#4 Tar Heels Complete Regular Season Thursday Versus Irish

Thursday, October 26

Cary, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

North Carolina

Notre Dame

Redshirt freshman Taylor Otto and the Tar Heels host Notre Dame Thursday at 6 p.m.

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

October 24, 2017 | Women's Soccer

2017 Media Guide 2017 UNC Women's Soccer Game Notes Live Stats Watch on ACC Network Extra

UNC welcomes #24 Notre Dame to WakeMed Soccer Park

By: Dave Lohse

READ COMPLETE GAME NOTES PACKAGE AS PDF FILE

TAR HEELS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON THURSDAY NIGHT VERSUS NOTRE DAME: The University of North Carolina women's soccer team will close out its 2017 regular season Thursday night when it plays host to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 6 p.m.
The game will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium in Cary, N.C.
The Tar Heels are coming off a 0-0 tie against Louisville last Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park that ended an eight match winning streak for Coach Anson Dorrance's team. Carolina is 12-2-1 overall this season and 8-0-1 in the ACC. Notre Dame comes to Cary on a two-match winning streak having won games last week at Florida State 4-3 and Miami 2-1. The Fighting Irish are 9-5-3 overall and 5-3-1 in the ACC.
North Carolina comes into the match ranked fourth by the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer and third by Soccer America. Notre Dame is ranked 24th by the United Soccer Coaches and Soccer America.

ADMISSION AND PARKING: There is no admission charge for Thursday night's game in Cary. Parking is free at WakeMed Soccer Park for UNC home games this season.

MEDIA COVERAGE THURSDAY: Thursday's game between North Carolina and Notre Dame will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra with live streaming on WatchESPN.
The game between the Tar Heels and the Fighting Irish will also be broadcast on WCHL Radio, Chapel Hill's hometown radio station (97.9 FM, 1360 AM, Chapelboro.com). Paul Connell will be on the play-by-play call for WCHL.

MILLION MEALS CHALLENGE THURSDAY: The University of North Carolina athletic department and Harris Teeter have teamed up in the Million Meals Challenge to support local families in need and to help curb the North Carolina hunger epidemic. The Million Meals Challenge focuses on generating year long support with all donations going to the North Carolina Food Banks. From now until March 8, 2018, UNC will be competing with Duke, NC State and Wake Forest to see which students, fans, and alumni can donate the most. Help UNC win in the pursuit to collect a million meals!
UNC Athletics will be collecting any non-perishable donations at the Tar Heel women's soccer game on Thursday, October 26th at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium as North Carolina takes on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
Game time Thursday is 6 p.m. To reward fans, students and alumni for participating in the Big 4 Million Meals Challenge, each donation of 3 of more items will receive a $5.00 gift card to Harris Teeter while supplies last.
There is no admission charge for Thursday's game and parking at WakeMed Soccer Park is free.

SERIES RECORDS: North Carolina and Notre Dame will be meeting for the 27th time in history Thursday when they meet in Cary, N.C. UNC leads the all-time series 17-7-2.
The Tar Heels have lost just 69 matches in their history and Notre Dame has seven of those wins against the Heels. Only Florida State with eight wins has more against Carolina.
Carolina is 3-2 against the Fighting Irish since Notre Dame joined the ACC in 2013. The two teams split a pair of games last season with Notre Dame winning 1-0 in South Bend in the regular-season meeting and Carolina winning 2-1 in the ACC Tournament semifinals in Charleston, S.C.
Of the previous 26 meetings between the two teams, 10 were in NCAA Tournament games with Carolina going 7-3 in those matches. Carolina is 1-0 in ACC Tournament matches against the Fighting Irish.
In the 15 previous regular-season games between the two clubs, Carolina has gone 9-4-2

