North Carolina takes home National Championship

HOOVER, ALA. — From the opening kick-off the UNC Charlotte 49ers imposed their will on the North Carolina men’s soccer team.

The 49ers were physical. They played tight defense. And they didn’t leave the top-seeded Tar Heels any room to build their offense the way UNC head coach Carlos Somoano wants his team to operate.

But regardless of all that and regardless of being outshot by the widest margin of the season, the North Carolina Tar Heels are the 2011 College Cup champions as they beat UNC Charlotte 1-0 Sunday night in Hoover, Ala.

“Today we relied on our heart and our gut to win the game… I think this was the first time all year we didn’t dominate the ball in a game,” Somoano said, “and that happens sometimes in soccer. But we always believed we could find a way to win the game, because we’ve done that all year long.”

The Tar Heels registered 10 shots in the game but just one of them was on frame. As it turned out, that was all they needed.

In the 65th minute, Ben Speas gave up on the slow-building attack and took on the 49er back line all by himself. With a couple of impressive dribbling moves, Speas created enough space just outside the penalty area to get off a left-footed chip shot that hit the middle of the net.

“(I) Just picked up the ball in the midfield, just trying to drive at the goal,” Speas said. “Waiting for the forward to make a run. Went to my right, was going to take a shot. Kid cut it off so I cut back to my left around the top of the box and just hit it with my left food. It dipped over the keeper and went in, luckily.”

Though the final score gives the trophy to the Tar Heels, the 49ers had the advantage in every other stat column. They took nine more shots, had four more corner kicks and aside from the one shot from Speas, didn’t allow a single shot on goal.

“I think almost the entire game, we were on the front foot.” UNC Charlotte coach Jeremy Gunn said. “If you watch the game, you have everything there. We were first in almost every category but the one that wins the game. That’s the cruel part of soccer.”

Early in the second half, before Speas’ goal, 49er Donnie Smith made a nice run in to the box before getting tripped up by Kirk Urso. Gunn and his players demanded a penalty for the play but none was granted.

“I didn’t think I got him at all,” Urso said. “As a forward, maybe it’s smart to go down there. But I thought I was in the right and I ran with him and made the right play. I definitely don’t think it was a PK and I think the ref made the right decision.”

UNC Charlotte finished the game with an intense flurry of shots, racking up seven in the last five minutes of the game. Each time, whether it was UNC goal keeper Scott Goodwin, the goal post, or a diving Jordan Gafa, the 49ers were denied.

“Only thing really going through my mind is just don’t let it go in,” Goodwin said. “It was obviously hectic, Charlotte did an amazing job towards the end of that game getting their numbers forward and putting us under pressure. I can’t say enough about them for that. Our mindset was just to keep the ball out of the net.”

The championship caps off four consecutive appearances in the College Cup and is the program’s first title since 2001. The win makes Somoano the second coach in NCAA men’s soccer history to win the national championship in his first season.

“Wow. That was exciting to say the least,” Somoano said. “The two games that we played this weekend were unbelievable. Charlotte was, of course, exceptional tonight and for us to be able to play two teams of the caliber of UCLA and Charlotte with such completely different styles and have to respond to both different circumstances and still find ways to get the results.

“I can’t say enough about our program and I’m so proud of them.”