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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina Hosts James Madison in 2nd Round Of NCAA Championship Sunday
November 16, 2018 | Men's Soccer
Heels Face JMU In Second Round Of NCAA Championship
• No. 6 North Carolina will face off against James Madison in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. ET in Cary, N.C. at WakeMed Soccer Park.
• This will be the 8th meeting between the two schools as UNC holds the 4-3 advantage to date. The last time the schools met was in 2017 when the Heels won with a commanding 6-0 victory as Gio Montesdeoca scored a brace in a 5 minute span to end the game.
• In the NCAA Championship, UNC and JMU have split its two previous meetings with a UNC 6-0 win in 2014 and a JMU 3-0 win in 1994. Both previous matchups in the NCAA Championship were in the first round.
• The Heels are 18-7 all-time in their first game of the NCAA Championship dating back to 1968.
• Head coach Carlos Somoano has won at least one NCAA Championship game in each of his first 7 seasons and is 19-2-3 in his first 7 seasons in Chapel Hill.
Three-Peat
• The Tar Heels are looking to make it three consecutive trips to the Men's College Cup for the first time since the program went four straight years from 2008-2011.
Veteran Core For Postseason Run
• The Tar Heels return 8 players from last years NCAA College Cup team that played at least 1,000 minutes, including Alex Comsia, Mauricio Pineda and John Nelson who all finished top 3 in minutes played last year.
• 9 players on UNC's roster have played at least 4 NCAA Championship games and played in at least one NCAA Men's College Cup.
Six Tar heels Named To All-ACC Teams
• Led by Defender of the Year Alex Comsia, North Carolina had six players named to the 2018 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. North Carolina led all schools with four players named to the All-ACC First Team and tied a school record with the 2011 National Champion Tar Heels for most players selected to the first team in program history.
• Nils Bruening, James Pyle, Mauricio Pineda and Comsia were named to the 1st team.
• John Nelson was named to the 2nd team and Jack Skahan to the 3rd team.
Carolina Claims 4th Straight Coastal Title
• With UNC's 1-0 win over rival Duke on Tuesday, Oct. 23, the Tar Heels claimed their 4th consecutive Coastal Division title.
• The Heels have won 4 of the 5 Coastal Division's since the ACC adopted divisions in 2014.
Tar Heels Defense Best In the Country
• The Tar Heels have one of the best defenses in the country this season. Nationally, UNC is Tied for 1st in goals against average (GAA) at 0.430 goals allowed per game only conceding 8 times all year.
• In ACC play, the Tar Heels lead the ACC in goals against average (0.41) having only conceded three goals during ACC play. They are also first in overall goals allowed in conference play with 3.
• The Heels are tied for the 7th best shutout percentage in the country at 0.625.
• The Tar Heels have kept clean sheets for 10 of 18 games. At one point the Tar Heels held a four and a half game scoreless streak that lasted 517 minutes.
• The Tar Heels have only allowed three first half goals this season.
• UNC has not given up more than 1 goal in a single game this year.
• In nine games this year, the Tar Heel defense has not allowed their opponents to register more than four total shots or more than three shots on goal.
• Against No. 2 Indiana, the Tar Heels held the Hoosiers to 3 total shots, the least amount in any game for Indiana in 2004, with only two being on goal.
• Carolina followed up that performance by only allowing three shots with one on goal against William & Mary in the third game of the season.
• Against Jacksonville, Carolina held the Dolphins to 2 total shots and no shots on goal.
• The Tar Heels held Davidson to only 4 total shots with 3 of them being on goal.
• The most impressive performance might be against No. 8 Notre Dame when the Heels only allowed 3 total shots, with no shots on goal in 105 minutes.
• UNC held Clemson to 4 total shots and only one on goal for its third consecutive shutout.
• In the 1-0 loss against NC State the Heels outshot the Wolfpack 18-2 and only allowed one shot on goal.
• In the 4-0 win against Winthrop, the Heels held the Eagles to two total shots with only one on goal.
• Against No. 14 Duke, the Tar Heels only conceded 4 total shots with only two on goal to record their ninth shutout of the season.
Tops Of The ACC
• In the ACC, the Heels are ranked No. 1 in goal allowed (6), goals against average (0.36), shutouts (10) through all games this season.
Pyle Within Reach Of UNC Record
• James Pyle has been a standout in goal for the Heels over the last 4 years, and there's a chance he could own a Tar Heel record.
• With a career goal against average of 0.56 he is within reaching distance of the career record for goals against average by a goalkeeper which is 0.54 held by Scott Goodwin from 2009-2012.
• Currently, his 0.433 goals against average is the second best in DI men's soccer in the country.
DECADE OF DOMINANCE
• Over the last 10 seasons (2008-2017), UNC leads all other programs in the following:
- NCAA Championship wins: 23
- Sweet 16 Appearances: 9
- Elite 8 Appearances: 8
- Men's College Cup Appearances: 6
