Men's soccer tightens defense after rout

The North Carolina men's soccer team learned firsthand this weekend that the ball doesn't always bounce in its favor.

Following a 4-1 beatdown of Liberty last Tuesday the squad headed to Boston College on Friday with an undefeated record.

Again UNC's game ended in a 4-1 decision. But this time the Tar Heels (5-1-1 1-1 ACC) were the ones humbled in a lopsided loss.

Junior Eddie Ababio prevented a scoreless effort netting the team's lone goal on a collective nine shots.

But one defeat doesn't define or damper a season" as coach Elmar Bolowich well knows.

""Sometimes you have games where the other team shoots and whatever they shoot goes in"" he said.

It was just one of those nights where everything seemed to work for them and nothing seemed to work for us.""

Bolowich did note several facets of the game he would like changed.

For one" the fact that for the second conference game in a row the Tar Heels faced a 1-0 deficit at the half. And further both opponents' first goals came with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half.

Though formations and defensive alignments can be mixed and changed to accommodate the opposition" these recurring morale killers could be a cause for concern for a team looking to compete for the conference title this year.

""You have to establish yourself in a game" and you cannot be outworked by your opponent" Bolowich said.

We need to start taking the initiative and battling for dominance.""

With four home games coming up on the schedule" the Tar Heels will have plenty of chances to work on faster starts. Bolowich said the team will use practices to fine-tune those loose ends.

One of the main focuses will be playing better defense. Lately UNC has allowed opposing teams too much space to operate within Bolowich said.

Instead of being ready to anticipate" he thinks the team is constantly in reaction mode.

""I would like to see more aggressiveness from our team"" Bolowich said. These are things that we have to reiterate.""



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.