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University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: That Guy
September 3, 2019 | Men's Soccer, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
Only 14 years old when Kirk Urso suddenly passed away on Aug. 5, 2012, Mauricio Pineda never met the former North Carolina men's soccer team captain and national champion who coaches, teammates and friends affectionally call Captain Kirk.
But since arriving in Chapel Hill three years ago, Pineda's heard much about Urso and his impact on the UNC soccer community.
"It's something that Carlos (Somoano) talks about all the time," Pineda said. "I read a piece that he wrote earlier (last) week and I realized a lot of the things he said are a lot of the things that Carlos says now. I'm sure he had a strong influence on Carlos and a lot of people around here."
He certainly did. And because of that, he'll be forever memorialized at the new UNC Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium.
Back in February, the Rams Club contacted Rob Lovejoy, a teammate of Urso's in 2010 and on the 2011 national championship team, about starting a fundraiser in his friend's name. The proceeds would offset construction costs for the stadium. They would also ensure Urso, who helped lead his team to four successive College Cups, would be honored there.
Without any hesitation, Lovejoy agreed to spearhead the effort.
Over the next six months, teammates, coaches, alumni, friends, family and even people who didn't know Urso contributed over $50,000. That all culminated Friday, when Sections 3 and 4 of the stadium were officially named the Kirk Urso Student Section at halftime of the Tar Heels' season opener against Creighton.
"I can't thank the Rams Club enough for coming up with the idea and helping me execute on it," said Lovejoy, who joined Urso's older brother, Kyle, in unveiling the signage in front of the sections. "They really gave me the tools I needed to reach out to the alumni network and kind of spread the word and do what we needed to do to make it come to fruition.
"In the end, the outpouring of support and emotion that came along with it, it's hard to describe."
But ask anyone who knew Urso to describe him and the lasting influence he's had on them, then they can go on for hours.
"He's a part of my life every day," Lovejoy said. "I try to emulate him just from a leadership sense, but it's impossible to do that just because he had such an innate ability to attract people and guide people.
"He didn't care if you were a student-athlete or never touched a soccer ball. He was going to treat everybody with the same amount of respect and value your opinion and wanted to have your input. I really appreciated just getting to know him as a human being off the soccer field because he was such an incredible guy."
Elmar Bolowich, Carolina's coach for 22 years, including Urso's first three, sensed that when recruiting Urso out of Lombard, Ill. But as is the case with most players, it was hard for Bolowich to make a complete judgement about Urso until he arrived on campus.
The Tar Heels knew what kind of player they were getting before Urso, a member of the United States U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-20 men's national team squads, enrolled in January 2008. It didn't take long after that, Bolowich said, to realize they had a great person, too.
"Kirk was that person who could make everybody better," Bolowich said. "That's what I valued in him as a coach. When I coached him, I felt like Kirk always led by example and if I were a player, I'd want to be around that guy. I'd want to be on the team with that guy. That would be fun because I can grow and we can grow together. And that was always his mantra.
"There were no illusions of grandeur about him, although he was in the national pool and whatnot. He was always true to himself and he was always supportive of everything we tried to do and he was a total team player. These are the values you look for in everybody."
Bolowich constantly tries to emphasize their importance.
Almost 10 months removed from resigning as the head coach at Creighton, Bolowich now serves as the executive director of the Armada FC Youth Academy in Jacksonville, Fla. In his role, he coaches 14-year-olds. Like so many players before them, they are being educated in what it means to be like Urso.
"When I look at it as a coach," Bolowich said, "you have so much influence in the growth and in the development of a player, not only as a soccer player but also in how he looks at things in life and how looks at things with his team and how he brings himself in. When I see that, I can always use the example of Kirk because you want these guys on your team.
"'You need to do this, this and this because Kirk did this, this and this.' He wasn't the greatest player in the world and he never claimed to be, but he really maxed out with his talent and his ability, mainly because of his attitude."
Since Urso's passing, UNC has retired his No. 3 jersey and held memorial matches. The Columbus Crew, which selected Urso with the 10th overall pick of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, has also made several efforts to preserve Urso's memory.
His legacy will always live on within both teams – and now the Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium.
"I think it's really important for the next group of Tar Heels who come in to understand what he meant to the program, both on and off the field, because he will make us better," Somoano said. "It'll make them better, because he got it right. You talk about a guy who got it right, he got it right. He had it. Some people have got it, and he had it.
"He made me better. He made Carolina better. And doing something like this makes these kids better. So, he may not be with us in body, but he's here in spirit without any doubt in my mind."
And he always will be.
