# 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team

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

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
### Departures

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 | 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

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

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

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 30, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Quinn Colsson |
| 1 | GK | USA | Andrew Cordes |
| 2 | DF | GER | Til Zinnhardt |
| 4 | DF | NOR | Vemund Hole Vik |
| 6 | MF | USA | Andres Cardenas |
| 7 | MF | USA | Sam Williams |
| 8 | MF | USA | Jameson Charles |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Juan Caffaro |
| 11 | MF | FRA | Quenzi Huerman |
| 12 | GK | HKG | Aristide Gry |
| 13 | FW | ESP | David Bercedo |
| 14 | MF | USA | John McDowell |
| 15 | DF | USA | Riley Thomas |
| 16 | MF | USA | Maclovio Swett |
| 17 | FW | USA | Daniel Lugo |
| 18 | DF | AUS | Charlie Harper |
| 19 | MF | USA | Jonathan Sinclair |
| 20 | MF | GHA | Ernest Bawa |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | USA | Parker O'Ferral |
| 22 | FW | USA | Kai Tamashiro |
| 23 | FW | USA | Andrew Kitch |
| 24 | GK | USA | Collin Travasos |
| 26 | DF | USA | Matt Edwards |
| 27 | MF | USA | Andrew Czech |
| 28 | DF | USA | Kevin Gorbell |
| 29 | MF | USA | Yaya Bakayoko |
| 30 | GK | USA | Gabe Belasco |
| 31 | DF | USA | Michael Melilli |
| 32 | MF | USA | Tate Lorentz |
| 33 | DF | USA | Riley Berge |
| 34 | MF | USA | Ahmad Al-Qaq |
| 35 | MF | USA | Ty Johnson |
| 38 | FW | USA | Lucas Ross |
| 39 | MF | USA | Hayden Morgan |
| 42 | FW | USA | Daniel Kutsch |

### Team management

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

## Schedule

Source:
| 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 | — | 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

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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 10т | 13 | 7 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 6 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |