UNC men’s soccer relies on senior captain Kirk Urso in Old Dominion win

North Carolina was searching for something after a slow start against No. 20 Old Dominion Tuesday night.

It turns out all they needed was a little spark from senior captain Kirk Urso.

“I can’t explain it better than what he showed today,” junior midfielder Enzo Martinez said. “He came in the game, scored the first goal and picked the whole team up. I mean, anyone out there watching could see the impact he has on us.”

Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe it was another one of the slow starts that have become all-too-familiar for the Tar Heels this season, but UNC struggled to create a spark offensively in the first 25 minutes of Tuesday night’s 3-0 win.

Then Urso took the field.

From the time he subbed in for Mikey Lopez with just less than 18 minutes left in the first half, UNC was a completely different team.

“He made a big difference speeding up the play,” coach Carlos Somoano said after the match. “We desperately needed it at that point. It was such a slow game it was hard for me to watch.”

UNC had a 15-4 shot advantage against the Monarchs while Urso was in the game, but he was responsible for more than picking up the pace for the Tar Heels.

His goal in the 30th minute — only two minutes after coming into the game — broke the stalemate and opened things up for the UNC on offense.

“He came in, he had a point to prove, he proved it and he did what he does best,” Martinez said. “That’s exactly what the team needed from him.”

Perhaps coming off the bench was the motivation Urso needed to score his first goal of the season. Somoano made the decision to hold Urso out of the starting lineup to protect the midfielder from re-aggravating a quad injury that’s been slowing him for the past week.

Somoano added that the senior was on the mend. Urso only played 40 minutes Tuesday, but appeared to be close to full form.

Urso said that whether he’s coming off the bench or starting, he enters the game with the same mentality — to play his role within the team.

“There are certain things that I know I’m good at, and I just try to carry out my roles the best I can,” Urso said. “I think one of them is getting stuck in and winning tackles and playing quick and winning possession. I try to do as much (of that) as I can and I think it’s a strength for the team.”

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