In the same amount of time required for a bull rider to notch a successful ride on a bucking bull — eight seconds — the UNC men's soccer team scored twice against Florida International University on Thursday night.
En route to a 3-1 home victory over the Panthers, graduate forward Martin Vician recorded two goals, both assisted by senior midfielder Juan Caffaro, for the quickest consecutive goals in program history.
It's a performance that can be summarized in just three words.
“He's a baller,” Caffaro said.
But that performance didn't come until after the first period ended.
In the opinion of Head Coach Carlos Somoano, the second weekend of the collegiate soccer schedule is a hard game to stay focused and motivated through. Classes have started, the summer heat is still in effect and in-game conditioning begins to be a burden.
So, down 1-0 at the half, Somoano gave a critical speech — the team wasn't playing like he wanted. Not only were the Tar Heels desperate to find an equalizer, but the squad's energy was also flat for most of the match.
The half tactical, half psychological speech the head coach delivered may have been the perfect recipe for the second-half response UNC mustered.
“[Somoano] is really good at understanding the moments,” Vician said. “Based on his experience, he has been doing this for a lot of years, so he knows what to say.”
