Nov. 15, 2007

Carolina-Wake Forest Notes in PDF Format

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - No. 6 seed North Carolina will look for a second straight upset win Friday when it meets No. 2 seed and No. 1-ranked Wake Forest in the second Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal at 8 p.m. at SAS Soccer Complex. The Tar Heels (7-7-5) posted a 1-0 win over Duke Wednesday, while the Demon Deacons (16-1-2) topped Clemson, 3-1, in the quarters. Webcasts of the entire tournament will be available live and on-demand at ACCSelect.com.

TAR HEELS HISTORY AT TOURNEY TIME
With Wednesday's win, the Tar Heels are 16-15-4 (.545) in ACC Championship play. UNC won ACC titles in 1987 and 2001 and also advanced to the title game in 1988 and 2005. The Tar Heels are 10-7-3 in first round games, 4-7-0 in the semifinals and 2-1-1 in the title game. Last year, Carolina played No. 2 seed Wake Forest to a scoreless tie before the Deacons advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4. The Tar Heels have gone to PKs in two of their last three ACC Tournament contests and three of the last eight. UNC was last seeded sixth in 2005 when it made a run to the championship game and went on to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: WAKE 2, CAROLINA 0
No. 2 Wake Forest took an early lead in the fifth minute and put the game away with a second goal in the 87th to claim a 2-0 win over North Carolina Nov. 3 at Spry Stadium. The Tar Heels managed only a season-low two shots in the second of three straight losses.

ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS
The Tar Heels lead the all-time series with Wake Forest, 19-8-7, but the Deacs have had the upper hand in recent years. Carolina is just 1-5-2 against Wake since 2001 with the lone win coming at Spry Stadium on a Michael Callahan overtime goal in 2005. UNC and Wake Forest have met just four times in the ACC Tournament with an even 1-1-2 record. Two of the Tar Heels' four trips to PKs in the ACC Tournament have come against Wake Forest, with each side advancing once.

POSTSEASON HOPES STILL ALIVE
Wednesday's victory over No. 20 Duke pulled the Tar Heels back to .500 on the season and kept alive their NCAA Tournament hopes. Carolina must be .500 or better to be considered for an at-large berth to the 48-team field. A loss Friday to the Deacons would eliminate UNC from contention for their ninth consecutive trip to the postseason but a win or tie would keep it alive. The winner of the ACC Tournament earns the league's automatic bid. Carolina is rated No. 28 in the most recent release of the NCAA's RPI, a large factor in determining the at-large berths. The Tar Heels' run of eight straight trips to the tourney is the eighth-longest streak in the nation.

SUCCESS VERSUS NO. 1
Carolina will be in search of its third win over the nation's No. 1 team in the last five seasons when it faces top-ranked Wake Forest Friday. The Tar Heels downed No. 1 Virginia Sept. 22, 2006, and No. 1 Maryland Oct. 5, 2003. The win over the Terps was Carolina's first over a No. 1 team since 1994.

QUARTERFINALS: CAROLINA 1, DUKE 0
Junior Michael Callahan scored in the 13th minute and North Carolina's defense limited No. 20 Duke to just six shots Wednesday in a 1-0 Tar Heel victory in Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal action at SAS Soccer Complex. Carolina last posted two wins over the Blue Devils in the same season in 1993. As usual in men's soccer action between Carolina and the Blue Devils, defense ruled the day. The teams combined for only 13 shots, just three of which were put on goal. Thirty-two fouls were also whistled in the match. Freshman goalkeeper Tyler Deric earned his sixth shutout and the seventh of the season for Carolina. He was forced to make just one save on the night. "It was a great game for us today, said 19th-year head coach Elmar Bolowich. "The boys came prepared - played well, played together, played hard. I think we deserved to win this game. Duke made it interesting at the end when they risked a lot and threw players forward. ... As usual it was an exciting Duke-Carolina match-up. I'm just glad for our team and program that we came out on top and hopefully we can take care of business on Friday as well."

DEFENSE STOPS BLUE DEVILS ONCE AGAIN
For the second time this season, Carolina's defense stuffed a nationally-ranked Duke squad, limiting the Blue Devils to just six shots Wednesday. On the year, the Tar Heels back line has limited Duke to just 11 shots in nearly 203 minutes of soccer. UNC's defensive effort was bolstered by the play of junior Jordan Graye, who made his first career start at outside back in place of Eddie Ababio.