2017 TAR HEEL SENIOR NIGHT: Thursday night's match between North Carolina and Notre Dame will mark the final regular season home game for six Tar Heel seniors. This group includes fifth-year senior defender Maya Worth, fifth-year senior midfielder Joanna Boyles, senior midfielder Megan Buckingham, senior defender Cannon Clough, senior midfielder Frances Reuland and senior midfielder/defender Abby Elinsky.
Here are notes on those six seniors including family members who will join them in pre-game ceremonies.
Maya Worth will be joined Thursday by her parents, Leroy & Nina, and her sister, Karen, Leroy, and Nina Worth • Maya is a 5th-year redshirt senior who has played in 65 matches, starting 45 • In 2015 she made the Fall Semester Dean's List • In 2015 and 2016 she made the ACC Academic Honor Roll • In 2016 All-ACC Tournament Selection
Abby Elinksy will be joined by her parents Greg and Renee Elinsky • Abby transfered from University of Illinois after her freshman year • She played in 56 games, starting 32 • Scored her first goal with UNC against Liberty in opening round of NCAA Tournament last year, and scored another in the team's recent victory against Virginia Tech • UNC's best defensive player in a 1-0 win at Florida State where she also assisted on Dorian Bailey's game winning goal.
Frances Reuland will joined by her parents Dan Reuland and Paula Paradis and her brother Oliver • Frannie walked onto the team in her sophomore year of school • she was the winner of the NCAA Elite 90 Award given at the 2016 NCAA College Cup for the player with highest cumulative grade point average • she made the 2016-17 ACC Academic Honor Roll • as a senior she currently holds a 4.0 GPA
Joanna Boyles will be joined by her parents Scott and Wendy Boyles and her brother Ben Boyles • Joanna is a 5th year redshirt senior who has played in 78 games, starting 53 • she has scored 14 goals to go along with her 16 assists • Joanna has been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the past three years • in 2014 she was named to the Second Team All-ACC squad • in 2015, she was a Second Team ACC-ACC selection, while she was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team and made the Third Team All-Southeast Region Team • this year her teammates honored her with the title of team captain.
Megan Buckingham will be joined by her parents Tom Buckingham and Joanne Klesendorf • Megan has played in 78 games, starting 62 • she was named 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year • In that year she was also named to the All-ACC Freshman Team, and the Third Team All-ACC squad • for the past three years, Megan has made the ACC Academic Honor Roll and made the Deans List in the spring of 2015 and 2016 • in 2016 she was a Second Team All-ACC Selection and a second team NSCAA All-Southeast Region selection • Megan was also honored this year with the title of Team Captain by her teammates.
Cannon Clough will be joined by her parents Barry and Brenda Clough • Cannon joined Carolina as a transfer from Charlotte after her sophomore year • she impacted immediately, playing 77 minutes of defense in a grueling early season match against Duke • Cannon also stepped up late in the season and played all 90 minutes in a road win over Syracuse • last year she made the ACC Academic Honor Roll and is on track to accomplish that feat again this year.

ACC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS SUNDAY: Regardless of Thursday's outcome against Notre Dame, the North Carolina Tar Heels have clinched no worse than the No. 2 seed for the 2017 ACC Tournament and will host a quarterfinal game at Cary, N.C.'s WakeMed Soccer Park (Koka Booth Stadium). The game Sunday will be played at 1 p.m.
Facts To Know:
ACC Quarterfinals, Sunday, October 29
TBD (will be announced late Thursday night) @ North Carolina
Location: WakeMed Soccer Park Koka Booth Stadium
Start Time: 1:00 pm
Gates Open: 12:00 pm
Tickets: $10/Adult; $5/Child; Students Free with valid Student ID (from any ACC school)
Tickets on sale now at GoHeels.com - advance purchse by credit card is encouraged; cash ticket sales at gate Sunday
Free Live Stream/TV/Webcast: ACC Network Extra, WatchESPN

TAR HEELS IN RPI: North Carolina is currently No. 3 in the NCAA RPI (ratings percentage index) through games of October 22, 2017. The RPI is the primary source used by the NCAA to determine which teams receive post-season bids and also go a long way in determing the Top 4 seeds in each quadrant of the 64-team NCAA Tournament bracket.
North Carolina is 12-2-1 this season with a 7-2 road record, 2-0 neutral site mark and 3-0-1 mark at home.
Carolina has played arguably the nation's most difficult schedule when opponent's RPIs are listed. They include: #4 Duke, #6 UCF, #11 Penn State, #13 Florida State, #15 Notre Dame, #19 Auburn, #22 Virginia, #27 South Florida, #33 Wake Forest, #36 Clemson, #49 Virginia Tech, #53 Boston College, #67 Louisville, #88 Syracuse, #159 UNCW and #179 Miami.

