UNC Men's Soccer Continues 'Mission-Focused' Approach

North Carolina men’s soccer will begin its season this Thursday with eight new faces in the starting XI. A slew of graduating players and a handful of portal departures have completely revamped the roster, with UNC in search of replacements for its top three goal scorers from last year. 

Even with the turnover, head coach Carlos Somoano was optimistic about North Carolina’s season when he spoke with Inside Carolina’s Tommy Ashley and Cade Shoemaker on Tuesday. Somoano, now entering his 15th year as the program’s head coach, spoke about the consistent approach the program takes toward preparing for a season and how, no matter what, the goal remains the same. 

“Our job is just to focus in on each day, trying to value each opportunity that we have and adjust the best we can,” Somoano said. “Our goal remains the same. Bring in quality student athletes that buy into the Carolina culture, what we’re trying to do, and then just focus on them — giving them a great experience and trying to be the best team that we can be.” 

(Both the audio and video versions of this interview are linked in this story.  Due to issues with the audio in portions of those, the full transcript is available at the end of this article.)

Because of UNC’s unproven roster, it enters the preseason unranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll for only the second time since Somoano took over the program in 2011. Key offensive departures like last year’s leading goal scorer, Martin Vician, forward Luke Hille and winger Ahmad Al-Qaq have left the Tar Heel returning attack thin. 

In their place, transfer portal additions Nacho Abeal and Gabriel Serra should help relieve some of the scoring duties. Abeal, a graduate forward, played four seasons at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and recorded five goals in his senior season. Likewise, Serra, a graduate midfielder from the University of San Francisco, tallied five assists in his senior season to collect WCC all-conference first team honors. 

“We got goals from a lot of different places this year, that’s exciting,” Somoano said. “If we don’t have a 10 to 15 goal scorer, I’d be fine, if we have six guys that have six [goals].” 

UNC’s defense will have a veteran trio to anchor it, however. Graduate midfielder Andrew Czech, senior defender Parker O’Ferral and graduate goalkeeper Andrew Cordes all return to Chapel Hill as the most experienced players on the roster. 

Czech — who led the team in assists with six last season — recorded 90 minutes of action in all but one game in 2024. And in goal, Cordes helped the Tar Heels to an ACC-best seven clean sheets last season, with the best individual goals against average among any goalkeeper in the conference. 

“They’re very ambitious leaders and they’ve got what it takes to represent the Carolina leadership,” Somoano said. “So that’s an exciting part for us, and that really can help bring in new guys and the dynamics together. We have some wonderful returning leaders.”

The Tar Heels will begin their season with a home opener on Thursday night against UCF at 7:30 p.m. They will then face a strenuous ACC slate with five preseason-ranked matchups on the schedule. This includes in-state rivals No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 14 NC State, and No. 15 Duke. 

“One of the toughest things about playing in the ACC is our conference being brutally challenging,” Somoano said. “The hope is that you have enough depth to manage the season and get through it. I think one way to manage challenging schedules is to make sure you get a quality rotation of players so that they stay healthy and fresh and have enough energy game over game. 

Full Transcript of Inside Carolina’s Interview with head coach Carlos Somoano

How has the offseason been since the NCAA Tournament last year, reconstructing the roster, etc?

Head Coach Carlos Somoano: “Well, appreciate you having me. Thanks for bringing men’s soccer on and that’s an interesting question. I think it’s been a new world for men’s soccer for the last 15 years. I mean, every year, the target keeps moving. So I think our job is just to focus in on each day, trying to value each opportunity that we have adjust the best that we can bring in the best student athletes. That part hasn’t changed. 

“How we do it. Maybe that changes, but our goal remains the same. Bring in quality student athletes that buy into the Carolina culture what we’re trying to do, and then just focus on them, giving them a great experience, trying to be the best team that we can be. And you know to say, how has it changed since the last time we were together last November? It changed every single day I feel like. So again, that that buys into our philosophy – let’s just move this thing on one day at a time.”

How have the changes to the college landscape in recent years made it more difficult to procure talent and develop year over year chemistry?

Somoano: “Yeah. So you have so many variables that go into it. So unless you’re doing this thing, boots on the ground, day to day, it’s very hard to explain to somebody outside. They have this concept of what you know college athletics and college athletic recruiting is, but the amount of variables that we’re dealing with is, is is overwhelming. 

“So you have your institutional kind of dynamics, and those have been changing over the years, right? The institution has to change from within the athletic department and the admissions. You have your NCAA that has been just very, very turbulent, upside down every day you’re trying to figure out what’s coming next. And then you have men’s soccer and the environment with MLS, USL players that are now trying to decide whether they participate in college athletics or not, (that) is part of it. And then you have in men’s soccer…the international player. So they’re all over the place.

“And so we just, again, try to take all the variables into account and do what’s best for Carolina. And I think at some point you start to feel overwhelmed, but then you just got to go and recenter and say, forget about it. Our job is to bring in good student athletes, wherever it happens to be from, focus on them, give them a good experience, try to win as many games as we can. Be hyper-aggressive, hyper-motivated towards championship mindset, and that’s all you can do.”

You’ve mentioned before building the roster from the back forward…with so few offensive guys returning, how has it been fitting the new front line pieces and building this year?

Somoano: ”We had the last two preseason games, we played Campbell and VCU. We had two returning starters on the field, I think. So we’re have a lot of new faces on the field. Bertil (Hanson) is returning player. He did get some starts last year and has a lot of upside. So he’s a guy that we’re looking to kind of incorporate in more of go to guy, and then we have some new players coming in. Gabe Bracken Serra and Javier Hernandez have done great. Lucas Ross is a guy that we love. He’s a returning guy. He’s been here for four years, but he’s battled different challenges, a lot of injuries over the years, so he never really hit his stride, but we believe that if he stays healthy, he can be a guy that’s very impactful,.

“We got goals from a lot of different places. I think this year that’s exciting. So you know, perhaps if we don’t have a 10 to 15 goal scorer, I’d be fine if we have six guys that have six so, so we’ll figure that out as we go along. That’s one of the more unpredictable things in a short fall season.”

You have returning leadership in Andrew Cordes in goal, Andrew Czech and Parker O’Ferral, guys that have been there four or more years.  How important are they when incorporating so many new faces?

Somoano: “That’s a great point. You know, I think you start to think about having a lot of new faces, a lot of turnover, but we have some great returning characters, and really leaning on them with the leadership. They’re very ambitious leaders, and they got what it takes to represent the Carolina leadership. So that’s an exciting part for us, and I think that really can help bring the new guys and the dynamics together. So it’s a very, very good point. We have some wonderful returning leaders.”

What does leadership look like from the veterans? You mentioned the Carolina structure but what is leadership and what do you demand, leadership wise, from those returning guys, those elder statesmen, especially in this college world, where if you get a fourth or fifth year guy these days, you’re doing well, and you’ve got a couple of them.

Somoano: “Mission focused maybe a good way to sum it up, right? I think leadership, a lot of leadership, is just staying on course and helping guys stay on course, because there are so many ways to get distracted. There are so many things that could take you out of being your best if you allow them inside your head. Right? So I think guys that have that experience know that some of those things are traps, and to stay away from it and (they) help guys stay focused on what’s really meaningful.

“That could be anything from class, off the field, on the field, a referees, a decision that we don’t like –  which is pretty much happening four or five times a game. So it can disrupt you. It can be like playing time. Anything else that you can think about that becomes possible distraction. So I think our guys are really tuned into that.

“Our leaders really doing a great job to say, hey, be appreciative of what you have. You’re at Carolina. It’s the best place in the world to represent yourself as a college athlete and a college men’s soccer player, and don’t forget that.  Be grateful to the community. Be grateful to the people that are helping you get an education and help you achieve your lifelong dreams, and use that as motivation to give everything you have. It’s quite honestly that simple.”

When you’re recruiting players, and you mentioned international players…what is the toughest thing to find with those players that fit in what you talked about with Carolina and Chapel Hill? Because I think we all agree Carolina and Chapel Hill is different in a good way, but it’s still different for for young people coming in and to getting them into the not only into the system you want to play, but the culture you want to have. What’s been the challenge, or is there a challenge out there on the recruiting trail, doing that as a head coach and as a staff?

Somoano: “I think one of the, I hate to say this, but one of the biggest challenges for international recruiting at Carolina is just the admission standards are very high, right? So think, generally speaking, internationally, and a lot of the international students, they’ll come over to Carolina or come over to the States, because internationally, it’s hard to compete in your sport and pursue higher education at the same time. So most of the international students, they have to make a choice. Their clubs will say, hey, if you want to compete at this standard, you have to give up education. So they seek out the US, and they say, well wait a second, there’s a place where we can do both. 

“But as they’ve achieved high levels of soccer in their country, it’s come at the expense of investment in their academics, whether they’ve like wanted to do that or not. So their grades or their academic history may not always meet the standards that that we’re trying to get in spite of the fact that they’re motivated and ambitious to pursue an education. That’s why they’re coming so that’s a big challenge. 

“Otherwise, I think, I think we’re not necessarily different. For international students, they – most of the time – don’t really understand what they’re getting into because the system is very different, which actually provides, in a lot of cases, an advantage because they come over, they see what we do have to offer, and they actually buy in pretty quickly. Once they get used to the system, they’re so appreciative of the fact that they can study and pursue their sport at a high level. At the same time, I find it almost the opposite. I find it that they’re very willing to embrace this kind of culture.”

There’s a short run up to the season so I am curious how many guys played summer soccer, USL,etc and if that gets them ready for the season….

Somoano: ”Summer soccer is an interesting topic. I mean that could be a podcast on its own, right. So, and it tends to follow along with much of the other soccer environment in this country, and that there’s a wide variety. There’s some environments that are really, really good. There’s some that need some work, and some of our players need to be playing USL two and summer soccer, and some may need a break. So it’s a hard one to pin down, but we embrace the guys playing during the summer, for sure. We’re excited about it, and we want them to do what’s best for them.”

Last year, Tate Johnson kind of came in as a freshman and had immediate impact. From this freshman class that’s coming in, do you feel like there are any guys that really stand out early on and are going to really contribute?

Somoano: “So if we’re going in and looking in hindsight, it’s an easy one to say, well, Tate was wonderful. Well, one thing with Tate is that he was able to come in the spring in January and get a good spring and helped him acclimate. But even that I would not have foreseen, two days before our opening game, that Tate would have grown over his two semesters as much as he did, and that’s a testament to him and his relentless hard work.

“I think we deserve some credit for that too, and providing him a wonderful environment for him to grow and develop. So for me to kind of foresee the next one, I wouldn’t have foreseen that with Tate, and he’s a guy that achieved some wonderful things. It’s a little bit hard to do, but we do have some great incoming players, freshmen included, and I’m over the moon, excited to be working with them.”

With your schedule, do you try and construct it with an eye on your team and what they need or are you able to shape it based on what you may have?

Somoano: “I wish it had more to do with our team and some kind of strategy for that season. But I’m afraid to say it doesn’t, because it’s hard to predict what our team is going to look like a year out when we’re making these choices. Two, I think we do build it more based on trying to fit games in around our conference schedule and our travel within conference, so trying to make sure…I think one of the toughest things about playing in the ACC is our conference is just brutally challenging. And so when you’re putting a schedule together and you have to play Notre Dame, and then at Stanford, and then you’re trying to get a game in between there, you’re just hoping to get through the week with healthy bodies sometimes, right? 

“But you also want to balance making sure that you give your team an opportunity, from an RPI standpoint, to get that at-large bid at the end of the year. So you got to play quality enough opponents that can give you an opportunity to do that, but you also have got to give them an opportunity to survive, I hate to say that, the season health wise, because you just get beat down if you play a schedule that’s just overwhelming. 

“So our schedule this year is quite, quite challenging. The hope being that you have enough depth to manage the season get through. Because I think one way to manage challenging schedules is to make sure that you get a quality rotation players, so that they stay healthy and fresh and have enough energy, game over game.”

It seems the game has gotten more and more physical, at least to my layman’s eyes watching it and it almost takes away from the skill aspect of it. Is that a legitimate thought when I’m watching soccer, especially men’s college soccer, it seems brutally physical to me, and it becomes who’s the toughest physically, rather than who’s the best, skillfully and tactician wise…is that fair?

Somoano: “I think it is. I think it’s a great observation, and I always use a better…I think there’s a lot of confusion about men’s college soccer, right? People like to say how does this compare to MLS or USL and alll. It’s a very hard comparison for multiple reasons. But I think the biggest dynamic in men’s college soccer is it’s more equal to World Cup qualifying than it is to league play because your first game to your last game is critically important to your RPI – your ability for selection, your rankings –  every game is critical. So every game is being played as if it’s a World Cup qualifier or knockout competition. 

“So and if you watch World Cup qualifying or any kind of knockout competition, those games have a completely different look. They’re much more physical. There’s less concern about how it looks – more long throw ins, more set pieces that are into the box – every play feels like you’re hanging on the edge of your seat. And I think that’s really exciting, but it comes with this the nature of the game being very critical, that you pay attention to every aspect, in every detail, and the margins become smaller and smaller in terms of getting a result, and the pressure mounts up. 

“If you’re playing a game, and one loss, and you’re like, holy cow, wait a second. We just lost the game, and now we have got to go play Duke. Oh, what happens now, you know? So it’s like, World Cup qualifying. Hey, we drop a result against whoever it is, and then the next one becomes even more magnified, right? So I think that’s a better way to kind of frame it, when you start to think about it, and then when you start to you start to watch the games, you start to say now I understand why the physicality, why the end justifies the means, type play going on.”

Your practices have been disrupted or rather the fields have been an issue with the flooding in the area.  How has that been?

Somoano: “It is another variable where it’s really important for us just to focus on making the most of our opportunities, taking advantage of we have, being appreciative of what we have. So you tell me you got to go practice at the park. We’ll go practice at the park. That’s the least of my concerns. Our facilities staff is doing a wonderful job to give us the best that they can. The reality is that we’re going to be dealing with floods and bad weather, just like everybody is across the country. We had two seasons where we had to play at Wake Med, train off campus because we went through construction on campus to have a beautiful stadium, as we do. We went to the College Cup those two years.

“If we spend too much time thinking about where we’re practicing, we’re not spending enough time thinking about what are we doing in practice and how to get better so that that’s so low on my list of concerns. Practice is going great. I just love being around these guys. We’ll see. I hope we can be an effective, result oriented team. I think we can. I’m very optimistic about that, and I’m not trying to downplay anything. You just never know until you know. But one thing I do know, one thing I’ve already concluded is I love being around these guys. We got a great group of men, and they’re working their tails off, whether we train at Cedar Falls Park, Finley or Dorrance.”

I’m curious if you have an opinion in the grass/turf debate?

Somoano: ”You know, it’s changing over time too, right? I think that’s changed significantly over time, and one of the reasons being that advancements and what they’re able to put down for turf, right? It just becomes better and better and better. So you see a lot of professional teams around the world that are playing their home games on turf. As long as you’re putting down a quality turf and grooming it and taking care of it, I think it starts to change a little bit. 

“I’m still a traditionalist and love to play on a good quality grass field. But as Tommy had mentioned, I think one of the things that’s very important for us is to be able to play a quality, technical, thoughtful game. That’s kind of how we built our program over the years. So having a good playing surface is very important to us. I think the game takes on a different look when you’re playing on a playing surface that is not as predictable, and maybe is not to our advantage if that’s how we’re building our program.”

I have a fun one if you’ll allow it….if you got out there with your players, could you still keep up?  Erin Matson said give her a couple weeks and she could…..

Somoano: “(Laughter) Well Erin’s not on the backside of 50 so……but it depends how big the field is. If we can make the field a little bit smaller, I think I got a shot. But it’s a funny question, because we still famously, go look up in the New York Times, famously still play Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Kind of our old man coaches games. And there’s more than a couple times where we take on some young bucks, and we are definitely holding our own. But that being said, yes, as long as it’s not a 120 by 75 yard field, so as long as we can keep it a little bit smaller, we’re okay. We’re still hanging in there.”

Final question or thought before we go, can you personally talk about what it means to be a part of this coaches community that is a part of the University of North Carolina?

Somoano: “It’s a very good question. It’s a little bit of a double edged sword sometimes, because everywhere you look around, you’re like, what the heck. But I think it’s very motivating, right? So I think it gives you a sense of responsibility. And I think, quite honestly, probably a lot of the coaches that are here, they’re so driven and self motivated that this only fuels them kind of exponentially to really strive for excellence. 

“But I feel even more so an obligation to try to give everything I have just because of what everything Carolina has given to me. And then when I get to look around and see all the other coaches doing the same thing, it reminds me on my my bad days, hey, get your head out of your butt, stop feeling sorry for yourself and go back to work. So I love the the coaches that we’re able to hang out with. Our administration is awesome. Our support staff is dynamite. And you know, I’m 100% sure all the other coaches feel the same way. I’m blessed to be part of Carolina and just thankful for the opportunity that I’ve been given.”