Dec. 16, 2008

By Dave Lohse
Associate Athletic Communications Director

As bitter a pill to swallow as was the final result of this past Sunday's NCAA men's College Cup championship game for those who root for the Carolina Blue, the narrow 1-0 loss to Maryland in that game barely tarnishes the courageous run through the NCAA bracket made by Coach Elmar Bolowich and his team.

Just over a month ago, the only people who viewed such a sprint to the championship match as possible probably consisted of Bolowich, his staff, his players and the family members of that select group. So the march to the championship game had to be sweet indeed for the Tar Heel men's soccer side even though they eventually did not earn the result they most cherished.

The route to the championship game assuredly made even the most casual Carolina fan stand up and take notice. In the age of the Internet where news of UNC's sports successes is just a mouse click away, it would have been hard to ignore how this team fought through its quadrant of the bracket and then played brilliantly against the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the College Cup.

Finishing second in the NCAA Tournament, after all, is a pretty amazing ending for a team that in its last 10 games went 4-6. That's right. That's not a typo.

Bolowich's team made it through the first 14 games of this season with an excellent 11-2-1 record and it had put itself in the position of earning a very high NCAA seed. But beginning October 25, the Tar Heels began a stretch of its schedule that was punishing indeed. What resulted was a five-match losing streak, a fate unheard of in Tar Heel soccer lore.

But the truth is the Tar Heels did not play poorly during those five losses that included an overtime setback at Clemson, a loss to top-ranked Wake Forest in a game in which UNC controlled the run of play for the first 63 minutes and back-to-back losses to the nation's No. 2 team, Maryland to end the regular season and open the ACC Tournament.

As the Tar Heels awaited NCAA selection Monday on November 17 their fate may have seemed precarious but in fact it was not. First off, the Tar Heels play in the ACC and one need only look at the College Cup brackets of recent years to know what that means. Every season each of the nine schools goes through a brutal grind in a league where parity has never had higher stock value. Carolina also had an impressive RPI and the non-conference schedule was an asset as the NCAA committee looked where to position the Tar Heels in the 48-team bracket.

Given the end-of-the-season downturn, the Heels fell to a No. 13 seed but they earned a bye in the first round. That meant a 13-day gap between UNC's ACC Tournament loss to Maryland on November 12 and its NCAA second-round match against Jacksonville on November 25.

In those 13 days, the character of this team was reinvigorated and for that credit must go to the senior class led by midfielder Michael Callahan and striker Brian Shriver and including starting midfielder Garry Lewis, starting defenders Ryan Adeleye and Jordan Graye as well goalkeeper Jacob Wescoe, who started for much of the season.

Callahan, from Cary, N.C., and Shriver, from Clearwater, Fla., were the two seniors on this team who had played the most prominent roles on a UNC team which reached the Final 8 in 2005 during their freshman year, a season which ended with a disappointing loss to SMU in overtime on Fetzer Field just one step short of the UNC's third College Cup appearance.

In the two years that followed the Tar Heels went out in their first game of the tournament in 2006 and then did not qualify in 2007 when they fell one game short of the .500 standard at the end of the regular season.

This time, despite the late season setbacks, things would be different. Once the tournament started, the Tar Heels amped up their intensity, redoubled their commitment to playing great team defense and became creatively opportunistic on the offensive end. Those elements are the recipe for success in the NCAA Tournament where games are regularly decided by a single goal. In fact, UNC would play five of those one-goal games in their five appearances on the pitch in the post-season. The steely resolve of this team showed every step of the way.

Against Jacksonville November 25, talented freshman front runner Billy Schuler scored the goal that provided a 1-0 margin. Five days later, the Heels faced the University of Illinois at Chicago which brought a side to Chapel Hill that was extremely good even if somewhat unheralded. When weather conditions forced the game to be moved to Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, the whole day took on a somewhat surreal nature. The Flames took the lead in the 71st minute 2-1 on a soggy field and things could have looked bleak for UNC. But Callahan, the senior captain playing in his hometown, showed his grit with an athletic goal in the 87th minute that forced overtime. Less than five minutes into extra time, Shriver sent a cross from the wing to fellow senior Lewis who headed home a dramatic game-winner.

Six days later, Callahan and Shriver had their second chance to reach the College Cup and to exorcise the memory of the 2005 loss in the same round. Callahan produced the assist and freshman Kirk Urso from suburban Chicago, who had scored the first Tar Heel goal against UIC, sent a second team from his hometown packing for the year as the Tar Heels defeated Northwestern 1-0.

While No. 13 Carolina emerged from its quarter of the bracket, the rest of the tournament had unfolded as expected with No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Maryland and No. 3 St. John's all advancing to Frisco, Texas for the College Cup. While viewed as a significant underdog by most, the Tar Heels knew they had what it took to eliminate defending national champion Wake Forest in the semifinals.

Shriver's goal in the fourth minute gave Carolina the lead and for 70 minutes the Tar Heels played the game at their own pace, doing everything necessary to win. As would be expected of the nation's top-ranked team, Wake came at the Tar Heels with all they had in the final 20 minutes, peppering Carolina with a barrage of shots and creating several dangerous opportunities. But the Heels never panicked, the defense kept its shape and defended tenaciously in the box and junior Brooks Haggerty had the game of his collegiate career in goal with seven utterly brilliant saves. In the end, the best team on that night won and that is what soccer is all about. It's how you play that day in a game where the littlest of things can be the difference.

Two days later, the Tar Heels played toe-to-toe with Maryland, had their chances, gave it their all and ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 score. Disappointing? Absolutely. But the guts, grittiness, heart and resolve of Bolowich's 2008 team and the leadership of its magnificent senior class can only be admired. This group of Tar Heels provided tremendous post-season thrills for UNC fans that love and appreciate what the world calls football. Thank you, gentlemen, for letting us be witness to your accomplishments.