University of North Carolina Athletics
Cedars History Report: A Weekend Of Women's Soccer Dominance
October 9, 2002 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 9, 2002
By Rick Brewer, SID Emeritus
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Having to play opponents ranked fifth and sixth nationally in one three-day stretch would be a nearly impossible task for almost any team.
But, North Carolina's women's soccer team has never been just "any" team. In fact, opposition like that has been normal since Anson Dorrance's first season as Tar Heel coach.
The site for the 1993 weekend of October 15-17 was the Soccer Challenge Classic at Houston. The opponents were fifth-rated Notre Dame and sixth-ranked Stanford.
As usual, Carolina was ranked number one in the nation. The Tar Heels went into the Friday game against the Irish riding a 68-game winning streak. Carolina had not lost a match in 72 straight games. Since tying Stanford, 0-0, in late 1989, the Tar heels had gone 84-1-1.
All-America forward Mia Hamm was, of course, Notre Dame's biggest concern. The Irish marked her with different players throughout the game, trying to keep a fresh defender on her.
The problem with playing Carolina was a team really couldn't afford to put so much focus on one player, even Hamm. Dorrance simply had too many weapons.
Freshman Sarah Dacey proved that with a goal 33:25 into the game. Rita Tower added two more in a five-minute stretch of the second half, at 69:47 and 74:28, for a 3-0 win.
A 3-0 victory may sound one-sided in soccer, but the Tar Heels really dominated play much more than the score would even indicate. Carolina out-shot the Irish, 14-6, and had a 15-4 advantage in corner kicks.
On Sunday Stanford discovered quickly that even another concentrated defense couldn't stop Hamm. Just 1:37 into the game she broke past the defense from her usual position on the flank to score with assists from Tower and Dawn Crow.
Before the Cardinal defense could begin to regroup, she had a second goal at 11:08. Assists by Tower and Angela Kelly helped set her up to beat Stanford goalkeeper Leslie Garrard.
The Cardinal managed to cut the lead to 2-1 just 6:47 into the second half. But, at 75:50 Hamm broke down the sideline, drew the defense to her and passed to an open Tower in front of the net. Tower's third goal of the weekend finished off a 3-0 victory.
Carolina had a 12-4 edge in shots and a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The two wins pushed the UNC record to 12-0 for the season. They would be followed by 11 more victories for a 23-0 mark and still another NCAA championship. That would run Carolina's NCAA record streak of games without a loss to 85.
And, as the weekend in Houston, a great number of those victories would come against nationally-ranked opponents. But, that's the type of teams Dorrance's players liked to play. Outstanding opposition has always seemed to bring out the best in them.
Rick Brewer is in his fourth decade with the University of North Carolina athletic department and brings a unique historical perspective to TarHeelBlue.com. A native of North Carolina, Brewer served as UNC's Sports Information Director from 1975 until his retirement from full-time work in 2000. Email Rick Brewer at rbrewer@uncaa.unc.edu.
