M. Soccer: Despite win, offense a problem for No. 2 UNC

As the No. 2 North Carolina soccer team exited Fetzer Field on Tuesday, assistant coach Carlos Somoano stood on the steps of the McCaskill Soccer Center. He was handed a statistic sheet for the night’s game.

He didn’t want it.

“I don’t want to see the tape either,” he said. “I want to pretend this game never happened.”

And with good reason — at least on the offensive end.

For 97 minutes, the Tar Heels displayed some of their least impressive attacking soccer of the year.

Granted, the conditions were horrible — a steady downpour soaked the field. And UNC’s opponent, East Tennessee State, was holding 10 players back on defense at times.

But with 11 shots in the game and with only six on goal, UNC continually tried to force opportunities. Whether that came from a mix of frustration or from simply not being ready — as head coach Elmar Bolowich acknowledged — the Tar Heels will surely want to forget this offensive performance.

“We kept the ball for a good while, but there was no purpose,” Bolowich said. “We just kept it for the sake of keeping it, and we didn’t do anything with it.”

Twenty minutes into the match, senior Jordan Graye chipped a cross from the right side into the box. But instead of leading an awaiting UNC player, the ball beelined straight toward the ETSU goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, midfielder Kirk Urso hit an inswinging free kick that went far post. Captain Zach Loyd tried vainly to finish the opportunity, but the kick skidded out of bounds.

“In the first half, it was hard to get the ball through the middle,” sophomore Billy Schuler said. “It was tough. We settled down in the second half.

“We went into halftime, and we talked about a few things we needed to improve on. We calmed down. It wasn’t great, but we got our chances.”

Schuler was one player with chances. Seventeen minutes into the second half, he missed from close range, as his far-post shot was deflected wide.

Later in the half, forward Bill Dworsky shot right at the goalie. And eight minutes later, another forward, Enzo Martinez, took too many touches in front of goal and wasted another opportunity.

“We just need to be more accurate on our shooting and just finish our chances,” midfielder Michael Farfan said.

“We’re missing a lot of opportunities that we should’ve had on goal. It’s hard to get these opportunities, so when we do get them, we need to take advantage.”

Finally, in overtime, Schuler threaded the needle on a close-range, left-footed shot. But that was one of the few offensive bright spots of the day.

“I think you have to be upset by the way we played,” Bolowich said. “The turnover ratio we had. By forcing balls into space where they shouldn’t go. Overlooking the next open guy.

“That is something we have to address. If that is correct, more chances will come. And probably clearer chances will come. And that’s what we really didn’t have.”



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.