Dave Martin - AP
Tar Heels' midfielder Enzo Martinez holds the trophy as he and teammates celebrate their 1-0 win over Charlotte.
CHAPEL HILL -- Senior North Carolina soccer team captain Kirk Urso sported a broad grin on his face and a "National Champions" cap on his head Monday morning as he held up the trophy that had eluded him for almost his entire college career.
The Tar Heels midfielder clutched the NCAA national championship trophy as he and his teammates were welcomed home from Hoover, Ala. It was North Carolina's fourth consecutive trip to the College Cup, but Sunday's 1-0 win over Charlotte marked the program's first national title since 2001. For Urso, who appeared in 91 games for North Carolina in his career, it was still difficult to wrap his head around the victory.
"I still don't think it's sunk in," he said. "Obviously, there's no better way to go out. The whole team has done everything we've set out to do. I know years down the road, I'll be looking back at this and see how special it was. I feel complete."
The team landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport just after 9:30 a.m. Monday and took the 20-minute bus ride to Finley Fields, where the Tar Heels trained all season to turn in a 21-2-3 record. Awaiting them were members of the UNC athletic department, including athletic director Bubba Cunningham, assistant basketball coaches and several UNC students taking a break during final exams week.
Junior forward Ben Speas, a transfer from Akron, won his second NCAA title after nailing a 65th-minute shot Sunday that proved to be the difference in the game. He was named the College Cup's Most Valuable Offensive Player.
"I think it was special because, for me, I was the new piece to their puzzle," Speas said. "And there were a lot of new pieces, but everyone came together. We all bought into what (coach) Carlos (Somoano) wanted and what style he wanted and came through to do it."
After last season, the Tar Heels lost seven starters, six of whom went to play professionally for MLS teams. This spring, UNC is set to lose five or six players from the title-winning squad.
Somoano, who was only the third coach in NCAA history to win a championship in his first year at the helm, still has his eye focused on the future.
"You always have one eye forward no matter what, even when you win a national championship and it's the day after," Somoano said. "We're going to try to do the same thing next year as we did this year knowing that it may not happen. But the philosophy that I've taken this year is the one I'll take next year, and that's, 'I don't know if we're going to do it, but I know we can.' "
