University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 3 North Carolina Hosts Clemson Friday In Cary
September 26, 2018 | Men's Soccer
When the Heels take on the Tigers Friday night, they will look to remain as one of three undefeated ACC teams in conference play and increase their lead in the Coastal Division. The Heels lead the Tigers 30-25-6 all-time since they began playing in 1967 with the last five games between the two being decided by one goal, with two of them going in to double overtime.
Tar Heels Host Tigers
• No. 3 North Carolina will host a home game for the first time in 20 days when it takes on Clemson on Friday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. ET at WakeMed Soccer Park. After four straight road games, the Heels are playing their second regular season game in Cary as they look to avenge their only loss of the season of the year to Indiana at WakeMed.
• Carolina leads Clemson 30-25-6 all-time in the series and has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games against the Tigers. The last time they lost to Clemson was in 2013, when the Heels lost both meetings, both 1-2 defeats.
• The Heels are looking to stay perfect in ACC play while the Tigers are looking for their first ACC win of the year.
• The last 5 meetings between the two sides have all been one-goal games, with two of them going in to 2OT. The Heels are 3-2 in those games, winning the last three.
Tar Heels Shutout Fighting Irish
• No. 3 North Carolina came away with a big ACC road win at No. 8 Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 21. The 1-0 win in 2OT pushed the Heels to 2-0 in the conference.
• Gio Montesdeoca's goal in the 105th minute was his third of the season, tying him for first with Mauricio Pineda and Nils Bruening.
• Although Carolina needed double overtime to take the win, they dominated across the board. They outshot the Fighting Irish 15-3 and didn't allow one shot on goal from Notre Dame. They also led in corner kicks 7-2.
• With the OT win, the Heels are now unbeaten in their last 11 matches that have gone in to extra time.
Hurricane Florence Postpones Tar Heels
• By the time the Tar Heels take the field against the Fighting Irish on Friday, Sept. 21, they will have had 10 days between contests due to Hurricane Florence
• North Carolina and Duke's ACC matchup set for Friday, Sept. 14 was postponed due to Hurricane Florence with a time that is TBD.
• The Tar Heels were then supposed to play UNCG on Tuesday, Sept. 18, but that game was canceled due to weather and field conditions.
Scoring = Winning
• So far this year, the Heels are undefeated when they score at least one goal. The only defeat came in a 1-0 shutout to Indiana when the Heels outshot the Hoosiers 11-3.
Suffocating Defense
• In five of its last six games, 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.
• The Tar Heels have only allowed one first half goal this season which came on Sept. 8 against Pittsburgh.
• Nationally, the Tar Heels are tied for 6th in goals allowed (3) and are seventh in goal against average (.406).
Tar Heels Hold Strong In OT
• Since the start of the 2016 season, the Tar Heels have been in 12 overtime games and have only one loss, to ETSU in 2016.
• Since that loss, the Heels have won or tied the next 11 overtime games, including both 2OT games this season against Pitt and Notre Dame.
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
