The No. 3 North Carolina men’s soccer team opened up ACC play on Friday night in Blacksburg, Va., against Virginia Tech. And after 90 minutes with the Hokies, UNC was able to extend its record to 4-0-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the ACC with a 2-0 victory.
The Tar Heels and the Hokies remained deadlocked for a majority of the first half, with neither team able to break down the opposing defense.
But in the 38th minute, the Tar Heels took advantage of their first true opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net. Senior midfielder Raby George curved the ball past the Virginia Tech goalkeeper to give UNC its first goal in ACC play in 2015.
Lightning struck again and quickly for UNC, as redshirt junior Tucker Hume scored about three minutes later to give the Tar Heels a comfortable 2-0 lead.
UNC came out of halftime with the intention of protecting its lead. The defense buckled down and responded quickly to all of the Hokies’ attacks.
The second half saw two saves from redshirt freshman goalkeeper James Pyle, which resulted in counterattacks from UNC’s forwards on the other end.
While the Tar Heels weren’t able to score in the second half, they held possession for a good portion of the half and brought the Virginia Tech attack to a halt.
As has been the theme of the season, the Tar Heels bench players coming on in the second half helped the team secure the victory.
