Men's Soccer Adjusts, Cruises in Tournament

And it took just a couple of quick adjustments to achieve it, as the UNC men's soccer team claimed a 5-0 victory against No. 18 South Florida on Sunday.

The game was part of the Adidas/Spartan Classic at

UNC-Greensboro. In their first game Friday, the No. 9 Tar Heels (10-2, 2-1 in the ACC) defeated Georgia State 7-0.

In the Friday win against the Panthers, Elmar Bolowich recorded his 150th victory as UNC coach.

Bolowich's 151st victory, however, was a bit harder to grab.

After UNC posted a 2-0 lead at the half, South Florida used a different offensive set and pulled a back into the midfield to work its way back into the game.

"They wanted to increase the pressure, and they were successful for the first 10 minutes," Bolowich said. "Then we sorted things out and dropped one of our midfielders back to counter."

The shift almost resulted in the Bulls' first goal. Aaron Ortega received a corner kick in the 47th minute and fired it into the left side. But the ball was kicked out just short of the goal line, and the Tar Heels kept their 2-0 lead.

"If it had been 2-1 just after the half, then the momentum would have shifted right away," Bolowich said. "Then we would have been in for a battle."

Instead, David Testo scored his second goal of the weekend in the 60th minute off an assist from Noz Yamauchi. Testo received the ball in the right corner of the box and juked a defender but had his first shot blocked by Bulls' goalie Troy Perkins.

But Testo collected the rebound and hit paydirt for a 3-0 score.

After two goals within a 10-minute stretch, UNC gained a heavy advantage against a top-20 team -- an advantage that looked shaky after the break.

"Being up 2-0 is a dangerous, dangerous score because, with one goal, they're back in it," said midfielder Logan Pause. "But we kept our composure and showed that we can also have a shutout."

In Friday's match, forward Marcus Storey scored three goals as UNC cruised in a 7-0 thumping of Georgia State.

It was the Tar Heels' second year at the Adidas/Spartan Classic. UNC has won all four of its games in the event by a combined score of 26-1.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.