Tar Heels shut down Tigers 2-0

Despite wearing gloves, North Carolina goalkeeper Scott Goodwin might have had trouble keeping his hands warm in the No. 4 Tar Heels’ 2-0 win against Clemson on Friday night at Fetzer Field.

Clemson managed just three shots in the game, none of which were on target, as UNC dominated possession throughout the game.

“I wouldn’t say offense is the best defense, but in some regards we have to defend less when we hold onto it,” coach Carlos Somoano said. “It puts teams back in their territory quite a bit. When they do win the ball, they’re tired from chasing.”

UNC forward Ben Speas opened the scoring in the 13th minute when he squeezed the ball past Clemson goalkeeper Cody Mizell from the left side of the penalty box after a cross from fellow forward Rob Lovejoy.

“It felt good to finally get a goal in Carolina blue,” said Speas, a junior transfer from Akron.

“I took my first touch towards the goal and a little bit too far toward the end line, but I saw the keeper cheat a little bit so I stuck it in behind him.”

UNC missed two scoring chances midway through the first half.

Tar Heel forward Billy Schuler appeared to have extended the lead in the 20th minute, but his goal was called back because he was offside.

Two minutes later, Speas went down inside the box but was not awarded a penalty.

Schuler stayed onside in the 25th minute, collected a pass from Speas and chipped over Mizell for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

“I just bolted up the field, Speas was running at pace at the two defenders, and the defenders stepped to him,” Schuler said.

“He was able to play me through … I was able to get a touch, so I was one-on-one with the goalie and just hit it near post.”

Somoano said he was pleased with the Tar Heels’ first half composure and efficiency.

“We did a nice job in the first half of being patient and picking our moments,” Somoano said. “We didn’t go after the goal like crazy, but when we did we were effective, and the goals we scored in the first half were beautiful goals.”

Clemson had its best chance of the match in the 34th minute when Austin Savage’s shot had Goodwin scrambling, but UNC defender Boyd Okwuono stepped in to deflect the ball away.

Lovejoy came close to extending the Tar Heels’ lead in the 61st minute when his first-touch shot went just over the crossbar.

Lovejoy came even closer in the 79th minute when his shot from outside the penalty box ricocheted off the crossbar to Speas, whose rebound shot grazed the bar on the way over.

“I think our play got a little bit sloppy in the second half. We were doing well, and I think we got comfortable,” Somoano said. “I would like to see us have a little bit more of a killer instinct.

“At the same time, I felt like we also managed the game pretty well. We stayed calm, we didn’t panic defensively, and we moved the ball around pretty well to keep them on the defensive end in the second half.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.