I gotta say, it was an incredible job by a rookie coach, Carlos Samoano, to win it this year. They got it done by a 1-0 score over instate rival Charlotte, on a thumping 25-yard shot by Ben Speas. Granted, Samoano had been an assistant coach in Chapel Hill for nine years and his predecssor, Elmar Bolowich didn't exactly leave the cupboard bare with seniors like defender Matt Hedges and mid Kirk Urso, juniors Enzo Martinez and Billy Schuler, etc. BUT...it is still remarkable for a rookie coach to get it done like this. At least we can say it is another example of how tough the ACC is as a soccer conference.
It was even tougher on the women's side with 3 of 4 teams in the Final Four being from the ACC: Duke, Wake Forest, and Florida State, although Stanford finally won the whole thing after making the title game three years in a row.
It was even tougher on the women's side with 3 of 4 teams in the Final Four being from the ACC: Duke, Wake Forest, and Florida State, although Stanford finally won the whole thing after making the title game three years in a row.
