jordan McCrary and Alex Olfoson have 191 combined starts for North Carolina in their collegiate careers. McCrary has started all 71 games in his career, while George has 69 to his name. Olofson has made 51 starts for the Tar Heels.
NEXT WEEK
Carolina hosts a rare Monday match against North Florida at 7 p.m. The Tar Heels also welcome Duke to Chapel Hill next Friday at 7 p.m. Both games will be carried on GoHeelsTV.
