The No.2 North Carolina men’s soccer team (5-1, 2-0) bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat Pittsburgh (1-4-1, 0-2) 1-0 on Friday night at Fetzer Field. Redshirt senior Walker Hume scored in the 37th minute while UNC earned its fourth shutout of the season.
What happened?
The Panthers' rattling defense caused the Tar Heels to struggle early on offensively, forcing many turnovers close to or within the box. But Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to retain possession and was unable to respond to capitalize on UNC’s mistakes.
Panthers' junior Raj Kahlon attempted the first shot for either team, but it was wide of the goal post. North Carolina sophomore Nils Bruening responded in the 15th minute with a flick from junior Zach Wright to register the first shot of the game for the Tar Heels, but it proved to be no good.
The game was scoreless until the Tar Heels found their answer in Walker Hume, who scored the first and only goal of the night near the end of the opening half.
The Panthers' offense had no answer for UNC’s solid defense, attempting just three shots all game and zero shots on goal.
Who stood out?
Redshirt sophomore James Pyle was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week after he made six saves against Clemson a week ago. After a rocky finish in Tuesday night’s game against East Tennessee State, Pyle lived up to the defensive honor by recording his fourth clean sheet of the season.
