bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- When the North Carolina men's soccer team lost two starting defenders and a midfielder to injuries at the start of the season, senior captain Zach Loyd was a little worried.
The Tar Heels fell to Maryland in the national championship game in 2008 and were determined to make it back to the College Cup to earn another shot at the title, but the injuries were a big blow toward that goal.
But instead of crumbling, the Tar Heels patched up their defense and overcame other injuries to earn a second consecutive bid to the College Cup, the college soccer version of the Final Four.
Fifth-seeded UNC will face unbeaten No. 1 seed Akron today (7:30 p.m., ESPNU) at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, and second-seeded Virginia and No. 3 seed Wake Forest will meet in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. (ESPNU).
"That feeling we had in the locker room last year, as soon as we lost that game, all the returning guys were like, 'We have to get back to this,' " Loyd said. "So throughout the preseason, offseason that's been our one goal -- just get back to the College Cup."
But it hasn't been an easy journey. Besides losing defender David Rodriguez (knee), defender Eddie Ababio (foot) and defender Stephen McCarthy (hip) at the start of the season, Loyd missed five games with an appendectomy. Then senior goalkeeper Brooks Haggerty sat out three games with a hip injury, and junior midfielder Cameron Brown missed a game with a leg injury. For a squad that was supposed to be full of veteran talent this year, the Tar Heels (16-2-3) had to rely on a lot of newcomers as they were down six starters at one point.
"All the injuries made it a lot more difficult, but nobody on our team used the injuries as a crutch to say like, 'Hey if we don't get back it's because of the injuries,' " sophomore defender Drew McKinney said. "Everyone kept pushing through and believed in what we were doing. I think everyone definitely had the goal of getting here and it wasn't just a lofty goal, everyone I think expected to be here."
UNC is making the program's fourth trip to the College Cup and is just the one of five teams to make at least three trips during this decade. The Tar Heels join ACC foe Wake Forest as the only two teams to advance to each of the last two College Cups.
"I expected to be here but it's still crazy thinking about it," McKinney said.
McKinney, a redshirt sophomore who's had three hip surgeries, along with Brett King, a redshirt sophomore who's had five foot surgeries, took over the starting defensive spots at the start of the season and have helped the Tar Heels record 11 shutouts. UNC enters today matchup on an eight-game unbeaten streak, and has given up just three goals in regulation during that stretch.
"We had to patch up our lineup quite a bit, and so in the beginning of the year I didn't know what to expect," UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said. "Would it hold?"
The defense did hold and it's given the Tar Heels a shot at winning the program's second national in their own backyard. Cary is down the road from Chapel Hill, and UNC has been playing the ACC Tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park since 2002. Eight players on UNC's roster are from North Carolina, and Haggerty, McKinney and reserve forward Martin Murphy are all from Cary.
"My parents just got nine tickets," McKinney said. "I've had crazy support in our run too from family and friends. It's been cool because childhood friends can come watch me. It's nice having that support."
