Men's Soccer Opens ACC Play Sunday Night At Cal

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina men's soccer heads to the west coast for its ACC opener when it takes on Cal Sunday night at 7 p.m. UNC is coming off a 1-0 victory over VCU, while Cal drew with No. 14 UCLA, 2-2, on Tuesday. The Heels and Bears have played three times previously with Carolina holding a 2-1-0 advantage.

Fans can watch the match on ACCNX.

Game Info
Who: Carolina at Cal
Where: Berkeley, Calif. – Edwards Stadium
When: Sunday, Sept. 6 – 7 p.m.

Tar Heel Tidbits

Carolina opened the 2026 season earning a 1-1 draw at No. 5 Georgetown before falling to Memphis on the road. The Heels opened their home slate with a 1-0 win vs. VCU last Friday.
Head Coach Carlos Somoano is in his 16th season at the helm of Carolina soccer (25th overall). He holds a career record of 186-69-56.
Carolina opened the season in the 'Others Receiving Votes' category of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and was ranked No. 25 by TopDrawerSoccer.
Carolina's transfer class of Nick Lockermann, Nico Loebus, Joschi Schelb and Ryan Zellefrow was ranked No. 2 by TopDrawerSoccer, while its incoming freshman class was ranked 14th.
Luca Nikolai was drafted by NYCFC, but made the decision to return to Carolina to finish off his college career leading the Tar Heels. He was a third-team All-South Region and second-team All-ACC selection last year.
Carolina had six players listed on the Hermann Trophy Watch Lists. Lockermann earned a spot with the defenders, while Evans Dapaah, Loebus, Nikolai, Schelb and Zellefrow were listed on the midfielders list, although Schelb will play as a forward this season.
After four years with Andrew Cordes in goal, Alan Rutkowski has taken over the goalkeeping duties. The Elmwood, N.J. native served as Cordes' understudy last season after playing his club football with the New York Red Bulls.

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Cordes

Evans Dapaah

Nick Lockermann

Nico Loebus

Luca Nikolai

Alan Rutkowski

Joschi Schelb

Ryan Zellefrow

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