After the No. 2 North Carolina men’s soccer practice ended Thursday, redshirt junior goalkeeper Brendan Moore remained in goal, fielding shots and penalty kicks in the hot sun as his teammates began to leave.
Coming off a 1-1 draw against No. 4 Notre Dame last Sunday in which he surrendered his first goal of the season, the out-of-breath goalie said he wanted to assure he’s ready for anything No. 18 Maryland, the conference’s leader in goals and shots, will throw him in tonight’s game.
And though Moore is in only his first year as UNC’s starter, coach Carlos Somoano said he isn’t the least bit worried about the matchup between his unseasoned goalkeeper and Maryland’s skilled offense.
“Maryland’s box play is very good,” he said. “They have very dangerous forwards so Brendan (Moore) is going to have to control his area — deal with a lot of cross balls, a lot of services into the box and be ready to pounce on those — but he’s good at that.”
Despite being selected as the preseason favorite in the ACC, the Terrapins have only claimed one victory so far this season — a 3-1 win against Duke last Friday — and for the first time since 2008, both teams are not ranked in the top five heading into the matchup.
Maryland’s defensive struggles, having allowed a conference-high 10 goals, could open the door for UNC junior forward Tyler Engel. The transfer from Southern Methodist is the team’s leading scorer and netted three goals in as many games, including two game-winners.
Senior forward Josh Rice said Engel has been an immediate impact on the Tar Heel offense.
“He’s got a great eye for the goal and a lot of confidence, which is definitely helping our front line,” Rice said. “His vision for being able to find the net whether he’s playing center or right is very helpful.”
Tonight’s game will be the 73rd time the two teams that are annually ranked highly in both the ACC and nation have faced each other.
