CARY — The No. 3 North Carolina men’s soccer team defeated Clemson, 2-0, on Sept. 28 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
What happened?
The Tar Heels (7-1, 3-0 ACC) had a quick start against the Tigers (4-4-1, 0-3 ACC) during the Friday night game with junior Mauricio Pineda earning himself a yellow card after a little over a minute of play.
This play set the tone for the rest of the evening — intense and unforgiving.
The first goal wasn’t scored until the 21st minute by sophomore Giovanni Montesdeoca. After a perfect cross from senior Nils Bruening from the right side of the box, Montesdeoca banged a shot into the near post.
“On the first goal, Nils was able to get it one v one and take it down the line,” Montesdeoca said. “I just made my run to first post, and I put it in. It’s something we practice every day in training, and we were able to implicate that in the game today.”
Despite having two additional shots from inside the box during the first half, Montesdeoca couldn’t capitalize before halftime.
It was evident at the beginning of the second half that the Tar Heels were ready for more. UNC dominated possession, leading to a second goal by Montesdeoca in the 58th minute. Although the game had other nerve-wracking moments, UNC pulled out with a 2-0 win, maintaining its perfect ACC record.