TAR HEEL PRODUCE CLEAN SHEET AT VIRGINIA TECH: Bridgette Andrzejewski had a brace and Alessia Russo and Jessie Scarpa also scored goals as the University of North Carolina women's soccer team, ranked #5 nationally, defeated Boston College 4-1 Saturday night, October 14 before 951 fans at the Newton Lacrosse and Soccer Complex.
The win was the seventh in a row for North Carolina, which improved to 11-2 overall on the season and 7-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Boston College, which lost at home for only the second time this season, is now 9-6-1 overall and 3-3-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels took over first place in the ACC with 21 points prior to Duke's match Sunday against Miami at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils currently have 18 points in the standings.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Eagles with goals by Alessia Russo in the fourth minute and Bridgette Andrzejewski in the ninth minute.
The first Tar Heel goal of the game came at 3:12 of the match. Andrzejewski sent a ball into the box from the right side of the pitch that was headed out by BC defender Allyson Swaby. Joanna Boyles toe poked the ball just outside the top of the box into the path of Russo, who powered a shot from 30 yards out into the upper left corner over the hands of Boston College goalkeeper Alexis Bryant. It was Russo's eighth goal of the season. She has now scored goals in five straight games for the Tar Heels, totaling six goals in that stretch.
UNC doubled its lead in the ninth minute as Andrzejewski scored the first of her two goals in the match. Boyles launched a corner kick from the right side that found Julia Ashley at the left post. Ashley headed the ball back across the frame to Abby Elinsky who nodded the ball on to Andrzejewski who was unmarked at the right post just two yards out. Andrzejewski headed the ball into the back of the net for what would prove to be the game-winning goal and her third score of the campaign.
With a 2-0 lead, Carolina substituted at the 15-minute mark of the first half with Jessie Scarpa coming in at forward and Lotte Wuben-Moy checking in on the back line. Scarpa had been out of the lineup since hurting a knee 10 minutes into a match at South Florida on August 27. Wubben-Moy had not seen action since being hurt in the first half of a 2-0 win over UNCW on September 3.
Scarpa made the most of her return to the pitch as she scored a goal from distance at the 41:46 mark of the game. Off a Tar Heel corner kick, the BC defense made the initial clearance before Scarpa pounced on the ball 22 yards out on the left side. Scapa's arcing shot evaded Bryant, clipped the underside of the cross bar and bounded into the back netting. The goal was Scarpa's second of the season.
UNC added to its lead at the 77:15 mark as Andrzejewski scored her second goal of the game and her fourth of the season. Dorian Bailey sent a cross from near the end line close to the left corner marker. The ball slid across the end line, traveling through several bodies in the process before it found Andrzejewski on the right post for a finish into an empty net.
Boston College got on the board at 83:07 as Carly Leipzig scored her fourth goal of the season. UNC goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak came off her line to snuff out a scoring opportunity for the Eagles, punching the ball out with both hands right at the top of the box. The ball went directly to Leipzig, however, who scored from 25 yards out into the empty net.
The goal was the first allowed by the Tar Heels in the second half this season and only the second goal by Carolina in an ACC game. UNC had not surrendered a goal in the past 432 minutes and three seconds since the Tar Heels had surrendered in the 12th minute of a 2-1 victory over Virginia on September 27.
The Tar Heels outshot the Eagles 14-11, including a 7-3 edge in shots on frame. Both teams took five corner kicks in the game. Alexis Bryant finished with three saves for Boston College while Samantha Leshnak had two saves for North Carolina.
While Scarpa and Wubben-Moy returned to the Tar Heel lineup for the first time in several weeks, the Tar Heels were playing with the services of redshirt senior defender Maya Worth, the starting left back. Worth tore an Achilles' Heel last Tuesday in practice and had surgery on Wednesday. She is out for the remainder of the year.
Sophomore Morgan Goff started in Worth's place at left back and played 75 minutes on Saturday night.
UNC improved to 17-1 all-time against Boston College, including a 9-0 mark in games played in Newton. The Tar Heels have two games on the docket in the coming week, both to be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra. The Tar Heels play at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting Louisville on Sunday, October 22 at 10 a.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium.

