BY JOE JOHNSON

jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina seized control of its NCAA quarterfinal match against Drake in a span of just over three minutes with a pair of second-half goals, and the Tar Heels held on Friday night for a 2-1 win at Fetzer Field.

The victory sends UNC to the College Cup next week in Cary at WakeMed Soccer Park.

Sophomore Kirk Urso struck first with a 20-yard looping shot off his left foot that just was beyond the reach of Drake goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec with 35:12 left in the match. Alex Dixon put the score out of reach with a goal with less than 33 minutes remaining.

“I don’t think they expected me to shoot from there,” said Urso, who hit the crossbar with two long-range shots, one in each half. “I thought the first one was in. Anytime I get to strike one, I’m going to take it. [Long-range shooting], it’s one of my strengths.”

The victory also gives the Tar Heels the distinction of having both the men’s and women’s teams reaching the College Cup. The women’s team faced Notre Dame in Friday night’s semifinal game at College Station, Texas.

Dixon scored the eventual winning goal when he dashed up the middle of the field for a breakaway that he flicked underneath Kadlec, who was charging to the top of the box to contest the play. Drake’s defense had gotten too far up the field on a free kick deep in UNC’s end, and Dixon used his speed to split the defense and take a pass from Billy Schuler.

“Alex was off his rhythm for a while,” UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said. “Now lately, he’s recovered some and he’s caught his stride.”

The Tar Heels, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, dominated play but had little to show for it in the first half. UNC held and 7-1 shot advantage in the first half, including a penalty kick. By the end of the match, the shot differential decidedly was in the Tar Heels’ favor at 16-6.

Drake’s Kenan Malicevic scored with 44 seconds left to spoil Brooks Haggerty’s bid for his sixth career NCAA Tournament shutout.

“For the most part, we did a very good job in the game,” Bolowich said. “We controlled tempo. We just couldn’t get goals in the first half when we had chances. We could have done a better job of managing the end of the game.”

UNC (16-2-3) gave up only its 12th goal of the year.

“The better of the two teams won tonight,” Drake coach Sean Holmes said. “It would have been easy to give up in the last two minutes, but that goal epitomizes our team.”

Friday’s match against the Bulldogs was the first meeting between the teams. Kadlec got a rare start for Drake after Michael Drozd gave up three goals in its 6-4 victory over Boston College to reach the quarterfinals. Kadlec’s most recent start came on Nov. 1 against Missouri State.

Kadlec kept Drake in the game early, especially with a save on Zach Lloyd’s penalty shot with under eight minutes left in the first half.

“It gave us a lift,” Drake forward Garrett Webb said. “It was a big, big save for him to step up and make that save after not being the starter for most of the year.”

The Tar Heels will be making their fourth trip to the College Cup and second in a row.

“I’m getting chances and I’m making the most of them,” Green said.

UNC 2, Drake 1

Drake 0 1—1

North Carolina 0 2—2

Goals—Drake: Kenan Malicevic. UNC: Kirk Urso, AlexGreen.

Assists—Drake: Evan Harrison. UNC: Michael Farfan, Billy Schuler. Shots—Drake 6, UNC 16. Saves—Drake 6 (Jordan Kadlec 6). UNC 3 (Brooks Haggerty. Corners—Drake 1, UNC 11.. Att. —1,253.

Records—Drake 16-7-2, North Carolina 16-2-3.