On paper, North Carolina figured to tab either sophomore James Petracca -- who made six starts last season -- or freshman Steven Rastivo -- a highly-touted player who transferred from Penn State -- as the successor to graduated goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman.

In a bit of a surprise, the Tar Heels have named redshirt junior Chris Madalon as the starter in their season opener against Jacksonville on Saturday.

"I think the consistency that Madalon showed in the clearing game, making saves, his voice with the defense, it was terrific," coach Joe Breschi said as the team traveled to Florida late Thursday night. "It wasn't one of those things where we said, 'Oh yeah, he's the guy.' He earned it, and I think everybody was hoping and wishing for him to separate himself and he certainly did a nice job doing so. So he earned that position."

At 6 feet, 3 inches and 195 pounds, Madalon presents a different picture than Petracca (5-7, 175), Rastivo (5-8, 150) and even Zimmerman (5-8, 170). But Zimmerman was a four-year starter who anchored North Carolina. Can Madalon replicate his predecessor's success?

"I think the one thing Chris has is tremendous confidence in himself, and certainly his teammates have a lot of confidence in him as well," Breschi said. "So I don't see him putting too much pressure on himself. I see him as really embracing the challenges ahead and taking that leadership role defensively. Zim was a terrific leader and a four-year guy, and he's certainly going to be missed. But Madalon is 6-3, he's athletic. When he's outside the cage, he's a terrific clearer of the ball. He can really add an element to the riding game because he can cover more ground a little bit. So he has his strengths as well that kind of separate him from Zim in his own way. But the one thing he doesn't have is that experience. That's something he's going to have to gain."