December 13, 2011

By Eric Anderson

One player who spent his summer playing soccer in Wisconsin is now a national champion.                   

Carlos McCrary came off the bench and played 11 minutes as third-ranked North Carolina tipped No. 14 Charlotte 1-0 in the NCAA Division I men’s final Sunday in Hoover, Ala.

McCrary, a National Premier Soccer League All-Star after scoring five goals and adding two assists for the Madison 56ers last summer, was on the field for the lone goal of the match – an impressive curling, left-footed shot by Ben Speas from 25 yards out in the 65th minute.

A sophomore forward, McCrary went to high school in Roswell, Ga., but his family now resides in Madison – his brother Marcus was a sophomore forward at Madison La Follette High School in the fall.

Carlos McCrary had three goals and one assist in 19 appearances this season for the Tar Heels (21-2-3). He didn’t play in Friday’s semifinal against fourth-ranked UCLA; North Carolina ousted the Bruins 3-1 on penalty kicks following an exciting 2-2 draw.

Charlotte also advanced on penalties, topping No. 2 Creighton 4-1 after a scoreless tie. Senior forward Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) nearly scored in regulation, but his header clanged off the crossbar in the 61st minute, and he sent his penalty kick over the goal during the shootout.

Finlay and junior midfielder Andrew Ribeiro (Green Bay Notre Dame) both started for the Bluejays (21-2-1), with Finlay playing 99 of the 110 minutes while Ribeiro logged 98 minutes.

"It’s really tough," Finlay told reporters. "We worked so hard defensively. That’s soccer. We knew coming into it there was a chance for PKs. You know, I think I looked at some of the guys up front, and we said, ’What more could we have done to prevent those PKs?’ but hindsight is always 20-20. I’m really proud of our guys, I’m proud of our seniors, I’m proud of our backline. We showed a lot of character tonight. We played for 110 minutes, and we played our heart out."