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2023 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2023 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Quarterfinals
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record11–4–7 (2–3–3 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home stadiumDorrance Field
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 ACC men's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Atlantic
No. 15 Wake Forest + 4 1 3 11 3 5
No. 1 Clemson 4 2 2 15 3 5
No. 25 Syracuse + 2 1 5 9 5 7
No. 24 Louisville + 2 4 2 12 6 3
NC State 1 5 2 6 9 3
Boston College 0 5 3 3 9 5
Coastal
No. 2 Notre Dame + 6 0 2 13 3 6
No. 13 Virginia + 5 2 1 11 4 4
No. 20 Duke+ 4 3 1 11 4 3
No. 6 North Carolina + 2 3 3 11 3 7
Pittsburgh + 2 3 3 6 7 4
Virginia Tech 2 5 1 4 9 4
As of December 12, 2023
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches
Source: The ACC

The 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 77th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by thirteenth year head coach Carlos Somoano and played their home games at Dorrance Field.

The Tar Heels finished the season 11–4–7 overall and 2–3–3 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. As the seventh overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated tenth seed Virginia Tech in the First Round, upset second seed Wake Forest in the Quarterfinals, and sixth seed Syracuse to reach the ACC Final. There they faced off against Clemson and fell in a penalty shoot-out. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were the third overall seed. They defeated Memphis in the First Round, and advanced in another penalty shoot-out over fourteenth seed Hofstra in the Third Round. They were unable to advance further as they lost to Oregon State in the Quarterfinals to end their season.

Background

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The Tar Heels finished the season 8–6–5 overall and 2–2–4 in ACC play to finish in fourth place in the Coastal Division. As the seventh overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated Boston College in the First Round, before losing to eventual champions Syracuse in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As an unseeded team, they lost to High Point in the First Round to end their season.

Player movement

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Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Benjamin Kabeya 4 MF/DF 5'10" 183 Freshman Berne, Switzerland Signed professional contract
Julian Hinojosa 5 DF 5'8" 155 Senior Dallas, Texas Graduated
Hilli Goldhar 11 MF 5'9" 150 Graduate Student Toronto, Canada Graduated
Key White 13 FW 5'10" 159 Redshirt Junior Norfolk, Virginia Transferred to Old Dominion
Victor Olofsson 14 MF 5'11" 160 Senior Vaernamo, Sweden Graduated
James Person 16 DF 6'0" 160 Senior Walnut Creek, California Graduated
Cameron Fisher 17 MF 5'11" 160 Senior Palo Alto, California Graduated
Matthew Senanou 18 DF 6'4" 208 Sophomore Chicago, Illinois Transferred to Xavier
Milo Garvanian 22 DF/MF 6'1" 160 Graduate Student Albuquerque, New Mexico Graduated; drafted 54th overall
in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft
Sebastian Schacht 23 MF 6'0" 175 Graduate Student Christchurch, New Zealand Graduated
Marco Saborio-Perez 24 GK 6'2" 190 Graduate Student Geneva, Switzerland Graduated
Akeim Clarke 25 FW 6'3" 190 Junior Windsor, Connecticut
Tim Schels 28 MF 5'9" 161 Junior Erding, Germany Transferred to FIU
Luc Granitur 31 FW 5'9" 155 Sophomore Vero Beach, Florida Transferred to North Florida
Guy Vivaldini 36 MF/FW 6'2" 174 Sophomore Itupeva, Brazil Transferred to Xavier
Derek Lippert 37 DF 5'9" 149 Freshman Mexico City, Mexico
Finn Sansom 40 DF/MF 5'11" 183 Freshman Shrewsbury, England
Rohit Thakur 41 FW 5'7" 140 Freshman Morrisville, North Carolina

Incoming Transfers

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Vemund Hole Vik 4 DF 6'0" 175 Graduate Student Ålesund, Norway Elon
Martin Vician 9 FW 6'4" N/A Graduate Student Bratislava, Slovakia Harvard
Quenzi Huerman 11 MF/FW 6'0" 172 Graduate Student Vannes, France Seton Hall
David Bercedo 13 FW 5'8" 148 Graduate Student Madrid, Spain Quinnipiac
Collin Travasos 24 GK 6'3" 195 Graduate Student Encinitas, California California

