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University of North Carolina Athletics
No. 6 Tar Heels Host Carolina Nike Classic To Kick Off 2019
August 29, 2019 | Men's Soccer
Students will be admitted free with their student IDs and while families can enjoy the Family Friday Four-Pack! More ticket information can be found here.
Carolina Nike Classic
• UNC is 32-6-2 all-time in the Carolina Nike Classic and holds a 1-2 overall record against Creighton while it will play its first ever match against UCF on Sunday.
• Against Creighton, UNC won the first ever meeting, 2-1, in Chapel Hill in 1997 but has dropped the last two. They lost at Creighton in 1999 and then again at home in 2015 in the third round of the NCAA Championship.
• This will be the first time since 2016 that the Heels have hosted the Carolina Nike Classic in Chapel Hill due to the stadium renovations.
• Last season, North Carolina topped ETSU 1-0 in Greensboro before dropping a heartbreaker to No. 2 Indiana, 1-0, in Cary.
2019 ACC Title Favorite
• For the fourth consecutive year, the Tar Heels are favored to claim the ACC title, claiming 9 of the possible 12 votes from the leagues head coaches.
• Carolina is also favored to claim its fifth consecutive Coastal Division title. UNC scored 10 of the 12 first-place votes in the Coastal Division while Virginia and Duke each received one.
New Home
• Carolina will be back on campus in 2019 with a brand new soccer stadium after spending the last two seasons in Cary, N.C.
• The new soccer and lacrosse stadium is a state-of-the-art home for men's and women's soccer as well as men's and women's lacrosse. It hosts meeting rooms, film rooms and locker rooms for all sports.
• It has 4,200 individual chair backs, a new LED scoreboard and is located in the heart of campus.
No. 1 Rrecruiting Class
•According to TopDrawerSoccer, the Tar Heels brought in the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for the 2019 season.
• The incoming class consists of 10 freshman and one junior transfer, Santiago Herrera, from UCLA.
• This is the second time in the last 5 years the Tar Heels have brought in the top class in the country. They also did so in 2016, which is the current senior class, and have been to the NCAA College Cup two of the last three years since that class stepped on campus.
• Mauricio Pineda, Jack Skahan, Jeremy Kelly, Gio Montesdeoca, Drew Romig and Cam Lindley were all part of the 2016 class that was ranked No. 1.
Decade of Dominance
• Over the last 10 seasons (2009-2018), UNC has dominated the college soccer landscape:
- NCAA Championship wins: 19
- Sweet 16 Appearances: 8 (T-1st amongst D1 programs)
- Elite 8 Appearances: 7 (Most among D1 programs)
- Men's College Cup Appearances: 5 (T-1st among D1 programs)
- All-Americans (16)
- ACC Titles (9)
U.S. Soccer College Program Champions
• North Carolina claimed its second consecutive U.S. Soccer Spring College Program championship by defeating Virginia Tech 4-2 on April 13.
• UNC went 3-0-1 in 2019 and is now the only undefeated team, 8-0-1 in the last two seasons, in the Spring Program.
• In 2019, UNC defeated Duke 1-0, tied Clemson 2-2 and then defeated Wake Forest 3-1 before taking down VT in the championship.
• Carolina is now 8-0-1 in the spring program and has outscored its opponents 23-7 in two years.
MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
• Senior Mauricio Pineda was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list along with 35 other men's players. The trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year.
Another Top 10 Preseason Ranking
• Carolina has been tabbed as the No. 6 team in the country by United Soccer Coaches to start the 2019 season. This is just the second time in the last 11 seasons they haven't been preseason top 5. They were also No. 6 in 2014.
• Soccer America ranked the Tar Heels as the No. 1 team in the country in its preseason poll.
TDS Preseason Best XI
• Senior Mauricio Pineda was named to the first-team TDC preseason best XI side while freshman Blake Malone was named to the all-freshman TDS best XI team.
Somoano Top Active Win Percentage
• Carlos Somoano owns the top winning percentage (.763) among active Division I men's soccer coaches.
• Somoano is also the UNC program leader in winning percentage.
• He has guided all eight of his teams to the NCAA Championship, winning the 2011 title.
Big Senior Class
• The top recruiting class during the summer of 2016 are entering their final season in Chapel Hill. While Cam Lindley has departed for Major League Soccer and Gio Montesdeoca redshirted his freshman year, Jeremy Kelly, Jack Skahan, Drew Romig and Mauricio Pineda begin their final season in Chapel Hill. Also among the seniors is forward Jelani Pieters who redshirted during his freshman year as well.
• This senior class has won three straight ACC Coastal division titles and has been to two of three possible NCAA College Cups.
Preseason Top 100 Players
• TopDrawerSoccer named four Tar Heel players in its annual top 100 list.
• No. 4 - Mauricio Pineda
• No. 46 - Jeremy Kelly
• No. 59 - Jack Skahan
• No. 85 - Matt Constant
