Men's Soccer To Open Season At Home Thursday vs. UCF

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina men's soccer is set to open the 2025 season when it hosts UCF at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night at Dorrance Field. The match is a Carolina Fever event worth two points with the first 500 students receiving a new Heeligans t-shirt.

The Heels' match-up with the Knights will air on ACCNX with Daron Vaught and Matt Krause on the call.

Game Info
Who: Carolina vs. UCF
Where: Chapel Hill, N.C. – Dorrance Field
When: Thursday, Aug. 21 – 7:30 p.m.
Links: ACCNX | Live Stats | Tickets

Tar Heel Tidbits

This will be the eighth match-up between UNC and UCF with Carolina holding a 4-3 advantage in the series.
Head Coach Carlos Somoano is entering his 15th season at the helm of Carolina soccer and his 24th season overall with UNC men's soccer.
Somoano has produced a stellar record in season openers as a head coach, having gone 12-0-2 over that span.
Carolina enters the 2025 season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Heels landed in the 28th spot of the preseason poll.
UNC currently has five-ranked teams on its schedule with another, Seattle, receiving votes.
The Carolina roster experienced some turnover between the 2024 and '25 seasons. The 29-man group is made up of 14 returners, of which four saw substantial action last season, seven transfers, and eight true freshmen. Of the 15 newcomers, eight arrived on campus for the spring semester.
Returning midfielder Andrew Czech was named on the ACC's Preseason Watch List. Czech enters 2025 having started UNC's last 40 games, posting two goals and nine assists for 13 points. His six assists last season were tied for the fourth most in the ACC.
Newcomer Luca Nikolai started all 39 of his games at James Madison over the last two seasons, notching five goals and six assists. He enters 2025 as a member of Top Drawer Soccer's Best XI and ranked No. 9 on their Top 100 list.

Stay up to date with UNC men's soccer by following the Tar Heels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Czech

Luca Nikolai