The North Carolina women’s soccer team, 12-2-1 on the season and 9-0-1 in ACC play, is set to begin postseason play. The Tar Heels will take on the 17-1 Virginia Cavaliers Friday night at 8 p.m. in the ACC Tournament semifinals held at UNC-G Soccer Stadium.
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This year, only the elite arrive in Greensboro for the ACC Tournament. For the first time, the field competing for the title has been narrowed down to a mere four teams, all of them in the top ten nationally, out of arguably the toughest soccer conference in the nation.
Florida State and Carolina tied for the regular season crown with 28 points, just ahead of Virginia, last year’s regular season champion. Those three squads are joined by always dangerous Notre Dame in the ACC bracket.
Anson Dorrance (UNC Athletics)
UNC head coach Anson Dorrance, who boasts a mind-boggling 91.7 overall career winning percentage, obviously wants to win every game, but his eyes are always fixed on the end goal at Carolina – winning a national championship.
The Tar Heels already have 22 of those trophies to their name, but Coach Dorrance knows the importance of postseason seeding to securing the hardware. With that in mind, this weekend provides an opportunity for his squad to lock up a No. 1 seed.
“I’m excited to be where we are in the ACC. This also puts us in great position for our RPI. What all of us are trying to do right now in this final stretch before the NCAA bid is to collect RPI points. If we can go in as a high seed in the NCAA Tournament, that’s going to make our route a lot easier. I think this season has put us in that position,” Coach Dorrance says.
Senior midfielder Brooke Elby says she’s thrilled to accomplish something she’s never done before at Carolina – skating through the ACC gauntlet unscathed.
“It’s a season solidifier [OT win at Syracuse]. We’re undefeated still in the regular season. That’s never happened to me in all four years. That’s one of the most exciting aspects,” Elby says.
But this year’s team is not one of Coach Dorrance’s most talented. The Tar Heels have no explosive players who can take over a game like past greats Crystal Dunn or Kealia Ohai.
In fact, Coach Dorrance says there’s little to no reduction in talent from his starters to his bench players.
“In 393 minutes, a starter hasn’t scored until today. That tells you something. Also, I’ve been saying this all season and this just confirms it – the difference between player No. 11, my last starter, and player No. 20, is nothing,” Coach Dorrance says.
Megan Buckingham is the first Tar Heel to be named ACC Freshman of the Year since Lindsay Tarpley in 2002. (UNC Athletics)
With that said, UNC isn’t likely to run away and hide from any of its postseason competition. Instead, these Tar Heels will have to win it with their legs.
Coach Dorrance is hoping his team’s depth will wear down opponents.
“Why not invest in player 20 and invest in her legs and wear the other team out? That’s been a very effective strategy for us. I think it’s put us in this unique position. We’re not an incredibly talented first 11 roster, but we’re an amazingly deep roster. I think that’s contributed to our success this fall,” Coach Dorrance says.
The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will be meeting for the first time this season Friday night with a trip to the ACC Championship game on the line. UNC leads the all-time series with UVA 35-3-3, but UVA took the last matchup in 2013 by a 2-0 margin.
Friday night’s semifinal action will be broadcast via live streaming right here on Chapelboro.com at 8 p.m.