Recruiting class

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Name Nat. Hometown Club TDS Rating
Kevin Gorbell
DF
 USA Boca Raton, Florida Inter Miami CF Academy [1]
Andrew Kitch
FW
 USA Medford, New Jersey JFC Real [2]
William Lorentz
MF
 USA Winston-Salem, North Carolina North Carolina Fusion [3]
Daniel Lugo
FW
 USA Saint Petersburg, Florida Tampa Bay United [4]
John McDowell
MF
 USA Chapel Hill, North Carolina North Carolina FC [5]
Michael Melilli
DF
 USA Palm Harbor, Florida Tampa Bay United [6]
Maclovio Swett
MF
 USA Denver, Colorado Colorado Rapids Academy [7]
Kaitaro Tamashiro
FW
 USA Honolulu, Hawaii IMG Academy [8]
Gabriel Velasco
GK
 USA Raleigh, North Carolina IMG Academy [9]

Squad

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Roster

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As of January 30, 2024[10]

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 Andrew Cordes
2 DF Germany GER Til Zinnhardt
4 DF Norway NOR Vemund Hole Vik
6 MF United States USA Andres Cardenas
7 MF United States USA Sam Williams
8 MF United States USA Jameson Charles
10 MF Argentina ARG Juan Caffaro
11 MF France FRA Quenzi Huerman
12 GK Hong Kong HKG Aristide Gry
13 FW Spain ESP David Bercedo
14 MF United States USA John McDowell
15 DF United States USA Riley Thomas
16 MF United States USA Maclovio Swett
17 FW United States USA Daniel Lugo
18 DF Australia AUS Charlie Harper
19 MF United States USA Jonathan Sinclair
20 MF Ghana GHA Ernest Bawa
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF United States USA Parker O'Ferral
22 FW United States USA Kai Tamashiro
23 FW United States USA Andrew Kitch
24 GK United States USA Collin Travasos
26 DF United States USA Matt Edwards
27 MF United States USA Andrew Czech
28 DF United States USA Kevin Gorbell
29 MF United States USA Yaya Bakayoko
30 GK United States USA Gabe Belasco
31 DF United States USA Michael Melilli
32 MF United States USA Tate Lorentz
33 DF United States USA Riley Berge
34 MF United States USA Ahmad Al-Qaq
35 MF United States USA Ty Johnson
38 FW United States USA Lucas Ross
39 MF United States USA Hayden Morgan
42 FW United States USA Daniel Kutsch

Team management

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Position Staff
Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham
Head Coach Carlos Somoano
Assistant Coach Grant Porter
Assistant Coach Michael Harrington

Source:[10]

Schedule

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Source:[11]

