HOOVER, ALABAMA – Some more on-paper thinking as the NCAA Men’s College Cup takes place.

 

 

The field here is excellent, and the venue is a pretty decent one. The only issue is what it has been pretty much everywhere – getting enough people to show up. An NCAA official was quoted in the local paper saying they would like to get back to the kind of ticket demand they had in the 70s or 80s when UNC played Duke at Davidson and people were scalping tickets before the game.

 

My suggestion if that’s the kind of supply/demand situation you are looking for: Hold the game in my garage. Demand will go way up then. 

 

Charlotte has done its part regarding the crowd. A vocal busload of students made the atmosphere Friday night, but word today is 6 additional buses full of students have made the 9-hour drive from the Charlotte campus for today’s final. These students are already in good voice nearly an hour before kickoff.

 

The early injury news for Charlotte has Aaron Weldon on crutches following his injury Friday vs. Creighton. That puts Anthony Perez in the starting back line for the 49ers.

 

UNC’s Kirk Urso is now the all-time program leader in games played, with 91 games, including today.

 

If UNC wins today, Carlos Somoano will be the first rookie head coach to take the NCAA crown since Mike Freitag did it with Indiana in 2004.

 

This is UNC’s 4th straight College Cup appearance.  The program’s only national title came in 2001.

 

The Charlotte fans are booing UNC players lustily every time they walk by during pregame.

 

The opening minutes are like a British Cup final: a lot of hard tackles flying in and not much fluid soccer.

 

I said British because it reminds me of both England and Scotland.

 

Charlotte looks the more comfortable of the two teams thus far. If fact in the first 15 minutes, the 49ers are playing much better soccer, keeping it on the ground and holding possession well.

 

The Tar Heels, in all honesty, look tired. I am starting to see some glimmers now of them playing combination soccer, so perhaps Carlos Somoano’s team will settle down.

 

North Carolina defender Boyd Okwuonu is having a very good first half. He runs down a lot of balls, wins a lot in the air and is making good decisions with the ball at his feet. I can remember him as a very talented youth player in Oklahoma, before his days at Bradenton Residency.

 

UNC is definitely starting to look more like it did Friday evening as the match goes on.

 

A word about officiating: Michael Kennedy HAS TO award the penalty kick on that play involving Donnie Smith and Kirk Urso. You had a great piece of skill from Smith which should have resulted in a 1v1. The play was negated by a tug at the jersey, and the referee just let it go. So long as that kind of play is allowed in American soccer we will never, EVER progress to the high level we want to see from the game domestically and internationally. The quality of refereeing has to improve.

 

The Charlotte fans’ chant of “ref you suck” is not exactly their best moment of the match.

 

Charlotte back to the attack as the 2nd half has begun.

 

Donnie Smith is the classic British winger. Where has this guy been hiding?

 

I said British because I mainly mean Scottish. Think Jinky Johnstone and Willie Henderson of Old Firm fame. 

 

And then there’s Ben Speas, a guy I first noticed when he was playing for Everest SC in the Cleveland area. He was rated #1 as a youth player and some dads and other wagging tongues said there was no way he was that good, well HOW DO YOU LIKE HIM NOW BABY?

 

That was a great goal by Speas. It was a big time effort at a crucial stage of the match. Now how will Charlotte respond?

 

As Charlotte’s Jennings Rex prepares to re-enter the game, I’m reminded that two of our staffers believe he is a dead ringer for actor Matthew McConaughey.

 

I wouldn’t know, but these two ladies are apparently pretty gaga about him. It could become a real-life episode of Cougartown brewing here.

 

Coming out of the TV timeout, Charlotte coaches were giving Michael Kennedy an earful. Understandable.

 

UNC needs to defend with the ball here. There are 12 minutes remaining and that is way too early to start bunkering in.

 

Well I didn’t type anything for the past 12 minutes because the end of that game was spellbinding. Charlotte did everything but score, and huge props go to Jordan Gafa for clearing off the line and Scott Goodwin for making a couple of saves from point blank range. Here is what Goodwin had to say about the late flurry, including one that saw a ball hit the crossbar.

 

{mosvideo:350}

 

A heartwarming aspect about this match was the way members of both teams talked about their respective teammates, comparing the relationships to that of a close family. Charles Rodriguez and Isaac Cowles were very heartfelt for Charlotte, as was senior Kirk Urso for North Carolina. Here’s what he had to say.

 

{mosvideo:350}

 

Urso, along with Speas and Goodwin, also credited Somoano for keeping the team focused and disciplined throughout the season, which they said was a major reason for the team winning that elusive national title.