USL Feature
Friday, September 9, 2011
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
The mantra remains the same, no matter the point of the season: Every game is the same, every win is another step forward.
Still, for No.2 University of North Carolina, taking a 2-1 victory against the No.1-ranked University of Louisville last Sunday, gaining revenge for the Cardinals’ victory in the College Cup semifinals last season and in turn claiming the top spot in the rankings this week, the victory was a satisfying one.
“Yeah it was, it was great to be able to get some kind of revenge on Louisville,” said forward Robbie Lovejoy, who scored the Tar Heels’ first goal as they rallied for victory.
Lovejoy, a sophomore, has stepped into the Tar Heels’ lineup this season after scoring three goals in 12 games in his freshman season. Having already equaled his goal total from last season in just three games, it certainly appears that Lovejoy’s game has taken a step forward and that he’s ready to help UNC try to earn its second national championship.
Playing for one of the top college programs in the country has obviously aided Lovejoy’s development, but he also points towards his summer spent playing for the Carolina Dynamo in the USL PDL as a big learning experience prior to returning to Chapel Hill this fall. A native of Greensboro, Lovejoy was a major catalyst for his hometown team as they reached the U.S. Open Cup and the PDL Playoffs, winning the South Atlantic Division. Lovejoy had four goals and three assists in 13 regular season games for the Dynamo, and is certainly hoping to return to play for the side again next summer.
“That was a great experience, I got a lot of games under my belt to build my own experience,” Lovejoy said. “Last year I only got to play about half the season, and I was able to get in about 20 games this summer, so it was really cool playing with all of these guys from colleges from around North Carolina; we were able to form a great team.
“We were able to have some success, qualifying for the Open Cup and making it to the playoffs, but it was a fun experience overall and I really hope I can repeat it again in the future.”
Part of that experience was getting the chance to play with fellow college players from North Carolina’s other schools. Among them, Lovejoy says he really enjoyed getting the chance to play alongside UNC-Greensboro’s Hakan Ilhan, who was named to the Eastern Conference All-League Team, and Division II program Guildford College’s Freddy Gomez.
“They are both international students, actually, Hakan’s German and Freddy is from Chile, and they have different styles,” Lovejoy said. “Hakan is definitely a goal-scorer, he loves the ball at his feet and any time he gets in the box he’s going to put the ball in the back of the net. Freddy’s more of a guy who weaves in and out of defenders, he’s a very good attacking midfielder, his touch is great, he passed well so I liked combining with him, so hopefully they’ll return next year with me.”
In addition to building his experience through playing time, Lovejoy also believes he learned from the coaching of the Dyanmo’s first-year coach, Marc Nicholls. The habits he picked up from the Englishman are now appearing as he suits up for the Tar Heels, who open their ACC schedule on Saturday night against Virginia Tech.
That desire to continually improve is maybe part of the reason why Lovejoy is becoming seen as a future prospect for Major League Soccer. Ranked No.10 on the underclassmen board by TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Joe Mauceri, the opportunity to turn professional will likely present itself sooner rather than later for Lovejoy.
But as hopeful as he is that the opportunity to turn professional will present itself in the future, Lovejoy’s focus remains on the next game, and the next win, for the Tar Heels.
“For me personally, I just focus on the present,” Lovejoy said. “I would like to keep all my options open, but at the moment I just want to focus on school and soccer at the same time and try and excel at both. It’s just a matter of doing my best at anything I’m doing at this time.”