Men's Soccer Opens Regular Season With Bucknell, VCU

Matchup: North Carolina (0-0-0) vs. Bucknell (0-0-0)
Rankings: UNC No. 4/4; Bucknell -/- (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer Soccer)
Date: Thursday August 26, 2021
Site: Chapel Hill (Dorrance Field)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ACC Network Extra (Watch)

Matchup: North Carolina vs. Virginia Commonwealth
Rankings: UNC No. 4/4; VCU -/- (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer Soccer)
Date: Sunday August 29, 2021
Site: Chapel Hill (Dorrance Field)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ACC Network Extra (Watch)

Tar Heel Tidbits
• North Carolina will open the 2021 men's soccer regular season on Thursday August 26 when it hosts Bucknell at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill.
• The Tar Heels and Bison will take the opening kick to the Fall campaign just after 7:30 p.m. in a match streamed by ACC Network Extra.
• UNC will then return to the field again on Sunday night August 29 when it hosts Virginia Commonwealth at 7:30 pm on ACC Network Extra.
• ACCNX is a streaming-only viewing option available via the ESPN app that broadcasts sporting events not available on ESPN's linear television networks. ACCNX access is included if your cable, satellite or streaming service provider carries ACC Network. Fans need to use their account with their cable, satellite or streaming provider to log in at the WatchESPN website or download the ESPN app for their mobile or streaming device.
• Carolina returns nine of 11 starters from last year's NCAA College Cup semifinalist squad.

In the National Polls
• Carolina begins the 2021 season ranked No. 4 nationally in both the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer polls.
• The top five of both polls is the same: No. 1 Marshall, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 4 UNC and No. 5 Georgetown.

Tar Heels Picked 2nd In ACC Coastal Division
• The Atlantic Coast Conference released its 2021 preseason men's soccer poll, and the league's coaches have picked UNC to finish second in the Coastal Division.
• Tar Heel graduate student goalkeeper Alec Smir also grabbed a spot on the ACC's 2021 Preseason Watch List.
• The ACC's coaches predicted Pitt to win both the Coastal Division and the overall championship. The Panthers picked up nine first-place votes for the divisional title and 64 overall points to UNC's three votes and 58 points. Virginia Tech was third with 40 points.
• Clemson was picked to finish first in the Atlantic Division, edging second-place Wake Forest. The Tigers finished second behind PItt with three votes as the overall champion, while Carolina was third with two.

Preseason Scrimmages
• The Tar Heels played a pair of exhibition scrimmages prior to the 2021 regular season, one at home and one away.
• Carolina tied defending NCAA champion Marshall, 1-1, in a scrimmage on August 15 at a wet Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill. The game was a rematch of two teams that met in the NCAA College Cup semifinals a season earlier. The Thundering Herd edged UNC in that match, 1-0, and went on to win the national championship two days later.After a scoreless first half, Marshall took a 1-0 lead in the 58th minute on its first shot attempt of the game. Pedro Dolabella scored from 25 yards out, driving a shot over the head of Tar Heel keeper Alec Smir to make it 1-0. Carolina tied it 12 minutes later with just over 21 minutes remaining when Ernest Bawa scored from the right side to tie the score at 1-1.
• On August 20, UNC dropped a 1-0 decision in a scrimmage at Liberty.

2020 Season Recap
• North Carolina (9-5-4) made its ninth appearance in the men's NCAA College Cup in 2020, making an unexpected run to the national semifinals as an unseeded, at-large bid.
• Carolina made its seventh trip to the College Cup in the last 13 seasons.
• Along the way to the College Cup, the 16th-ranked Tar Heels advanced past No. 14 Charlotte on penalty kicks and beat both No. 5 seed Stanford and No. 4 Wake Forest.
• Tenth-ranked and eventual NCAA champion Marshall edged the Tar Heels, 1-0, in the national semifinals.
• UNC went 9-5-4 overall, including a 7-2-3 combined mark in ACC play.
• UNC went 5-2-2 against teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll, including 3-0 against top-five teams (wins over Pittsburgh, Stanford and Wake Forest).

Carlos Somoano
• Eleventh-year UNC head coach Carlos Somoano entered the 2021 season ranked fourth in the nation in winning percentage among active Division I head coaches.
• Somoano has a 137-42-30 career record, good for a program-best .727 winning percentage.
• Somoano reached the summit of collegiate soccer when he led the Tar Heels to the 2011 NCAA title, becoming just the second rookie head coach in NCAA history to win a national championship. He returned to the College Cup with his Tar Heel squad in 2016 and 2017, marking the third appearance in the sports ultimate destination under his leadership.
• Somoano has guided nine of his 10 squads to NCAA postseason play. Six of those teams reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals, and four reached the College Cup.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ernest Bawa

Alec Smir