High-Flying Heels Visit UNCW On Friday

No. 4 North Carolina hits the road to face UNCW on Friday night at 7 p.m., from UNCW Soccer Stadium. Both clubs enter the match with identical 2-0 records after registering a pair of victories last weekend to open the 2017 season.

BROADCAST
The match will be carried live on Seahawk Digital Network at UNCWSports.com.

FAMILIAR FOES
This is the fifth year in a row the two in-state rivals have squared off going back to 2013. The Tar Heels have won each of the last two meetings, both coming at home in 2015 and 2016. UNCW ended up on top, 4-3, in the last contest held in Wilmington in 2014.

HIGH FLYING HEELS
Carolina enters the second week of the regular season tied with Evansville for the NCAA lead with 10 team goals. That goal figure represents the most scored by UNC in the first two games of a season since notching 11 back in 2001. The Tar Heels would later win their first NCAA title later that fall.

PIETERS NAMED ACC CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jelani Pieters was named ACC Men's Soccer Co-Offensive Players of the Week on Monday. Pieters scored three goals and assisted on another goal during a weekend sweep of No. 12 Providence and Rutgers to open the 2017 campaign.

He opened his scoring account on Friday against the Friars with his first collegiate goal that also turned out to be the game winner for the Tar Heels. The redshirt sophomore added two more goals and an assist, and was dragged down in the box that resulted in a converted penalty against Rutgers on Sunday.

In all, the Oswego, Illinois, native played a direct hand in five of the 10 goals scored by Carolina in the two matches.

ACC PRESEASON FAVORITES
North Carolina is the ACC preseason favorite to win the league championship, according to a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. The Tar Heels were named by five coaches as this year's team to beat for the ACC Championship. Wake Forest received three votes, followed by Clemson with two. Notre Dame and Virginia each received one vote.

#UNCXI NEWS & NOTES
• Senior Zach Wright delivered three assists last weekend, increasing his career total to 20 in his four-year career. That number ranks fifth most among active players in Division I men's soccer.
• James Pyle has 19 clean sheets in his career, and owns a 27-4-6 career record between the pipes.
• Carolina featured seven different goal scorers last weekend in a pair of dominating victories over No. 12 Providence and Rutgers.
• UNC is 93-5-4 when scoring the first goal of a match going back to 2010.
• The Tar Heels have suffered back-to-back losses on only two occasions since late in the 2008 season.

SERIES WITH UNCW
Carolina owns a 10-4-2 edge in the all-time series with the Seahawks. Last season, Nico Melo's second-half goal lifted No. 4 North Carolina over 20th-ranked UNCW on Tuesday, October 4 in Chapel Hill.

NEXT UP
Carolina remains on the road with a date at UNCG on Monday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. The match will be carried live on ESPN3.

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Players Mentioned

Nico Melo

Jelani Pieters

James Pyle

Zach Wright

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