North Carolina advances to NCAA quarter?nals

Three times in the North Carolina men’s soccer team’s last seven games, the Tar Heels have needed more than 90 minutes to decide an outcome.

And each time, the same player has come through with the golden goal — Billy Schuler.

It was no different this time, even with the season on the line, as the Tar Heels beat No. 9 Indiana 1-0 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Six minutes into the first overtime period, the Tar Heels had possession in the Indiana box when it was taken away by Chris Estridge. Kirk Urso got a toe on the ball to prevent a full clearance and there stood Schuler.

“Kirk made a tackle at the top of the box … and he did enough for the ball to spring clear,” Schuler said. “I just got the ball, turned and had a defender and went to my left and tried to place it in the far corner.”

Estridge, a unanimous All-Big Ten selection, along with the rest of the Hoosier defense had played a solid game to that point, allowing just four shots on goal.

But Urso’s extra touch blasted the door wide open for Schuler.

“I saw Estridge, he had the ball and he’s a good player, and I just went for it,” Urso said. “I thought I could get to it. That’s one of those things our coaches preach — get forward, attack them. He took a touch, and I got enough on it and it ended up popping up and Schuler did the rest.”

Though the two teams combined for 33 shots in the game, Scott Goodwin wasn’t credited with a save and Luis Soffner, Indiana’s keeper, had just four.

In the first half, the Tar Heels struggled with possession in the midfield and the UNC forwards were getting frustrated by the inability to push the ball up the field.

As a result, most of North Carolina’s shots were from well outside the 18-yard box and didn’t trouble the keeper.

“In the first half, Indiana came out the aggressor and we were a little bit flat,” coach Carlos Somoano said. “We had a lot of numbers behind the ball even when we were attacking, and I think our energy level was low. Physically, I don’t think we were fresh today.”

In the second half, the momentum shifted and after being outshot 9-7 in the first, UNC fired 10 in the second compared to just four from the Hooisers.

“The way Indiana played, we had to adjust, and I don’t think we did that until the second half,” Urso said. “Once we did, things really opened up for us.”

Somoano referred to the Tar Heels’ draw in the NCAA Tournament as “the group of death” as the Hoosiers, the No. 16 seed in the tournament, are a top-ten team. Also, Coastal Carolina, North Carolina’s second-round opponent, was a nationally ranked team with the nation’s most prolific offense.

The Tar Heels’ win propels them into the national quarterfinals. Saturday at 5 p.m. North Carolina will host St. Mary’s from California for the right to play in the College Cup.

This year’s College Cup is hosted by Alabama-Birmingham and will be played in Hoover, Ala. Should the Tar Heels defeat St. Mary’s it would send UNC to its fourth-consecutive College Cup.

Contact the Sports Editor
at sports@dailytarheel.com.