No. 15 North Carolina will put its seven-match unbeaten run on the line Friday night when it hosts NC State at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill, and the Tar Heels are trying to keep their stretch rolling against a Wolfpack side that has gone 2-1-2 over its last five matches. Carolina is also marking Senior Night, with Evans Dapaah, Max Fisher, Nick Lockermann, Luca Nikolai and Joschi Schelb - along with student manager Xander Luzniak - set to be recognized before the match. It will also be a Carolina Fever game, with all students receiving two fever points and the first 500 students getting a Carolina hard hat.
For those not making the trip, the match will air on ACC Network.
This will be the 95th meeting in the series, with UNC holding a 57-22-15 edge over the Wolfpack.
Schelb has been the headline-maker for the Tar Heels all season and enters the rivalry match with 15 goals and two assists in 14 matches. A Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List selection, he has recorded hat tricks in each of Carolina’s last two home games and has found the net in seven of the last nine matches overall.
His 15 goals rank second nationally, just two off Washington’s Zach Ramsey, and his 32 points also stand second in the country. That goal total is the highest by a Tar Heel in a single season since Andy Craven scored 15 in 2014.
Nikolai has also been a major part of the attack after choosing to return to Carolina following his draft by NYCFC. He has posted four goals and nine assists this season, and his nine assists are tied for the league lead and rank fifth nationally.
Ryan Zellefrow has given UNC another dangerous layer in the midfield, contributing four goals and six assists for 14 points, which is third on the team.
Another Tar Heel has added speed and production on the flank, turning pace into a goal and seven assists this season.
On the defensive end, Alan Rutkowski and the Carolina back line have delivered five clean sheets this year, including two in the last three matches.
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