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2011 Season Preview Carolina Men's Soccer Billy Schuler Enzo Martinez Kirk Urso Previewing the 2011 Campaign Entering the 2011 season North Caro- lina will be in search of a school record fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA College Cup but the Tar Heels will be attempting the feat under new leadership as long-time assistant coach Carlos Somoano takes over the reins of the program. With former head coach Elmar Bolowich departing after 22 years in Carolina Blue, So- moano will now take control after nine years as Carolina's top assistant. During his time as an assistant Somoano assembled some of the top recruiting classes in the country and he turned out another solid group for 2011 as College Soc- cer News ranked the newest Tar Heels the top recruiting class in the nation. Leading the group are a pair of decorated transfers in forward Ben Speas and defender Matt Hedges. Speas comes to UNC via Akron where he earned NCAA All-Tournament team honors as a freshman. Hedges helped anchor one of the top defenses in the country a year ago at Butler where he earned All-America hon- ors and will have one year of eligibility remain- ing. Several decorated freshmen will battle for playing time this fall as well and could have an immediate impact after six players from the 2010 squad departed for professional careers. Another difficult schedule faces the Tar Heels in 2011 as for the second consecutive year Carolina will have an early shot at revenge taking on the team that eliminated it from the tournament the year before when Louisville comes to Fetzer Field Sept. 4. In other non-conference action the Tar Heels will face in-state foes Davidson, UNC Asheville and UNC Wilmington during the regu- lar season. One of the tougher non-conference battles will be a trip to Columbia, S.C. to take on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Drew McKinney The conference schedule features several stellar matchups once again. Six ACC squads were ranked in various preseason polls and the ACC should be one of the top conferences in the country. Three straight road games open the con- ference season as Carolina travels to Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia before returning home to face rival Duke in the NSCAA National Game of the Week set to be broadcast on Fox Soccer. Following a home contest against Clemson ESPNU will be at Fetzer Field to televise the battle between the Tar Heels and Maryland. Carolina closes out the conference slate with a home game against rival NC State and a midweek road trip to Boston College to complete the regular season. Up Top Carolina will have the services of All- America Billy Schuler back for the 2011 season after Schuler missed last season due to injury. Schuler paced the 2009 squad in scoring en route to All-America honors and should provide a needed offensive punch up top for the Tar Heels. Newcomer Ben Speas should factor in the attacking third for the Tar Heels after two impres- sive years at Akron. Sophomore Rob Loevjoy finished sixth in scoring a year ago despite not making his first appearance until midway through the season when he notched a game-winning goal against South Carolina and should vie for playing time. Other factors up top should be sophomores Carlos McCrary and Josh Rice. In The Middle The midfield will be a mixed bag for the Tar Heels in 2011 as two starters from a year ago Scott Goodwin return in three-year starter Kirk Urso and leading scorer Enzo Martinez. Urso started 23 games a year ago as he helped Carolina advance to a third consecutive NCAA College Cup. Martinez tallied 10 goals and five assists to lead the Tar Heels in scoring last year and has earned Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List honors to open the 2011 season. Looking to step into the holes left by MLS draft picks Michael Farfan and Stephen McCar- thy will be juniors Jordan Gafa, Martin Murphy and Alex Walters who all earned significant play- ing time a year ago. Also vying for time will be redshirt fresh- man David Walden and newcomers Nathan Diehl and Mikey Lopez. On The Backline The area that took the biggest hit for the Tar Heels was along the backline as three start- ers depart from the 2010 squad but back in the fold is senior Drew McKinney who has started every game over the last two years. Putting Somoano's mind at ease will be the addition of senior All-America transfer Matt Hedges who will immediately step into Jalil Anibaba's vacated center back position. On the wings will be a pair of freshmen in redshirt freshman Glen Long and January enrollee Jordan McCrary who both impressed coaches during the spring season. Also vying for time will be youngsters Boyd Okwuonu and Anton Sealey. In Goal After an 11-shutout sophomore campaign Scott Goodwin returns in net and will look to gel with a new look backline. Goodwin allowed only 0.68 goals per game in 2010. Redshirt fresh- man Brendan Moore could also see time in net. Matt Hedges Page 4