RUSSO SCORES TWICE TO POWER TAR HEELS PAST DEMON DEACONS: Alessia Russo scored a pair of goals and Samantha Leshnak recorded her fifth solo shutout in six ACC games as the University of North Carolina women's soccer team defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2-0 Sunday afternoon, October 8 before 873 fans at Dennie W. Spry Soccer Stadium.
Russo scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season and now has five game-winning goals for Coach Anson Dorrance's fifth-ranked Tar Heels. North Carolina improved to 10-2 on the season and 6-0 in the ACC. Duke and North Carolina remain tied atop the ACC standings as each are 6-0 with four conference games remaining.
Wake Forest, ranked 15th, fell to 9-3-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels have now won their past five meetings with the Demon Deacons.
Russo scored the game-winning goal at 22:23 of the match as she scored from four yards out on a one-timer off a cross by Bridgette Andrzejewski. Julia Ashley had quickly fed a ball from about 25 yards out that Andrzejewski found in stride. She took a couple of dribbles and fed a ball across the box that Lindsay Preston appeared ready to pick off. At the last second, Russo intervened with her left leg and redirected the ball into the lower right of the goal.
Both defenses dominated the game with UNC taking just seven shots and Wake Forest four. Wake Forest had three corner kicks in comparison to two for Carolina.
The Tar Heels found separation in the 70th minute of play after Russo claimed the ball off a turnover in midfield. With forwards Syndey Spruill and Alea Hyatt trying to stay onside on the right side of the pitch, Russo read her situation perfectly and dribbled through the Wake Forest defense right down the middle of the pitch. She evaded her last defender just inside the penalty area and slotted a ball into the lower left corner from 15 yards to make the final margin 2-0.
Russo scored three of UNC's five goals in the weekend wins over Miami and Wake Forest. Russo now has five game-winning goals in her freshman campaign.
The Wake Forest game was the second of four straight road games for UNC. The Tar Heels will return to the pitch next Saturday, October 14 at Boston College at 7 p.m. and then play at Virginia Tech on Thursday, October 19 at 7 p.m.
Leshnak now has seven solo shutouts this year and she has recorded shutouts in five of UNC's six ACC wins.

RUSSO NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK BY UNITED SOCCER COACHES: Seven student-athletes from all three NCAA divisions and the junior college level have received Player of the Week honors from United Soccer Coaches, the association announced Tuesday, October 10
At the NCAA Division I level, University of North Carolina freshman forward Alessia Russo (Kent, England) earned this week's honor after scoring three goals in road wins at Miami and No. 15-ranked Wake Forest.
The English youth international broke a 0-0 tie with Miami less than three minutes into the second half of the Tar Heels' win at Miami on October 5 as she beat several players on the dribble for the game-winning goal in an eventual 3-0 win. She came back three days later to score both Tar Heel goals in a 2-0 win at #15 Wake Forest. Russo one-time home a cross from Bridgette Andrzejewski in the 23rd minute for the game-winning goal in the win over the Demon Deacons. Russo added the insurance goal in the 70th minute, again dribbling through several defenders before finishing just inside the box for her seventh goal of the year. Russo has now scored seven goals as a freshman, including five game-winning goals including in successive games against Syracuse, Miami and Wake Forest.
Each Tuesday during the college regular season, United Soccer Coaches selects a men's and women's Player of the Week for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and junior college competition based on nominations from schools and conferences across the country.

RUSSO & ASHLEY EARN ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS OCTOBER 10: North Carolina freshman forward Alessia Russo has been named this week's ACC Offensive Player of the Week, while Tar Heel junior defender Julia Ashley and Duke senior defender Schuyler DeBree shared this week's Defensive Player of the Week honor. The league announced the weekly honors on October 10.
Russo scored three of Carolina's five goals in road wins over Miami and Wake Forest last week. The English youth international player broke a 0-0 tie with Miami less than three minutes into the second half of the Tar Heels' win on October 5 as she beat several players on the dribble for the game-winning goal in an eventual 3-0 victory. She came back three days later to score both Tar Heel goals in a 2-0 win at No. 15 Wake Forest. Russo one-timed home a cross from Bridgette Andrzejewski in the 23rd minute for the game-winning goal against the Demon Deacons, and added the insurance goal in the 70th minute, again dribbling through several defenders before finishing from just inside the box for her seventh goal of the year.
Russo was also named to this week's Top Drawer Soccer Women's National Team of the Week.
Ashley again led the Tar Heel defense as it posted its fourth and fifth shutouts in ACC games with wins over Miami (3-0) and Wake Forest (2-0). The Tar Heel defense allowed only 10 shots in the two games combined – six by Miami and four by Wake Forest. Ashley also assisted on goals in both games as she had the helper on Madison Schultz's insurance goal in the win over the Hurricanes that put UNC up 2-0 and then assisted on Russo's game-winning goal in the 2-0 victory over the Demon Deacons.

