Last December, the open door for the then ninth-seeded North Carolina men’s soccer team to claim back-to-back College Cup titles was shut harshly by No. 16 seed and eventual national champion Indiana on a cold night at Fetzer Field.
Fast forward nearly a year from that 1-0 loss in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game, and the Tar Heels are beginning the 2013 season with something that escaped them at the end of last year.
In the final game of the ShinDigz National Soccer Festival in Fort Wayne, Ind. on Saturday, No. 4 UNC picked up an 1-0 exhibition victory against the top-ranked Hoosiers.
But junior midfielder Glen Long said the victory was not in the least bit a claim at revenge.
“Obviously the loss last season was tough, but that was last season,” he said. “We went into this game as the 2013 team, not the 2012 team, and want to have our own identity this year … But at the same time, to beat the defending national champions in preseason or regular season is a good result regardless of the circumstances.”
In the 46th minute of Saturday’s win, junior forward Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler tallied the Tar Heels’ only goal to claim their third preseason win. UNC shut out Elon 3-0 Aug. 17 before defeating Michigan State 2-1 and Indiana — both at the National Soccer Festival.
But given the lack of a sure starter in goal heading into the year to replace graduated veteran Scott Goodwin, the statistic that seemingly sticks out the most is the lone goal the defense allowed in three contests.
Coach Carlos Somoano pointed to one positive takeaway from the competition for the starting job taking place between redshirt freshman Cole Brooks, redshirt sophomore Sam Euler and junior Brendan Moore, adding he has yet to decide who will start the team’s Aug. 30 season opener against Monmouth.
“What I like about the goalies is they’re all getting better,” he said. “They’re pushing each other, and I’m very impressed with the progress in terms of all three of their individual improvement.”
