Second half offensive explosion fuels North Carolina men's soccer team's 6-0 against JMU

CARY — The No. 4 North Carolina men’s soccer team made easy work of James Madison in Wake Med Soccer Park on Tuesday night. The 6-0 win was the ninth consecutive victory for the Tar Heels, who now sit at 11-1.

What happened?

UNC (11-1, 4-0 ACC) looked sluggish for the first few minutes of this match. The Dukes (4-4-3, 1-0-2 CAA) had a few good looks, including a promising flash in front of the goal.

But the Tar Heels soon shook that off and took hold of the game. They started to dominate possession, and JMU was forced into the defense third for much of the first half.

Senior and scoring leader Alan Winn finally broke the seal in the 39th minute. His header was set up off a perfectly placed corner by sophomore Cam Lindley. It was Winn’s eighth goal of the season and Lindley’s eighth assist.

The pair almost hooked up earlier in the match when Lindley snuck a beautiful chip pass through the Dukes backline, but Winn fired the shot just over the crossbar.

UNC took a 1-0 lead in the break.

The second half told a much different tale, as the Tar Heels showed why they are ranked at No. 4 in the country.

It took just eight minutes for North Carolina to double its lead. A perfectly executed counterattack led to a Lindley goal. Jeremy Kelly started the attack with a wonderful push-ahead to Zach Wright, who sent the pass into Lindley.

In the 62nd minute, Jelani Pieters was taken down just inside the 18-yard box. Though there was a little confusion of the call, the official came rushing in with his pointed at the spot. Lindley stepped up to take the penalty, stutter-stepped and coolly placed it in the bottom left corner.

Senior Zach Wright made it four with another breakaway goal. Lucas del Rosario got the assist this time, and Wright easily squared up on the right side of the goal and slid it past the keeper.

Redshirt first-year Giovanni Montesdeoca added to UNC’s ridiculous second half, scoring his third goal of the season to make it 5-0. But he wasn’t done, as Montesdeoca placed the cherry on top with another goal for North Carolina with just 33 seconds left in the match.

Who stood out?

Cam Lindley was outstanding. Though he only played 62 minutes, he was everywhere. The sophomore had full control of the midfield, and he still found plenty of chances to score. His cross to Alan Winn broke the game wide open for the Tar Heels. 

Lindley has continued to show why he was a top recruit last season. He scored his fourth and fifth goals on Tuesday, and he currently leads the team with eight assists.

When was it decided?

After Winn’s breakthrough goal, it was obvious UNC was the better team, but the game was still knotted until the 39th minute. Lindley sent in the corner and the always-present Winn was there to give North Carolina the lead. After this goal, the Tar Heels played with the same swagger they’ve had all year. But the team needed this spark to get them going.

Why does it matter?

This game was a break in conference play, so this could’ve been a trap game for North Carolina —
especially with a big game coming up later in this week. And with a slow start in this game, JMU almost made this game very interesting. But UNC didn’t slip and asserted their dominance, which is extremely important in these kind of games.

When do they play next?

The Tar Heels have a massive ACC matchup later this week, as they are slated to face No. 2 Wake Forest in Cary this Friday.

@YonaDagalosi

sports@dailytarheel.com