TAR HEEL WOMEN'S SOCCER EARNS TEAM ACADEMIC HONOR FROM UNITED SOCCER COACHES: United Soccer Coaches (formerly the National Soccer Coaches Association of America -NSCAA) announced on October 6 the Team Academic Award Winners at the college levels to recognize exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2016-17 academic year.
Teams needed a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for the 2017-18 school year to qualify for the Team Academic Award. The North Carolina women's team was one of 531 collegiate women's team to make the honor list as the Tar Heels had a 3.02 team GPA for 2016-17.
A total of 813 collegiate teams (282 men, 531 women) earned the Team Academic Award, including 195 schools who had both their men's and women's programs among the recipients.
United Soccer Coaches annually celebrates the academic achievements of college soccer teams whose student-athletes collectively demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their studies over the course of a full school year.

TAR HEEL REMAIN UNBEATEN IN ACC WITH WIN AT MIAMI: The fifth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team scored three second-half goals to prevail against the Miami Hurricanes 3-0 on October 5 at Cobb Stadium.
Freshman Alessia Russo scored her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season and Madison Schultz and Bridgette Andrzejewski added insurance goals as Carolina won for the fifth straight game, improving to 9-2 overall and 5-0 in the ACC. Samantha Leshnak posted her fourth shutout in ACC play and her sixth of the campaign. Miami fell to 4-6 with the loss and the Hurricanes are now 0-4 in the ACC.
Despite outshooting Miami 10-4 in the first half and taking all six corner kicks, North Carolina went to halftime tied with the Hurricanes. Phallon Tullis-Joyce made five saves in the first half to keep the Tar Heels off the scoreboard.
UNC struck for the game-winning goal less than three minutes into the second half as freshman forward Alessia Russo scored at the 47:34 mark. After taking a pass in the midfield, Russo showed her skills as she dribbled through several defenders into the right side of the penalty area and finished to the far corner from 12 yards. The goal was her fifth of the season and her fourth game-winning tally.
Carolina added to its lead at the 74:29 mark when Madison Schultz scored for the second straight game. Julia Ashley sent a low ball with pace into the penalty area from around 30 yards out and Schultz redirected it into the lower right portion of the net to make it 2-0. It was Schultz's second goal of the season and Ashley's third assist.
North Carolina finished off the scoring at the 88:27 mark when sophomore forward Bridgette Andrzejewski intercepted a ball about 35 yards from goal, quickly beat the back line and dribbled to the top of the penalty area, putting her shot into the lower right corner past Tullis-Joyce. Andrejewski's goal on the breakaway was her second of the season.
Carolina finished with a 25-6 edge in shots and a pronounced 11-1 edge in shots on goal. The Tar Heels had a 9-1 edge in corner kicks. Tullis-Joyce finished with eight saves for the Hurricanes while Samantha Leshnak made one save in posting her sixth shutout.
The Tar Heels return to action on Sunday when they play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 5 p.m. at Dennie W. Spry Soccer Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game will be nationally webcast on ACC Network Extra and also broadcast in the Triangle area on WCHL Radio (97.9 FM, 1360 AM).
The Demon Deacons are 9-2-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the ACC after battling to a scoreless tie with Virginia Tech Thursday night in Winston-Salem.
With the victory, UNC leads the all-time series with Miami 13-2. The Tar Heels have won eight straight games in the series and have won four games in a row in Coral Gables since back-to-back losses there in 2007 and 2009.
Heading into the game at Wake Forest, Duke and North Carolina remain tied atop the ACC standings with 15 points each.

