With just one more win, the North Carolina men’s soccer team (19-2-2) will punch its ticket to a fourth consecutive College Cup.
But standing in the Tar Heels’ path to Hoover, Ala., are the Gaels from St. Mary’s (Calif.).
If the first two NCAA Tournament games against No. 17 Coastal Carolina and No. 9 Indiana are a reflection of what the rest of the field has to offer, then UNC will be in for another tight battle.
“If you look at where we were last year, it was (penalty kicks) every game,” UNC goalkeeper Scott Goodwin said. “So, if you look at it compared to that, we’re getting through easy. But every game so far has been a very tough game. It’s one of the things about this tournament that everyone is saying this year. There really are no easy teams, no easy games.”
The Gaels finished the regular season 8-6-5 but claimed the top spot in the West Coast Conference to earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
In the tournament, Saint Mary’s has knocked off three ranked opponents in Cal State Bakersfield, UC Irvine and Brown.
But rankings don’t matter anymore.
UNC coach Carlos Somoano said that the season records to this point are meaningless and now all the attention is on what will take place on Fetzer Field Saturday at 5 p.m.
“They wouldn’t be here unless they were a good team,” redshirt junior Billy Schuler said. “They’re one of the top eight teams in the country now, that’s how we view it. You can’t take any team lightly at this point.”