Perseverance pays off for Alan Winn, UNC men's soccer

Perseverance — the single word that can define the mentality and attitude behind North Carolina forward Alan Winn’s performance in Tuesday night’s match against the Northeastern Huskies.

Not even a minute into the game, the sophomore sliced through the Huskies' defense and fired a shot just wide of the goal. 

Three more times Winn's shot couldn't find the back of the net on Tuesday, but he continued to apply pressure on Northeastern goalkeeper Jonathan Thuresson.

“It’s definitely frustrating not scoring, but you’ve got to just keep chipping away and chipping away,” Winn said. 

Winn frustrated the Huskies all night, and while he didn't score, his constant effort helped hand the No. 5 Tar Heels a 1-0 win.

Behind a strong start by Winn, the Tar Heels (14-1-1) managed to fire six shots on goal — but none made it past Thuresson.

In the 30th minute, Winn attempted to create a scoring opportunity by making a pass to redshirt junior Tucker Hume. But the Northeastern defense deflected the ball and thwarted the chance.

“Alan is good, he is so dangerous. Even when he’s not scoring he’s contributing," Coach Carlos Somoano. "He’s a vital part of our team — anybody watching the game can see how dangerous he is. He’s just a handful for anybody to deal with."

Just like the high-pressured match against Louisville this past Friday, the second half began with a scoreless draw and both teams struggling to make a shot but easily keeping the fans on their feet as they looked for a goal from either team.

“We know every game is going to be a battle and we just come out here as another chance to get better for us and keep improving on things, to come out here and compete as hard as we can,” Hume said.

With the score still scoreless in the 79th minute, Winn fired a shot toward the goal that was deflected by Thuresson just over the crossbar. The shot resulted in a corner kick, but UNC still couldn't score.

But in 82nd minute, Winn helped produce a scoring opportunity the Tar Heels could finally capitalize on.

The forward fired his fourth and final shot of the game at Thuresson, who made another spectacular save to keep UNC off the scoreboard. But on the ensuing corner kick seconds later, Omar Holness found Hume in the box for the game-winning goal.

Winn defined the Tar Heels as a force to be reckoned with, even if the team wasn’t scoring an excessive number of goals.

He played with a strong mind, not letting the pressure of a scoreless first half get in the way of his tactics and mentality.

“We try to move the ball as much as possible, with the mental thing you’ve just got to keep going. You can’t stray away from the tactics, you can’t adapt to other peoples things because we play the Carolina way,” Winn said.

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