NORTH CAROLINA DOWNS SYRACUSE BEHIND BOYLES' HAT TRICK: Led by Joanna Boyles' first career hat trick and Dorian Bailey's goal and two assists, the fifth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team rolled past Syracuse 7-0 before 710 fans at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday afternoon, September 30.
UNC improved to 8-2 on the season and 4-0 in the ACC with the victory while Syracuse fell to 5-4-2 overall and 0-2-1 in league play.
Boyles had the second hat trick this season for a Tar Heel player and just the second by any Tar Heel since 2013. Bailey continued her scorching scoring streak over the past few games with a goal and two assists and Emily Fox recorded three assists in the match for Coach Anson Dorrance's team. Morgan Goff and Madison Schultz each scored their first goals of the season in the second half and Alessia Russo earned her third game-winning goal of the season when she tallied in the 16th minute. Both Abby Staker and Nicole Crutchfield recorded the first points of their UNC careers with assists on Schultz's goal in the 83rd minute.
The seven goals were the most the Tar Heels have scored in an ACC game since September 17, 1999 when UNC defeated Florida State 9-0 in a game played in Winston-Salem, N.C., after Hurricane Floyd had made Fetzer Field unplayable. The seven tallies were the most by the Tar Heels against any opponent since August 23, 2015 when UNC defeated Fresno State 7-0 at Fetzer Field.
North Carolina finished with a 26-8 edge in shots in the game, including an 18-4 margin in shots on frame. Carolina also led in corner kicks 8-2. Samantha Leshnak made four saves for Carolina to record her fifth solo shutout of the season. She twice had to stop breakaways to preserve her clean sheet. Leshnak has solo shutouts this year against Auburn, UNCW, Florida State, Clemson and Syracuse.
While Courtney Brosnan played 61:28 in goal for Syracuse and allowed five goals her play actually prevented the Tar Heels from making matters even worse for the Orange and she made 11 saves, many of the acrobatic variety.
Syracuse nearly gained an early advantage after a turnover in the midfield by the Tar Heels. Sydney Brackett dribbled in alone on Leshnak but the Tar Heel keeper come out to cut down the angle and make the stop in the 11th minute of play.
Given the early reprieve, the Tar Heels poured it on shortly afterwards, scoring three goals in less than eight minutes to go ahead 3-0 by the 24th minute of the game. At 15:27, UNC took the lead as Alessio Russo sent a cross far 25 yards out on the left side. Dorian Bailey made a run on the play and appeared positioned to head it home but she dummied it, distracting Brosnan just enough to let Russo's cross settle into the right side netting for her fourth goal of the season and third game-winner. Bridgette Andrzejewski assisted on the goal.
In the 22nd minute, Joanna Boyles was taken down in the box and she stepped to the 12-yard spot and powered her penalty kick into the back of the goal to put the Tar Heels up 2-0 at 21:07 with her fourth goal of the season. At 23:17, Boyles earned her brace with a spectacular goal from the left side of the box, redirecting Dorian Bailey's perfect cross from the far right side back across the frame and past Brosnan. Emily Fox also assisted on the goal.
North Carolina made it 4-0 at 34:30 as Bailey scored a goal for the fourth straight game, running through the box to finish a chance that had been sent on by Emily Fox. Taylor Otto also assisted on the goal after sending a long cross into the box that initially found Fox.
The Tar Heels continued to find the back of the net in the second half. In the 56th minute, Boyles concluded her hat trick as she scored on a header redirected to the opposite side of the net which just eluded the hands of Brosnan and then caromed off the right post and in. Julia Ashley and Emily Fox assisted on the goal. Fox's assist on that goal gave her three for the game. The last time a Tar Heel player had three assists in a game was August 29, 2010 when both Kelly McFarlane and Courtney Jones recorded three assists in a victory over Missouri.
For Boyles, she became just the second Tar Heel since Crystal Dunn had a hat trick against Miami in 2013 to record a three-goal game. Taylor Otto also had one earlier this year against South Florida.
UNC would score twice more against Syracuse reserve goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx. At 69:10, Morgan Goff scored her first goal of the season on a header off a corner kick by Dorian Bailey. Then at 82:54, Madison Schultz tallied her first goal of the campaign, sending a hard shot from the left side of the box into the opposite side of the net. Both Abby Staker (throw in) and Nicole Crutchfield (send on to Schultz) celebrated assists and their first career points on the goal.
Leshnak would need to make one more stop to preserve her shutout as she made a kick save on a breakaway effort by the Orange's Alex Lamontagne at the 87:11 mark.
The Tar Heels will be on the road for their next four matches beginning with a trip to Coral Gables, Fla., to meet the Miami Hurricanes Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra with live streaming on WatchESPN.

