# 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team

The 2018 North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 72nd season of the university fielding a program.
The 2018 season saw North Carolina win the inaugural U.S. Soccer Spring Men's College Program.
Fetzer Field was undergoing construction during the 2018 soccer season so the Tar Heels split their home matches between three stadiums:WakeMed Soccer Park, Bryan Park, and Koskinen Stadium.

## Background

The 2017 North Carolina men's soccer team finished the season with a 17–4–1 overall record and a 6–1–1 ACC record. The Tar Heels were seeded second–overall in the 2017 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. The Tar Heels were upset in the Quarterfinals by the seventh seed Notre Dame. The Tar Heels earned an at-large bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. As the third-overall seed in the tournament, the Tar Heels defeated, UNC Wilmington, SMU, and Fordham before losing to Indiana in the College Cup.
At the end of the season, one Tar Heels men's soccer player was selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft: Alan Winn.

## Player movement
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Drew Murphy | 9 | MF | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Palos Verdes, CA | Graduated |
| Zach Wright | 10 | FW | 5'11" | 165 | Senior | Smithville, TX | Graduated |
| David October | 11 | MF | 6'0" | 161 | Senior | Cambridge, UK | Graduated |
| Alan Winn | 18 | FW | 5'11" | 172 | Senior | Garland, TX | Declared for 2018 MLS SuperDraft; drafted 25th overall by Colorado Rapids |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |

### 2018 recruiting class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Sebastian Chalbaud MF | VEN | Venezuela | Cedar Stars Academy |
| Milo Garvanian MF | USA | Albuquerque, NM | Colorado Rapids |
| Roman Knox MF | USA | Shawnee, KS | Sporting Kansas City Academy |
| Antonio Lopez MF | USA | Austin, TX | Lonestar SC |
| Jake Walker DF | USA | Davie, FL | Weston FC |
| Jaxson Watermann FW | USA | Columbia, SC | Carolina Rapids |

## Squad
### Roster

Updated August 6, 2018
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | James Pyle |
| 2 | MF | USA | Mauricio Pineda |
| 4 | DF | CAN | Alex Comsia |
| 5 | DF | USA | John Nelson |
| 6 | DF | USA | Matt Constant |
| 7 | FW | USA | Lucas Del Rosario |
| 8 | MF | USA | Jack Skahan |
| 9 | MF | USA | Drew Murphy |
| 10 | FW | USA | Giovanni Montesdeoca |
| 11 | MF | USA | Antonio Lopez |
| 12 | GK | USA | Drew Romig |
| 13 | DF | NOR | Henrik Bredeli |
| 15 | DF | USA | Will Campbell |
| 16 | MF | USA | David Mejia |
| 17 | MF | USA | Jesus Bolivar |
| 18 | MF | WAL | Sam Jones |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | USA | Martin Salas |
| 20 | MF | USA | Alex Moztarzadeh |
| 21 | FW | USA | Alex Rose |
| 22 | MF | USA | Dominic Jensen |
| 23 | DF | USA | Jake Walker |
| 25 | DF | NZL | Liam Williams |
| 26 | FW | USA | Jelani Pieters |
| 27 | DF | USA | Mark Salas |
| 28 | MF | USA | Raul Aguilera |
| 29 | MF | USA | Jeremy Kelly |
| 30 | GK | USA | Alec Smir |
| 31 | FW | LTU | Julius Momkus |
| 32 | MF | USA | Milo Garvanian |
| 33 | FW | USA | Jaxson Watermann |
| 35 | DF | ENG | Charlie Forecast |
| 38 | MF | USA | Roman Knox |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Taff Wadda |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic director | Bubba Cunningham |
| Head coach | Carlos Somoano |
| Assistant coach | Grant Porter |
| Assistant coach | Will Clayton |
| Volunteer Assistant Coach | Joe Scachetti |