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
August 11*
7:00 p.m.
at Campbell  None Reported 
Eakes Athletics Complex
Buies Creek, NC
August 15*
7:30 p.m.
High Point  None Reported 
Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
August 18*
7:00 p.m.
James Madison  None Reported 
Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
Regular season
August 24*
7:30 p.m., ACCNX
Loyola (MD) T 1–1  0–0–1
Dorrance Field (3,335)
Chapel Hill, NC
August 27*
7:30 p.m., ACCNX
American  Cancelled [12] 
Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
September 1*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at East Tennessee State W 2–1  1–0–1
Summers-Taylor Stadium (1,127)
Johnson City, TN
September 4*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at VCU W 4–1  2–0–1
Sports Backers Stadium (607)
Richmond, VA
September 8
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
at Virginia Tech T 1–1  2–0–2
(0–0–1)
Thompson Field (2,407)
Blacksburg, VA
September 15
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 10 Notre Dame T 1–1  2–0–3
(0–0–2)
Dorrance Field (4,298)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 19*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
UNC Wilmington W 3–0  3–0–3
Dorrance Field (769)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 24
4:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 11 Duke
Rivalry
W 2–1  4–0–3
(1–0–2)
Dorrance Field (2,858)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 29
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 18 at Pittsburgh T 0–0  4–0–4
(1–0–3)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,010)
Pittsburgh, PA
October 3*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 13 Elon W 2–0  5–0–4
Dorrance Field (814)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 6
7:30 p.m., ACCN
No. 13 No. 18 Syracuse L 0–1  5–1–4
(1–1–3)
Dorrance Field (2,387)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 10*
6:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast W 3–0  6–1–4
Dorrance Field (1,114)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 14
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 14 at No. 4 Wake Forest L 0–1  6–2–4
(1–2–3)
Spry Stadium (2,454)
Winston–Salem, NC
October 17*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 11 William & Mary T 0–0  6–2–5
Dorrance Field (684)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 22
5:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 11 Louisville W 2–0  7–2–5
(2–2–3)
Dorrance Field (3,887)
Chapel Hill, NC
October 27
7:30 p.m., ACCN
No. 10т at No. 14 Virginia L 0–1  7–3–5
(2–3–3)
Klöckner Stadium (2,478)
Charlottesville, VA
ACC Tournament
November 1
6:00 p.m., ACCN
(7) No. 13 (10) Virginia Tech
First Round
W 4–1  8–3–5
Dorrance Field (991)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 5
4:00 p.m., ACCN
(7) No. 13 at (2) No. 6 Wake Forest
Quarterfinals
W 1–0  9–3–5
Spry Stadium (2,958)
Winston–Salem, NC
November 8
6:00 p.m., ACCN
(7) No. 7 at (6) No. 18 Syracuse
Semifinals
W 3–1  10–3–5
SU Soccer Stadium (1,570)
Syracuse, NY
November 12
12:00 p.m., ACCN
(7) No. 7 vs. (4) No. 14 Clemson
Final
T 1–1 (3–5 PKs)  10–3–6
WakeMed Soccer Park (2,318)
Cary, NC
NCAA Tournament
November 19
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
(3) No. 7 Memphis
Second Round
W 2–0  11–3–6
Dorrance Field (1,255)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 26
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
(3) No. 7 (14) No. 17 Hofstra
Third Round
T 2–2 (5–3 PKs)  11–3–7
Dorrance Field (1,632)
Chapel Hill, NC
December 2
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
(3) No. 7 Oregon State
Quarterfinals
L 0–1  11–4–7
Dorrance Field (3,127)
Chapel Hill, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date Ref.
Vemund Hole Vik Pre-Season Hermann Trophy Watchlist August 24 [13]
Sam Williams Pre-Season All-ACC Team August 26 [14]
Quenzi Huerman ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week September 26 [15]
Andrew Cordes ACC Defensive Player of the Week October 24 [16]
Quenzi Huerman All-ACC First Team November 8, 2023 [17]
Riley Thomas All-ACC Second Team
Sam Williams All-ACC Third Team
Quenzi Huerman ACC All-Tournament Team November 12, 2023 [18]
Martin Vician
Til Zinnhardt

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
United Soccer[19]1813141110т137Not released6
TopDrawer Soccer[20]1911121318221586666

References

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  1. ^ "Kevin Gorbell". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Andrew Kitch". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  3. ^ "William Lorentz". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "Daniel Lugo". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "John McDowell". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Michael Melilli". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "Maclovio Swett". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  8. ^ "Kaitaro Tamashiro". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  9. ^ "Gabriel Velasco". topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "2023 Men's Soccer Roster". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  11. ^ "2023 Men's Soccer Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  12. ^ "Men's Soccer Versus American Cancelled Due To Weather". goheels.com. North Carolina Athletics. August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  13. ^ "2023 Men's MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "Clemson Selected 2023 Preseason ACC Men's Soccer Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "ACC Unveils Men's Soccer Player of Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "UVa's Annor Gyamfi, UNC's Cordes Earn ACC Men's Soccer Player of Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  17. ^ "2023 All-ACC Men's Soccer Team Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Clemson Wins 2023 ACC Men's Soccer Championship". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Men — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  20. ^ "College Soccer National Ranking". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.