Tar Heels Defeat Bears, 2-0, in Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Chapel Hill, N.C.- Sophomores Billy Schuler and Alex Dixon both scored goals during the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament to lift the Tar Heels to a 2-0 victory over the Brown University Bears at Fetzer Field. The Bears ended their terrific 2009 season with an 11-3-5 overall record, as UNC improved to 14-2-3.

“It was a hard-fought battle and I am very proud of my team,” said Head Coach Mike Noonan. “We wish the best of luck to North Carolina.”

North Carolina played a confident and patient game of soccer and seemed to keep Brown out of sync during the first 45 minutes of play. The Tar Heels tallied four shots on goal as their stingy defense didn’t allow Brown any, and junior goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand (Orono, MN) tallied one save in the cage. The Bears did hold a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks, but weren’t able to come up with a score.

Just minutes after kick-off, North Carolina worked the ball around the field and saw an opening for a shot, but fortunately for Bruno it missed wide right. The Bears earned its first of three corner kicks at the 31:24 mark, but UNC’s goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty punched it away and out of the box.

After a Brown foul, UNC sophomore forward Billy Schuler lit up the scoreboard with a header at the 25:30 mark after receiving a pass from sophomore midfielder Kirk Urso to gain a 1-0 advantage. Not long after its goal, Cameron Brown accepted a cross a few feet in front of the goal and blasted the ball toward the net. Paul Grandstrand made a huge save and sent the ball up the field.

The Bears earned another corner kick with 13:52 left in the half, but Haggerty once again punched the ball out of bounds to award Bruno another. The Tar Heels shut down Brown’s next attempt, and North Carolina went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.

The second period started out very similarly to the first, as UNC continued to maintain control of the ball. Cameron Brown’s shot just three minutes into the period missed high, and he followed it up a few minutes later with a low shot to the left corner only to be saved by Grandstrand.

After a UNC foul, sophomore Jay Hayward (Acton, MA) took Brown’s first shot on goal, but Haggerty made the stop to tally his first save of the game. The Tar Heels continued to fire shots on the Brown goal, which included an Alex Dixon breakaway, but Grandstrand continued to make huge plays for Brown and keep UNC from adding to the scoreboard.

Midway through the second period, the Bears increased their intensity and became more of a threat on the offensive end. The Bears strung together three solid looks on goal, as the first came on a cross from rookie Dylan Remick (Inverness, IL) into senior midfielder Nick Elenz-Martin at the 18:20 mark that was cleared by the stingy UNC defense. Rob Medairos (Stafford, VA) flicked a pass to Taylor Gorman (Freeport, ME) right outside of the box with 15 minutes on the clock, but his shot sailed high and over the net.

Brown continued its offensive pressure on the Tar Heels, but would still come up with nothing. Remick had Brown’s best and final shot on goal with just a few minutes remaining in the game, as he sent a high ball that nearly bent in the goal but hit the cross bar. North Carolina then increased its lead to 2-0 with just 1:18 left on the clock when Alex Dixon went on a breakaway after Brown pushed its defenders up the field and sent one past a diving Grandstrand from eight yards out.

There were a total of 29 fouls in the game, as Brown tallied 17 to UNC’s 12. UNC out shot Bruno 11-5, and Grandstrand ended the game with five saves in net.