TAR HEELS TOUGH OUT KEY ACC WIN AT UVA ON NATIONAL TV: Junior midfielder Dorian Bailey came off the bench for the third game in a row to score the game-winning goal as eighth-ranked North Carolina defeated 11th-ranked Virginia 2-1 in women's soccer action on September 24 at Klockner Stadium. A crowd of 1,540 fans was on hand as well as a national television audience on ESPNU.
Carolina improved to 7-2 overall on the season and is now 3-0 in the ACC with all three wins by single goals over the past eight days. Virginia is now 6-3-2 on the campaign and 1-1-1 in the ACC. Carolina has played its last four games against teams ranked in the Top 20 of the United Soccer Coaches poll.
After Virginia scored early in the contest, the Tar Heels answered with a pair of goals just four minutes apart midway through the first half and those tallies held up for the 2-1 win. Carolina improved to 37-4-4 all-time against the Cavaliers and has now won two in a row in the series and gone 2-0-1 in the last three games between the two teams. Sunday marked the first win for UNC at Klockner Stadium since October 8, 2010 when the Tar Heels won 1-0 in overtime on a goal by Crystal Dunn off an assist by Kelly McFarlane.
Virginia outshot the Tar Heels 10-7 in the game Sunday, including 8-2 in the second half but the Tar Heel defense held up and Samantha Leshnak was active in the box, playing aggressively and denying the Wahoos several scoring chances on dangerous plays that did not result in shots statistically. Both teams recorded four shots on goal in the match and UNC held a 3-2 edge in corner kicks. Laurel Ivory had two saves for the Cavaliers and Samantha Leshnak had three saves for Coach Anson Dorrance's side.
The Tar Heels almost struck in the second minute of the game for an early lead. Bridgette Andrzejewski got free in the box and had a shot from 10 yards out that Virginia goalkeeper Laurel Ivory knocked over the end line for a corner kick at the 1:19 mark. Virginia kindly accepted the reprieve and scored a go-ahead goal at 11:04 of the match. Hana Kerner made a run down the right side of the pitch and served a ball into the box to Montana Sutton on the left side of the penalty area. Sutton redirected the ball to Taylor Ziemer who quickly returned the ball to Sutton whose one-timer from 16 yards went off the underside of the cross bar and into the upper left corner of the frame. The goal was Sutton's second of the year.
Tar Heel freshman forward Alessia Russo almost got the equalizer for the Tar Heels in the 17th minute as she got free for a moment in the box before Ivory gobbled up the ball on Russo's short from close range. Russo would not be denied, however, as she struck for the game-tying goal at 23:12 as Carolina scored on a counter attack after a long punt by Samantha Leshnak. Dorian Bailey, who had come on for Sydney Spruill just four minutes earlier, fed a ball from about 20 yards out on the right side to Andrzejewski at the top of the box in the center of the pitch. The sophomore forward pushed it wide to her left and Russo ran on to the ball and her shot from 14 yards wound up being deflected by a Virginia defender and going into the left side of the goal for the tying tally. It was Russo's third goal of the season.
Just over four minutes later, Bailey struck for her fifth goal of the season and her third game-winning goal in eight days as she had also scored the lone goals in UNC's 1-0 win over Florida State on September 17 and against Clemson on September 21. The goal came on a give-and-go by Bailey and Andrzejewski with Bailey finishing from eight yards out into the top right corner of the goal. Official time of the goal was 27:28. Julia Ashley's through ball had initially sprung Bailey free as the Tar Heels attacked through the midfield.
There was only one more shot in the first half over the next 17 ½ minutes as Carolina ended the half up 2-1 and with a 5-2 edge in shots.
The second half was certainly a contrast as Carolina's final two shots of the match were taken by Bailey at the 48:19 mark and Julia Ashley at 49:19 of the game. The Cavaliers would go on to take the final eight shots of the match but the UNC defense held strong and the Tar Heels never allowed the equalizer. The most dangerous situations over the next 40 minutes came on shots that were blocked or balls that were pinging around the box.
Leshnak saved a shot by Taylor Ziemer at 49:57 and the Tar Heel defense then blocked three shots in a four-minute span before the half was 15 minutes old while under heavy pressure by the Virginia defense. Leshnak would go on to make two more saves, stopping efforts by Veronica Latsko at the 64:14 and 73:37 marks of the game. The latter shot by Latsko was the last shot by either team in the game as teams battled in the midfield for possession over the final 17:23 of the game. Carolina was particularly effective over the game's final five minutes in controlling the ball on it's offensive end of the field.
Carolina has now started 3-0 in the ACC for the third time in the last four seasons. Next up for Carolina is a match against Syracuse next Saturday at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park at 12 noon. The match will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra. Admission to the match is free.

