CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team played the 15th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels tough, but dropped a 2-0 decision on Thursday night in Chapel Hill.
The two sides went back-and-forth throughout the first 45 minutes, but neither team was able to break through before the half. Armon Haghighat (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley CC) had the best scoring chance for Evansville, putting a shot on target off his left foot, but a great save by the UNC keeper kept his clean sheet intact.
The score remained even through the first 25 minutes of the second half, with Evansville taking one shot and North Carolina taking two. However, the Tar Heels were able to put the first goal of the game on the board in the 70th minute before scoring again in the 75th minute to pull away for a 2-0 win.
“We’re disappointed to lose the match, but to compete against UNC the way that we did, especially for the first 70 minutes of the game, I think we’re proud about the effort.” Head Coach Robbe Tarver said postgame.
“We talk a lot about intangible moments, and you’re just going to have to perform those consistently to compete against a team like UNC, and I thought we did that.”
Martin Wurschmidt (Stavern, Norway/Thor Heyerdahl VGS), Nacho Garcia (Zaragoza, Spain/UNIR) and Haghighat tallied shots for Evansville. North Carolina out-shot Evansville 12-3 overall.
With the loss, Evansville moves at 0-1-2 on the year. The Aces return home on Sunday, hosting Memphis at Arad McCutchan Stadium for Alumni Weekend and a celebration of legendary UE head coach Mick Lyon.
