DURHAM — Behind Nils Bruening’s second brace of the season, the No. 3 North Carolina men’s soccer team defeated No. 19 Virginia Tech, 2-1, on Saturday night. Bruening scored in the 21st and 84th minutes to give UNC its eighth consecutive win.
What happened?
Virginia Tech (6-4-2, 1-3-1 ACC) had two good chances in the first 12 minutes, but UNC (9-1, 4-0 ACC) defended both well. North Carolina’s Mark Salas was then assessed a 16th-minute yellow card, but the free kick and subsequent corner were also fruitless for the Hokies.
In the 21st minute, forward Jelani Pieters took two defenders down the right side of the box and crossed the ball to Bruening, who hit it in stride for UNC’s first goal of the match, and his fourth of the season.
Three minutes later, the Tar Heels appeared to have another goal, again off Pieters’ right-side attacking. But the score — originally credited to Milo Garvanian — was taken off the board on a late foul call against UNC, much to the ire of head coach Carlos Somoano.
In the 45th minute, the Hokies equalized off a Vincent Jackson II header. The goal came off a corner kick on what ended up being Virginia Tech’s final possession of the half. The teams entered the locker rooms tied, 1-1.
The second half started off less eventfully. Virginia Tech’s best chance came on a 57th-minute corner kick, and UNC’s on a 70th-minute shot off a solo run by midfielder Raul Aguilera.
In the 78th minute, Bruening nearly converted a one-touch goal while running down the right side of the box. The cross was on target, but the senior forward’s shot was just wide left.
But on his next opportunity, Bruening capitalized. After a length UNC possession, Aguilera found an open Bruening in the box. The 6-foot-3 forward booted it in from the right side — not too far from where his previous chance was — to give UNC a 2-1 lead, and himself a brace.
