CARY — There was no Carmichael Arena looming behind the bleachers. There was no pack of students looking down on the field from the nook beside Teague Residence Hall, nor distant chiming from the Morehead Bell Tower every 15 minutes.
The North Carolina men's soccer team (2-0) swept its opening weekend with a massive 6-1 blowout victory over Rutgers (0-2) on Sunday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The Tar Heels' new “home” field is far from their historic home at Fetzer Field, which is closed for a year-long renovation project.
But for underclassmen Jeremy Kelly and Alex Rose, home may not have been so far away after all. Kelly, a sophomore, and Rose, a first-year, each contributed goals in the first half of the game that took place less than ten miles from their former high schools and where they played together during their time as academy players.
"Freshman year, we were on the same U16 academy team,” Rose said. “So we used to always train out here, play our games out here. It definitely felt like home. It was a good feeling to get back out here.”
Kelly, a 2016 graduate of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, and Rose, a 2017 graduate of Green Hope High School in Cary, were practically playing in their own backyards, and their performances said as much.
Less than ten minutes into the game, Kelly boomed a shot off the cross bar which deflected into the goal to give the Tar Heels an early 2-0 lead. And after a North Carolina own goal brought the Scarlet Knights back within one, Rose collected a rebound off Rutgers keeper Rafael Pereira’s hands and chipped the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Rose is a highly touted newcomer, ranked as the No. 7 incoming player in the nation. His goal was his first of the regular season and his college career. He already showed his game readiness with a two-goal performance in a 3-1 preseason win over No. 19 Coastal Carolina.
“He's a goal scorer," head coach Carlos Somoano said of Rose. "That's his mojo. The more accustomed and acclimated he gets to our team and our program, the better he is going to be.”
Kelly, whose dad also played soccer for the Tar Heels, proved his worth last season as a first-year, appearing in all 21 matches for the team.
