Aug. 5, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Thanks to a No. 4 national ranking of this year's crop of newcomers by College Soccer News, the North Carolina men's soccer program has posted a top-five recruiting class in five of the last six seasons.

The Tar Heels' incoming class is highlighted by prep All-Americas Chris Lebo, Billy Schuler, Kirk Urso and Sheanon Williams, who were each included on the website's annual list of "100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On."

Schuler, Urso and Williams all enrolled at Carolina in January and trained with the Tar Heels this spring. All three are products of the U.S. Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.

Additionally, Urso and Williams helped lead the U.S. Under-20 team to a third place finish at the Northern Ireland Milk Cup last month.

The Tar Heels play exhibition games Aug. 22 and Aug. 24 before opening the regular season with the annual Carolina Nike Classic, which opens Aug. 29 against Florida International at Fetzer Field.