2021 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team

2021 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. RV
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 22
Record11–7–2 (4–4–0 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Grant Porter (11th season)
  • Will Clayton (4th season)
Home stadiumDorrance Field
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 ACC men's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Atlantic
No. 1 Clemson + 5 – 3 – 0 16 – 5 – 2
Louisville + 5 – 3 – 0 10 – 7 – 1
No. 17 Wake Forest + 4 – 3 – 1 13 – 7 – 1
Boston College 2 – 4 – 2 6 – 7 – 2
Syracuse 2 – 5 – 1 8 – 8 – 2
NC State 1 – 5 – 2 7 – 8 – 2
Coastal
No. 12 Duke + 5 – 2 – 1 14 – 5 – 1
No. 6 Pittsburgh + 5 – 2 – 1 13 – 5 – 2
No. 4 Notre Dame ‡ 4 – 2 – 2 14 – 5 – 5
North Carolina + 4 – 4 – 0 11 – 7 – 2
No. 19 Virginia Tech + 3 – 4 – 1 11 – 5 – 4
Virginia 2 – 5 – 1 6 – 9 – 3
As of December 14, 2021
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: The ACC

The 2021 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 75th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by eleventh year head coach Carlos Somoano and played their home games at Dorrance Field.

The Tar Heels finished the season 11–7–2 overall and 4–4–0 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. As the seventh overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated Syracuse in the First Round, before losing to Clemson in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As an unseeded team, they defeated Loyola (MD) via penalty shoot-out in the First Round before losing to sixth seeded New Hampshire in the Second Round.

Background

[edit]
Main article: 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team

The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.

The Tar Heels finished the fall season 3–2–2 and 3–1–2 in ACC play to finish in second place in the South Division. In the ACC Tournament lost to Notre Dame in the Quarterfinals. They finished the spring season 4–2–1 and 4–1–1 in ACC play, to finish in second place in the Coastal Division. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As an unseeded team in the tournament, they progressed pass Charlotte in the Second Round via penalties, defeated Stanford in the Third Round, and Wake Forest in the Quarterfinals before losing to Marshall in the Semifinals to end their season.

At the end of the season, three Tar Heels men's soccer players were selected in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft: Matt Constant, Mark Salas and Giovanni Montesdeoca.[1]

Player movement

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Matt Constant 6 DF 6'6" 190 Senior Dallas, TX Graduated
Giovanni Montesdeoca 10 FW 5'9" 167 Senior Dallas, TX Graduated; Drafted 79th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas
Sam Jones 18 MF 6'2" 190 Senior Cardiff, Wales Graduated
Axel Alejandre 26 DF 5'11" Freshman Chicago, IL Transferred to Louisville
Mark Salas 27 DF 5'10" 150 Senior Dallas, TX Graduated; Drafted 76th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas
Malik Henry 31 FW 5'6" 130 Freshman Hamilton, Canada Transferred to Akron
Roman Knox 38 MF 5'10" 150 Junior Shawnee, KS Transferred to SMU
Taff Wadda 39 FW 5'9" 150 Senior Brackell, England Graduated

Recruiting class

[edit]
Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating
Nicolas Bellini
FW
  USA Lehi, UT Real Salt Lake [2]
Andres Cardenas
FW
  USA Doral, FL Inter Miami CF U18 [3]
Quinn Closson
GK
  USA Fairfield, CT NYCFC Academy [4]
Andrew Czech
MF
  USA Elmhurst, IL Sockers FC [5]
Matthew Edwards
DF
  USA Atlanta, GA Atlanta United [6]
Luc Granitur
FW
  USA Vero Beach, FL SIMA [7]
Tega Ikoba
FW
  USA Huntsville, AL Portland Timbers Academy [8]
Daniel Kutsch
MF
  USA Birmingham, AL Alabama FC [9]
Zack Naughton
MF
  USA Goldsboro, NC Wilmington Hammerheads FC [10]
Lucas Ross
FW
  USA Verona, NJ PDA Academy N/A[11]
Matthew Senanou
DF
  USA Plainfield, IL Sockers FC [12]
Gui Vivaldini
MF
  USA Chattanooga, TN The McCallie School [13]

Squad

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
As of January 27, 2022[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Quinn Colsson
1 GK United States USA Alec Smir
2 DF Italy ITA Filippo Zattarin
4 DF England ENG Joe Pickering
5 DF United States USA Julian Hinojosa
6 MF United States USA Andres Cardenas
7 FW United States USA Lucas del Rosario
8 MF United States USA Jameson Charles
9 FW Venezuela VEN Santiago Herrera
10 FW United States USA Tega Ikoba
11 MF United States USA Antonio Lopez
12 GK United States USA J.P. Philpot
13 FW United States USA Key White
14 MF Sweden SWE Victor Olofsson
15 DF United States USA Riley Thomas
16 FW United States USA Jonathan Jimenez
17 MF United States USA Cameron Fisher
18 DF United States USA Matthew Senanou
19 MF United States USA Jonathan Sinclair
20 MF United States USA Ernest Bawa
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW United States USA Alex Rose
22 MF United States USA Milo Garvanian
24 GK Switzerland SUI Marco Saborio-Perez
25 FW United States USA Akeim Clarke
26 DF United States USA Matt Edwards
27 MF United States USA Andrew Czech
28 MF Germany GER Tim Schels
29 MF United States USA Yaya Bakayoko
30 GK United States USA Jake Schick
31 FW United States USA Luc Granitur
32 DF United States USA Aldair Sanchez
33 MF United States USA Garrett Kessel
34 MF United States USA Ahmad Al-Qaq
35 MF United States USA Sam Moore
36 MF Brazil BRA Guy Vivaldini
37 MF United States USA Jacques Bouvery
39 FW Germany GER Gerit Wintermeyer
41 MF United States USA Chris Sullivan
42 FW United States USA Daniel Kutsch

