TSF: Considering the pre-season hype of a #1 ranking and top 3 recruiting class, 2006 turned out much differently than I'm sure everyone involved with the Tar Heels programmed had hoped. Can you try to put the 2006 campaign in perspective?

Bic: It's hard to put something in perspective when the year was such a disappointment. Perhaps a positive is that we had some very good training sessions and improved our overall ability, despite not being able to get results in actual game situations.

TSF: Was there a turning point in the season that you can identify where things started to really head in the wrong direction for the team?

Bic: As early as the NC State game it was apparent that something wasn't right. After that, the Campbell loss really set us back and I don't think that we were able to recover.

TSF: Carolina will be graduating seven starters from this team (Ashe, Beach, Boole, Harrington, Hughes, Hunter, Odgers). Where, in your opinion, do the Tar Heels need to look for more depth with the 2007 incoming class?

Bic: We're graduating players in every position of the field, most notably in our back line. We have some good defenders coming in for 2007 so I'm still very optimistic about the future of Carolina soccer.

TSF: The NCAA has pretty strict rules about what the team can and cannot do together in the offseason. What does your training regime look like for the next few months?

Bic: During the spring we will train 4 days a week with 3 weightroom sessions added to that. We will play about 2 games per weekend but we are not allowed to compete against another opponent more than 5 matchdays.

TSF: Any final predictions for the NCAA tournament? Will the ACC take the title once again?

Bic: I think the ACC will again show that they are the most dominant conference in men's soccer. I wouldn't mind seeing Maryland or Wake Forest take the title, and I wish them the best of luck.


Stephen Bickford, a sophmore forward at UNC and Green Hope (Cary) High School alum, shared his thoughts on the Tar Heels season with Triangle Soccer Fanatics throughout the year.

Reprinted from Triangle Soccer Fanatics.