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 12* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | at No. 18 Coastal Carolina | W 4–0 | – (–) | Coastal Carolina University Soccer Field Conway, SC |
| August 17* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Stetson | W 4–1 | – (–) | WakeMed Soccer Park Cary, NC |
| August 19* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Presbyterian | W 2–1 | – (–) | Bryan Park Greensboro, NC |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 24* 7:30 pm | No. 3 | ETSU | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 (0–0–0) | Bryan Park (367) Greensboro, NC |
| August 26* 7:30 pm | No. 3 | No. 2 Indiana | L 0–1 | 1–1–0 (0–0–0) | WakeMed Soccer Park (2,864) Cary, NC |
| August 31* 7:00 pm | No. 12 | at William & Mary | W 6–1 | 2–1–0 (0–0–0) | Albert–Daly Field (661) Williamsburg, VA |
| September 3* 7:00 pm | No. 12 | Jacksonville | W 2–0 | 3–1–0 (0–0–0) | Koskinen Stadium (239) Durham, NC |
| September 8 7:00 pm | No. 5 | Pittsburgh | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 4–1–0 (1–0–0) | Koskinen Stadium (572) Durham, NC |
| September 11* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Davidson | W 1–0 | 5–1–0 (1–0–0) | Alumni Soccer Stadium (815) Davidson, NC |
| September 18* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | at UNCG | Cancelled due to Hurricane Florence | 0–0–0 (0–0–0) | UNCG Soccer Stadium Greensboro, NC |
| September 21 7:00 pm | No. 3 | at No. 8 Notre Dame | W 1–0 $^{2OT}$ | 6–1–0 (2–0–0) | Alumni Stadium (1,724) South Bend, IN |
| September 28 7:00 pm | No. 3 | Clemson | W 2–0 | 7–1–0 (3–0–0) | WakeMed Soccer Park (1,876) Cary, NC |
| October 2* 7:00 pm | No. 3 | No. 12 UNCW | W 1–0 | 8–1–0 (3–0–0) | WakeMed Soccer Park (1,017) Cary, NC |
| October 6 7:00 pm | No. 3 | No. 19 Virginia Tech | W 2–1 | 9–1–0 (4–0–0) | Koskinen Stadium (2,074) Durham, NC |
| October 9* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at Old Dominion | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 9–1–1 (4–0–0) | Old Dominion Soccer Complex (775) Norfolk, VA |
| October 12 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at NC State Rivalry | L 0–1 | 9–2–1 (4–1–0) | Dail Soccer Field (3,229) Raleigh, NC |
| October 16* 7:00 pm | No. 5 | Winthrop | W 4–0 | 10–2–1 (4–1–0) | WakeMed Soccer Park (244) Cary, NC |
| October 19 7:00 pm | No. 5 | at Boston College | W 2–0 | 11–2–1 (5–1–0) | Newton Soccer Complex (572) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| October 23 7:00 pm | No. 5 | at No. 14 Duke Rivalry | W 1–0 | 12–2–1 (6–1–0) | Koskinen Stadium (1,600) Durham, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 4 1:00 pm | (2) No. 4 | (7) No. 22 Virginia Tech Quarterfinal | W 3–0 | 13–2–1 | WakeMed Soccer Park (507) Cary, NC |
| November 7 7:00 pm | (2) No. 4 | (3) No. 8 Duke Semifinal, Rivalry | W 2–1 | 14–2–1 | WakeMed Soccer Park (586) Cary, NC |
| November 11 12:00 pm | (2) No. 4 | (4) No. 10 Louisville Final | L 0–1 | 14–3–1 | Sahlen's Stadium (1,402) Cary, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 18* 6:00 pm | (5) No. 6 | James Madison Second Round | L 1–2 | 14–4–1 | WakeMed Soccer Park (850) Cary, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Alex Comsia | MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 13, 2018 |
| Giovanni Montesdeoca | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 24, 2018 |
| Giovanni Montesdeoca | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | October 1, 2018 |
| Alex Comsia | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 1, 2018 |
| Alex Comsia | Defensive Player of the Year | November 7, 2018 |
| Nils Bruening | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Alex Comsia | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Mauricio Pineda | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| James Pyle | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| John Nelson | All-ACC Second Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Jack Skahan | All-ACC Third Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Nils Bruening | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 11, 2018 |
| Alex Comsia | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 11, 2018 |
| John Nelson | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 11, 2018 |
| Alex Comsia | United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American | December 6, 2018 |
| Mauricio Pineda | United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American | December 6, 2018 |

## 2019 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| John Nelson | FC Dallas | 1 | 10 | DF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | 3 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released | 14 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |