Guess what? Carolina Men’s Soccer is pretty darn good, too!

We’ve known for years that Coach Carlos Somoano has a great soccer program; his men are not as well-known to the casual fan as UNC women’s soccer but have actually had more success in the last ten years. Check out these facts and figures:

Over those last 10 seasons, UNC leads all other programs in NCAA tournament victories with 22; Sweet 16 appearances with nine; Elite 8 appearances with eight and five trips to the Men’s College Cup.

Should the Tar Heels defeat Fordham Saturday night at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary in the first meeting ever between the two schools, they will reach the Men’s College Cup for the sixth time in 10 years, giving the team back-to-back College Cup appearances; the Heels went four consecutive years from 2008-2011.

With its win last week over SMU, Carolina’s ninth trip to the Elite 8 in the last ten years is the most of any program during that time. Maryland is second with six. UNC’s 22 wins in the NCAA tourney over the last decade are also two more than Maryland’s 20.

Cam Lindley’s 12 assists are the most by one player in one season under Somoano. The previous leader was Enzo Martinez with 11 en route to the Tar Heels’ 2011 national championship. North Carolina is the third overall seed in the NCAA tournament, and for the seventh time in the last nine years UNC is a top-16 seed.

After winning the ACC Coastal Division for the third straight year, UNC enters NCAA tournament play with a 39-19-8 all-time record. The Tar Heels will be making their 17th appearance in the last 18 seasons in the soccer Big Dance.

UNC is tied for second nationally with 51 goals this season, is third with an average of 2.55 goals per game, and has 14 different goal scorers in 2017, the most since the 2001 NCAA title team also had 14.

Carolina Men’s Soccer – another perennial contender for the national championship. Go Heels!

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