North Carolina and N.C. State fans frequently exchanged resounding chants of "Tar-Heels" and "Wolf-Pack" during the men's soccer contest at Fetzer Field on Sunday.
In the end, the Wolfpack proved no match for the Tar Heels on and off the field, as UNC rode its dominant crowd support to a 2-0 win against State.
Tim Merritt and Corey Ashe provided the goals, while senior midfielder Andrew Rhea supplied the assists on the two Tar Heel scores - both of which came in the first half.
The first score came in the eighth minute, when Rhea passed to Merritt off of a free kick. The senior defender then floated a one-timer past NCSU goalkeeper Jorge Gonzalez for the goal.
The other score by the Tar Heels (7-6-2, 3-2-0 in the ACC) came in the waning minutes of the first half after Rhea shot a rocket toward the goal. Gonzalez tipped the shot away, but the ball rolled toward Ashe, who tapped it in for his sixth goal of the season.
"We've been practicing on our finishing and our free kicks, and we've been doing pretty well on them," Rhea said. "That practice definitely paid off in today's game."
The defensive play of goalkeeper Ford Williams also paid off for the Tar Heels.
Williams had five saves, including four impressive knockaways at the goal line. The junior managed to thwart the Wolfpack's 15 shot attempts and record his third shutout of the year.
"(That level of play) just comes from being in the zone, and if you're in it and things work correctly, you get the dominant response that you want," Williams said. "It's just kind of a reactionary thing."