Williams' Experience Goes Beyond UNC Field

"I grew up an N.C. State fan all my life -- die-hard N.C. State fan, hated Carolina," Williams said. "I always told my dad I'd never, ever go to Carolina."

But after he took his recruiting visit to UNC during his senior year at Raleigh's Broughton High School, Williams found Chapel Hill was exactly the place he wanted to be.

"It just felt like a family, and that's what I liked about it most," Williams said. "I had no doubt in my mind I wanted to come here."

But the fact that Michael Ueltschey would be graduating, leaving the goalkeeper position up for grabs for the 2002 season, certainly didn't hurt either.

"It had a huge influence," Williams said. "I wanted to come in and start where I could, or at least have the opportunity to start."

Williams would get that opportunity, but not until the Tar Heels' fourth game of the season, against Long Island.

It wasn't because UNC coach Elmar Bolowich didn't have faith in the freshman; it was due to the fact that Williams wasn't with the team.

Williams missed most of preseason and the Tar Heels' first three games because he was with the U.S. Under-20 National Team playing in Spain.

When he returned to North Carolina, Williams found he'd missed out on the bonding a team goes through during training camp and that he and his defense hadn't had time to gain the necessary confidence in each other.

"It's tough kind of going away from people and then coming back and have them have full confidence in you when they haven't played with you for a while," he said. "As games went by, the confidence between everybody has grown."

Since his collegiate debut on Sept. 5, Williams has gone 8-5-1 with a 1.12 goals against average and three shutouts.

"I was hoping we would get the Ford Williams we are seeing right now," Bolowich said.

"As a goalkeeper, if you can start for the reigning NCAA soccer champions, you're obviously very talented," said Thomas Rongen, coach of the U-20s.

What helped Williams' talent blossom was the U.S. Soccer Federation's Under-17 Full-Time Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla., where he spent his junior year of high school.

"As far as soccerwise, there's nothing else better to do in the country," Williams said. "I matured and learned more than any other regular high school junior would have."

Upon returning from Florida, Williams' college search began. By the middle of last fall, he'd committed UNC.

In December, when the Tar Heels won the national championship, Williams said he knew he would have some big shoes to fill the following fall.

"I'm hoping I can live up to some standards, and maybe exceed them," he said. "(But) I don't feel like I have a lot of weight on my shoulders, and I like that feeling."

But Williams discovered a different challenge after tragedy recently struck.

On Oct. 11, three of his former U-17 teammates were in a car accident in Spartanburg County, S.C. One of them, Gray Griffin, was killed, while Chefik Simo and Josh Villalobos survived.

When Williams visited Simo in intensive care after his surgery to repair a fractured pelvis and other injuries, he had to excuse himself from the room because he it was too difficult to deal with, Williams said.

"I realized I lived with this guy for a year, in the same room as him. And he was sitting there, and he may never have the opportunity to play again. He had so much going for him, and it seemed really unfair at the time.

"Especially to Gray, too. He was going a long way, and he lost his life in the blink of the eye. And that really opened my eyes. I always had told myself that 'you can always get hurt,' but Chefik still never may play again."

As Williams gains even more experience in the net, his Tar Heel teammates might have to play without him for the regular season finale against South Carolina and the ACC Tournament. Williams will be in Charleston, S.C. with the U-20s in a qualifying tournament for the World Youth Championships. But the decision to go, wasn't so easy.

"I debated it for a couple weeks because you feel like your leaving a bunch of guys, but then again, you're going to represent your country," Williams said of his call-up. "It's a tough thing that kind of pulls you."

Bolowich and Rongen are discussing the possibility that Williams will be able to participate in both events, but that remains unclear at this time.

And to think, he used to hate UNC.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.