By R.L. Bynum
CARY — Next to North Carolina’s two national championship victories, the Tar Heels’ win over top-ranked SMU will have a significant place in the history books.
The No. 12 Tar Heels extended their unbeaten streak to 12 with a 3–0 win in the ACC men’s soccer championship game Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park. Behind a goal from tournament MVP Joschi Schelb and two from Ryan Zellefrow, that handed the Mustangs their first loss of the season.
No. 7-seed UNC (11–2–6), with NCAA titles in 2001 and 2011, earned its fourth ACC title and first since Coach Carlos Somoano’s first season in 2011. It is the third known win in program history over a No. 1 team.
With the women’s soccer team’s ACC title earned with a 2–0 win earlier over Virginia, UNC is the first school to win both titles since 2004. The Tar Heels tied Maryland’s 2002 victory over Virginia for largest margin of victory in an ACC championship game.
SMU (14–1–3) trailed at halftime for the second time this season and trailed by two goals for the first time and never got a shot on goal. The Mustangs have now outscored opponents 51–8 this season. UNC won the shot battle 13–8, only the third time this season that SMU has been outshot.
After getting no first-half shots in its 1–0 semifinal victory over N.C. State, UNC got two shots within five seconds in the 19th minute, with SMU goaltender Jonathan Evans denying Zellefrow and Evans Dapaah.
SMU’s Stephan Soghomonian sent a hard shot just wide in the 23rd minute, but Schelb broke through in the 41st.
SMU hadn’t given up a goal in 283 minutes when Schelb, the ACC offensive player of the Year, fired a left-footed shot from just inside the box by a defender and Evans.
The Mustangs, leading shots 5–4 at that point, trailed 1–0 at halftime. The only other time that happened was in a 1–1 draw against Louisville Oct. 30.
UNC had a transition chance in the 55th minute, but Bertil Rygaard Hansen’s shot went wide left. Forty-six seconds later on a corner, Luca Nikolai headed a shot that Evans stopped.
Zellefrow gave UNC the insurance goal in the 61st minute after Evans stopped a Rygaard Hansen shot and Zellefrow gathered the rebound.
Zeelefrow added a transition goal in the last minute for his sixth of the season.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
Notes
— It was the second matchup in Cary between UNC and SMU. The Tar Heels won 2–0 on Nov. 25, 2017, in a third-round NCAA tournament matchup. Carolina lost to Indiana 1–0 in a national semifinal that season.
— UNC leads the all-time series with SMU 2–1–2 after its first victory over the Mustangs since a 2–0 victory in Cary on Nov. 25, 2017.
— The other known wins over No. 1 teams were in1994 over Virginia 5–1 and in 2003 1–0 over Maryland.
— The only other times SMU was outshot this season were against Kansas City (12–10) Sept. 4 in a 1–1 draw and California (14–12) in a 2–0 victory.
— It was the first time SMU had been shut out since a 0–0 draw on Oct. 16 against Stanford.
No. 12 UNC 3, No. 1 SMU 0
| Date | Month/day | Time/score | Opponent (current ranks) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 9 | Sunday | W, 5–4 | vs. Liberty | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | L, 2–1 | at No.9 Maryland | Exhib. |
| 20 | Thursday | T, 1–1 | at No. 2 Georgetown | 0–0–1 |
| 24 | Monday | L, 3–2 | at Memphis | 0–1–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. VCU | 1–1–1 |
| September | ||||
| 6 | Sunday | T, 2–2 | at California | 1–1–2, 0–0–1 ACC |
| 11 | Friday | T, 2–2 | vs. Stanford | 1–1–3, 0–0–2 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 2–0 | vs. American | 2–1–3 |
| 19 | Saturday | L, 2–1 | vs. No. 5 Clemson | 2–2–3, 0–1–2 |
| 26 | Saturday | W, 3-1 | vs. Lipscomb | 3–2–3 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 2-0 | vs. West Florida | 4–2–3 |
| October | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 3-1 | at Boston College | 5–2–3, 1–1–2 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 7-1 | vs. Notre Dame | 6–2–3, 1–1–2 |
| 16 | Friday | W, 1-0 | at No. 21 Pittsburgh | 7–2–3, 2–1–2 |
| 23 | Friday | T, 2-2 | at Duke | 7–2–4, 2–1–3 |
| 27 | Tuesday | W, 6-0 | vs. Wm. & Mary | 8–2–4 |
| 30 | Friday | T, 1-1 | vs. N.C. State | 8–2–5, 3–1–4 |
| November | ACC tournament | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | T, 1-1 (UNC advances on PKs, 4-3) | First round: vs. California | 8–2–6 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 3-2, 2 OTs | Quarterfinals: at No. 5 Clemson | 9–2–6 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 1-0 | Semifinals in Cary: vs. N.C. State | 10–2–6 |
| 15 | Sunday | W, 3-0 | Final in Cary: vs. No. 1 SMU | 11–2–6 |
| NCAA tournament | First 4 rounds on campus sites | |||
| 19 | Thursday | First round | ||
| 22 | Sunday | Second round | ||
| 28, 29 | Third round | |||
| December | ||||
| 4. 5 | Sat., Sun. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 11, 14 | Fri., Mon. | Men’s College Cup | Cary |
Photo by Jackson Gerding