ROOMMATES A KILLER COMBINATION
Carolina's top two scorers are roommates Bill Dworsky and Michael Callahan. They have combined for 26 points on eight goals and 10 assists and have hooked up on five scores this season. Callahan has set up half of Dworsky's six goals, and Dworsky has assisted on both of Callahan's goals. Dworsky's six goals are a team best, and the duo shares the team lead with five assists each.

ALL-ACC HONORS FOR SHERARD, DERIC
Defender Andre Sherard claimed second-team All-ACC honors and goalkeeper Tyler Deric was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team Monday when the league handed out its annual postseason awards. Sherard is the Tar Heels' first three-time all-conference honoree since Danny Jackson claimed all-league honors from 1999-2001.

SHERARD ANCHORS DEFENSE ONCE AGAIN
Senior center back Andre Sherard is once again making his presence felt despite not taking a shot or tallying a single point this season. The UNC captain has organized a young back line into a defensive unit that has allowed only 19 goals in 19 games and posted seven shutouts. The Tar Heels sport a 0.93 goals against average on the season, which is third in the ACC. The three-time All-ACC pick has started 82 games and missed just one contest since 2004. Over this stretch, Sherard has led the Tar Heels to 36 shutouts. He was a preseason All-America entering this season and was a nominee for both the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy and the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

ROOKIE DERIC STRONG IN NET
Tyler Deric, a rookie goalkeeper from Spring, Texas, has started 16 of 19 games and has posted a 0.94 goals against average (5th in the ACC) and six shutouts (3rd in the ACC). Deric's six shutouts are the most by a UNC freshman in goal since Bruce Talbot posted eight clean sheets in 1982. Deric has made 45 saves and allowed 16 goals for a .738 save percentage. Deric, who posted a career-high seven saves at Virginia Tech Oct. 19, was labeled a "Freshman to Watch" earlier this season by College Soccer News.

CAROLINA AIMS TO AVOID RARE LOSING SEASON
At 7-7-5, the Tar Heels are looking to avoid their first losing season since a 6-13-0 mark in 1997. Carolina has had just four losing seasons since the program started in 1947, with the 1997 mark the only losing slate since 1954.

ABABIO SHOWING VERSATILITY
Versatile defender Eddie Ababio has been a key contributor of late with all seven of his points in the last six games. The Tampa product had his most productive game as a Tar Heel with four points on two assists and a penalty kick goal in the 4-0 win over High Point Oct. 23. The points were the first of the season for Ababio, who shifted to outside back for the first time this season but will also play up front when Carolina needs a scoring boost. Ababio came off the bench for the first time all season Wednesday and added a scoring threat up front for UNC.

TWO SCORES EQUALS SUCCESS
Carolina has scored more than two goals just 11 times over the last two seasons but that has been the Tar Heels' magic number, as they are 10-0-1 when scoring at least twice. UNC is 4-0-0 this season when posting at least two goals. Carolina's last loss when scoring twice came against SMU in the 2005 NCAA quarterfinals.

TOPS IN THE TRIANGLE
For the first time since the national championship season of 2001, Carolina defeated both Duke and NC State in the regular season to claim the unofficial Triangle title. The Tar Heels scored a 1-0 win over the Wolfpack in Raleigh Sept. 15 and followed with a 1-0 overtime victory over the Blue Devils Oct. 11. Carolina added a win over Duke Wednesday to move to 3-0 against its Triangle neighbors this season.

SUCCESS AT SAS
Carolina has enjoyed success in Cary over the years, posting a 4-2-3 mark at SAS Soccer Complex since 2002. The Tar Heels have lost only once in their last eight games in Cary, but have been eliminated on penalty kicks twice since 2003. Friday's game will mark the first between Carolina and Wake Forest at SAS.

TAR HEELS WORKING EXTRA TIME
The Nov. 9 loss to Maryland marked the Tar Heels' eighth overtime match this season, which is just two shy of the school record of 10 set in 1979. Carolina's five ties match the school record also set by the 1979 squad.

CAROLINA CONTROLLING POSSESSION
Despite struggling to find the back of the net for much of the season, the Tar Heels dominated possession throughout the year - thanks to a talented midfield - and generated plenty of scoring chances. Carolina has taken 258 shots on the season and 138 corner kicks for an average of 13.6 shots and 7.3 corners per match. Conversely, the Tar Heels' defense is holding the opposition to just 8.6 shots and 3.4 corners per game.