After a 14-day stretch, from Sept. 28 through Oct. 12, the North Carolina men's soccer team was in dire need of refreshment. It had lost three out of five matches (to Duke, Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth), and to some, the outlook for the remainder of the year looked bleak.
"There was never a point that we didn't think we couldn't turn around, but that's the point that it was a big eye opener," junior defender Logan Pause said of the skid. "We had to turn it around. We didn't have a choice."
The overwhelming expectations of defending their national title, combined with the tensions that accompany a losing environment, made it was time for some serious discussion.
"The seniors, we got together after the VCU loss, and then decided that's not how we want to go out," said senior forward David Testo. "We stopped talking and started leading."
Since talking ceased, UNC has gone 5-0-1 and carries a truckload of momentum into its first-round ACC Tournament match against Clemson tonight at Cary's SAS Stadium at 8 p.m.
"It just shows that we've come together as a group on the field and off the field," said Pause. "We had, obviously, some struggles with some stuff off the field, but it shows that we're starting to pull it together."
One of those struggles was handling the loss of Testo, whom UNC coach Elmar Bolowich suspended for two games following an arrest on an assault charge in September.
"It did have an effect on the team, but it wasn't talked about," Testo said of the incident. "We need everybody on the field, and if a senior is out because of off-the-field stuff that brings the team down."
But the charges have since been dropped, freeing Testo of mounting frustration, and allowing the team to focus back on soccer, and soccer alone.