Team management

[edit]
Position Staff
Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham
Head Coach Carlos Somoano
Assistant Coach Grant Porter
Assistant Coach Will Clayton
Volunteer Assistant Coach Michael Harrington

Source:[14]

Schedule

[edit]

Source:[15][16]

Date
Time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
August 15*
8:30 p.m. 		No. 4 No. 1 Marshall T 1–1  –
 Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
August 20*
7:00 p.m. 		No. 4 Liberty L 0–1  –
 Liberty Soccer Stadium
Lynchburg, VA
Regular season
August 26*
7:30 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 4 Bucknell W 7–0  1–0–0
 Dorrance Field (1,227)
Chapel Hill, NC
August 29*
7:30 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 4 VCU T 1–1 2OT 1–0–1
 Dorrance Field (1,776)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 3*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 6 Georgia Southern W 3–0  2–0–1
 Dorrance Field (498)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 6*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 6 at Davidson W 3–0  3–0–1
 Alumni Soccer Stadium (2,163)
Davidson, NC
September 10
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 4 at No. 15 Pittsburgh L 0–4  3–1–1
(0–1–0) 		Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,115)
Pittsburgh, PA
September 14*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 16 Campbell W 1–0  4–1–1
 Dorrance Field (538)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 19
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 16 No. 12 Duke
Rivalry 		L 0–3  4–2–1
(0–2–0) 		Dorrance Field (2,310)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 25
7:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		at Virginia W 2–0  5–2–1
(1–2–0) 		Klöckner Stadium (2,046)
Charlottesville, VA
September 29*
7:00 p.m., FloSports 		at UNC Wilmington L 1–2  5–3–1
 UNCW Soccer Stadium (1,321)
Wilmington, NC
October 3
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		NC State W 4–0  6–3–1
(2–2–0) 		Dorrance Field (1,433)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 8
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		Wake Forest L 1–2  6–4–1
(2–3–0) 		Dorrance Field (1,283)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 12*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		Wofford W 1–0  7–4–1
 Dorrance Field (466)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 15
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Louisville L 0–2  7–5–1
(2–4–0) 		Lynn Stadium (562)
Louisville, KY
October 19*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 15 Loyola Marymount W 2–0  8–5–1
 Dorrance Field (471)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 24
7:00 p.m., ACCRSN 		at No. 13 Virginia Tech W 2–0  9–5–1
(3–4–0) 		Thompson Field (1,115)
Blacksburg, VA
October 29
4:30 p.m., ESPNU 		No. 11 Notre Dame W 3–1  10–5–1
(4–4–0) 		Dorrance Field (1,481)
Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament
November 3
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		(7) No. 18 (10) Syracuse
First Round 		W 1–0 2OT 11–5–1
 Dorrance Field (544)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 7
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		(7) No. 18 at (2) No. 9 Clemson
Quarterfinals 		L 1–2  11–6–1
 Riggs Field (2,351)
Clemson, SC
NCAA Tournament
November 18
6:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 23 Loyola (MD)
First Round 		T 0–0 (4–2 PKs)  11–6–2
 Dorrance Field (1,347)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 21
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 23 (16) No. 6 New Hampshire
Second Round 		L 1–4  11–7–2
 Wildcat Stadium (3,264)
Durham, NH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Recipient Award Date Ref.
Alec Smir Preseason All-ACC Watchlist August 18 [17]
Milo Garvanian ACC Offensive Player of the Week October 26 [18]
Alec Smir ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Alec Smir All-ACC First Team November 10 [19]
Joe Pickering All-ACC Third Team
Filippo Zattarin
Ken Bellini ACC All-Freshman Team
Tega Ikoba

2022 MLS Super Draft

[edit]
Main article: 2022 MLS SuperDraft
Player Team Round Pick # Position
Alec Smir FC Dallas 3 62 GK

Source:[20]

Rankings

[edit]
Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
United Soccer[21]46416RVRVRV——RV1823Not releasedRV
TopDrawer Soccer [22]4524111117——2320202222222222

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2021 MLS SuperDraft Tracker". MLSSoccer.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "Nicolas Bellini". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Andres Cardenas". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Quinn Closson". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Andrew Czech". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Matthew Edwards". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Luc Granitur". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Tega Ikoba". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Daniel Kutsch". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Zack Naughton". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "Lucas Ross". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "Matthew Senanou". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Gui Vivaldini". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "2021 Men's Soccer Roster". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  15. ^ "2021 Men's Soccer Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Tar Heels Release 2021 Men's Soccer Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. July 16, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pitt Named Preseason ACC Men's Soccer Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  18. ^ "UNC's Garvanian, Smir Earn ACC Men's Soccer Player of the Week Distinction". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  19. ^ "2021 All-ACC Men's Soccer Team Unveiled". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  20. ^ "Smir Selected By FC Dallas In MLS SuperDraft". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  21. ^ "NCAA DI Men's National Rankings". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  22. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
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