Men's Soccer Battles To 1-1 Draw In Season Opener

Thursday, August 24

Chapel Hill, NC

7:30 p.m. ET

North Carolina

Loyola Maryland

Amad Al-Qaq

August 24, 2023 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The 2023 season opener between the North Carolina men's soccer team and Loyola Maryland ended in a highly physical 1-1 draw, with Ahmad Al-Qaq scoring his first career goal on a penalty kick late in the first half.

How It Happened

The Greyhounds got on the board first thanks to an outside the box strike from Brandon Meminger in the second minute.
Ernest Bawa was nearly awarded a penalty in the 14th minute when tripped up on the edge of the box chasing a through ball.
In the final minute of the first half, Ahmad Al-Qaq was fouled on a slide tackle from behind, chasing a rebound forced by a shot from Martin Vician. Al-Qaq calmly slotted home the penalty he earned, to equalize the score at 1-1 entering the halftime break.

Inside the Box Score

The Tar Heels held a 20-6 advantage in shots and a 9-2 edge in corners.
Martin Vician led all players with five shots in his Tar Heel debut.
The back four of Til Zinnhardt, Riley Thomas, Charlie Harper, and Matt Edwards, as well as midfielder Sam Williams, played the full 90 minutes.
Goalkeeper Collin Travasos made two saves in his Carolina debut.

Game Notes

Carolina recorded 20 shots on the night, the most in a single-game since October 21, 2021 against Wofford, a 1-0 victory for the Tar Heels.
With the tie, Carolina is now 11-0-2 under head coach Carlos Somoano in season openers.
The Tar Heels are now 3-1-1 in the all-time matchup with Loyola Maryland.
Thursday's attendance of 3,335 is the largest crowd for a men's contest since Aug. 26, 2016, against Cal Poly at Fetzer Field.

Up Next
The Tar Heels return to Dorrance Field Sunday night, welcoming American for the second matchup of their 2023 campaign. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with the contest being aired on ACCNX.