Men's Soccer Ties VCU, 1-1

Sunday, August 29

Chapel Hill

7:30 pm

North Carolina

Virginia Commonwealth

Ernest Bawa scored for Carolina.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

August 29, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Final Stats (.pdf)Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL—The University of North Carolina got a second-half goal from Ernest Bawa and tied Virginia Commonwealth, 1-1, in men's soccer action on Sunday night at Dorrance Field.

Fourth-ranked Carolina out-shot VCU, 50-4, and took 17 corner kicks to the Rams' one, but VCU keeper Mario Sequeira made 13 saves on the night.

Carolina dominated most of the first half, out-shooting the Rams by a 19-4 margin in the opening 45 minutes, only to see VCU take a 1-0 lead on a goal by Damian Gallegos at the 40:45 mark. Six of UNC's first-half shots were on-goal, but Sequeira made six saves before the break.

With the shot margin standing at 37-4, UNC finally connected when Bawa tied the score at 1-all with 7:29 remaining in the second half, scoring from the right of the box into the lower left corner of the net.

"It always feels good to score and help the team," Bawa said of his goal. "But that doesn't matter. I had several chances that I could've converted better. I'm glad to score, but it doesn't end there. I think there's more I can do and we can do.

"We've spent a lot of time on our defense in practice to get our box right," Bawa continued. "Coach [Carlos Somoano] has been getting on us all week, trying to get it right. That was the best part of our game tonight. I could see how much we've improved since Bucknell and the preseason."

The Tar Heels peppered the Ram defense with a flurry of shots in the ensuing minutes but could not score to avoid overtime. Carolina took five shots in the extra time, including four in the second OT, while holding the Rams without a shot after the end of regulation.

Five UNC shots hit either the crossbar or the post in a night of near-misses for the Carolina offensive unit.

"To come back from a 1-0 deficit definitely shows a little bit of grit," junior forward Jonathan Jimenez said after the game. "But we for sure also could've beaten them 2- or 3-1. We just have to be better, it's not good enough. We went back into our locker room, and Coach [Somoano] was right—we didn't finish our chances."

Alec Smir started and went the distance in goal for Carolina, making one save against two shots on goal.

The Tar Heels will return to the field on Friday night at 7 p.m. against Georgia Southern at Dorrance Field on ACC Network Extra.

Gallery: (8-29-2021) Tar Heels Get Draw Against Rams