Men’s soccer registers its third straight shutout

The last time the North Carolina men’s soccer team traveled to Virginia, the Tar Heels played 102 minutes of scoreless soccer before losing its No. 1 spot with a 1-0 loss to Virginia Tech.

But Saturday, the Tar Heels had a much more successful trip to the Commonwealth.

It took only 29 minutes for junior forward Billy Schuler to score the opening goal in Charlottesville on Friday night, as the No. 6 North Carolina men’s soccer team routed Virginia 3-0.

The win against UVa. marks UNC’s third-straight shutout as goals from team-leading scorer Schuler, Enzo Martinez and Carlos McCrary handed the Cavaliers their worst home loss in seven years.

Martinez, who scored in the 76th minute off a penalty kick drawn by Schuler, said he has been extremely pleased with the Tar Heels’ performances since the loss in Blacksburg earlier this month.

“It feels great to get another shutout,” he said. “You just need to score one goal in a shutout situation and you’re going to win the game.

Martinez assisted on both of the Tar Heel goals he didn’t score on Friday.

His penalty-kick conversion — a direct shot into the upper left corner of the net — marked the 20th straight conversion for North Carolina after last year’s squad went 17 for 17.

“I lined up, took a couple of breaths and tried to calm down and get the crowd out of my head,” Martinez said.

“I went where I always go, and luckily I put the ball high enough so that even though the goalie dove in the right direction, he couldn’t get his hands on it.”

Junior goalkeeper Scott Goodwin handled two saves against the Cavaliers, whose eight other shots were off target, on the way to his 16th career shutout.

“Scott’s a great goalkeeper,” midfielder Kirk Urso said. “We expected him to make some spectacular saves, and he did. We’ll keep expecting that the entire season.”

In the 81st minute, the Tar Heels added an insurance goal off the forehead of McCrary. Martinez sent a wide pass to Mikey Lopez, who lobbed it toward the back post. McCrary beat the keeper and headed the ball into the net, giving the visiting Tar Heels the final 3-0 advantage.

The young and inexperienced team, composed of eight true freshmen, has started to consistently record shutouts, something coach Carlos Somoano heavily emphasizes.

“We’ve been working hard at (getting shutouts),” Somoano said. “I think early in the season, we were defending well but were having some communication errors with all the new faces on the field.

“Now (the shutouts) are a product of working hard and being committed to defense. It’s really started to pay off.”

The Tar Heels take on No. 15 Old Dominion at Fetzer Field on Tuesday.

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