HOOVER, Ala. — Ben Speas lofted a 25-yard shot over goalkeeper Klay Davis midway through the second half to give North Carolina a 1-0 victory over Charlotte in the NCAA men’s soccer championship.
The Tar Heels (22-2-2) earned their first men’s title in 10 years. They lost in the semifinals each of the previous two seasons and fell in the final in 2008.
Speas, who had an assist in North Carolina’s semifinal victory over UCLA, worked the ball toward the middle of the field just outside the Charlotte box and hit a left-footer that barely cleared the outstretched arm of Davis.
“I went to my right and was going to take a shot, but I got cut off so I went back to my left and hit it with my left foot,” Speas said. “It dipped over the keeper and luckily went in.”
The unseeded 49ers (17-5-3) outshot North Carolina 14-3 in the second half, including four shots in 41 seconds with less than five minutes left in regulation.
“The simple fact is they scored a fantastic goal and we did everything but,” Charlotte coach Jeremy Gunn said. “It was incredible what we were doing the last five minutes. We gave them everything that we had. It just wasn’t quite meant to be.”
Carolina keeper Scott Goodwin made two saves during the late flurry, one shot hit the crossbar and another went just wide of the net.