CAROLINA SWEEPS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Following wins over Clemson and Virginia, North Carolina junior midfielder Dorian Bailey has been named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week while teammate freshman red-shirt defender Taylor Otto is this week's Defensive Player of the Week. The selections were announced by the ACC on Tuesday, September 26.
Bailey scored a pair of goals and added an assist in North Carolina's victories over Clemson and Virginia last week. Bailey's game-winner against the Tigers came at 76:23 of the match and marked the second straight UNC win over Clemson in which Bailey scored the decisive goal. Three days later at UVA, the Mission, Kan., native assisted on the game-tying goal and scored the game-winning goal in UNC's 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Cavaliers. Bailey assisted on Alessia Russo's game-tying goal at 23:12 of the match, and then at 27:28, she worked a give-and-go with Bridgette Andrzejewski to give the Tar Heels the game-winning tally.
Otto led a defensive corps which conceded only one goal against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents as the Tar Heels defeated Clemson 1-0 on Thursday and Virginia 2-1 on Sunday. Otto helped hold the Tigers to eight shots and only two on goal in North Carolina's shutout. Against the Cavaliers, the Carolina defense gave up just four shots on goal and 10 overall. The Tar Heels have allowed only one goal in three ACC games this season.
Bailey was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week this season after Carolina's wins over Clemson and Virginia.
UNC will be back in action again on Saturday when the Tar Heels play host to Syracuse at 12 noon at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
The Tar Heels moved up the Soccer America rankings this week to No. 4 and lead a contingent of five ACC teams ranked in the Top 25. The other four teams in this week's poll are No. 5 Duke, No. 8 Florida State, No. 12 Virginia and No. 17 Notre Dame.

TAR HEELS PITCH SHUTOUT IN WIN OVER TIGERS: Dorian Bailey scored the game-winning goal for the second straight game in a row as eighth-ranked North Carolina defeated 19th-ranked Clemson in women's soccer action 1-0 September 21 at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park Thursday night.
A crowd of 1,331 fans was on hand to watch another 1-0 between the two rivals. The teams also played a 1-0 game last year in the NCAA third round in another game in which the Tar Heels prevailed on a goal by Bailey.
The only goal of Thursday night's game came at 76:23 of the match and was set up by a throw in deep in the Clemson defensive end. Eventually, Madison Schultz got free at the top of the penalty area and sent a shot off the cross bar. Bailey was right there to head the game-winner over the head of Clemson goalkeeper Sandy MacIver and into the back of the net.
It was Bailey's fourth goal of the season, a statistic in which she leads the team. It was also her second consecutive game-winning goal as she had the deciding tally in UNC's 1-0 win at Florida State last Sunday.
UNC finished with a 16-8 edge in shots in the game but both teams struggled to place shots on frame. Samantha Leshnak made two saves on Clemson's eight shots and Sandy MacIver had three saves while allowing the one Tar Heel goal. UNC ended with a 4-2 edge in shots on goal and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.
With the win, Carolina improves to 6-2 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC. Clemson fell to 6-3 with its third successive loss and the Tigers are now 0-2 in the ACC.
Neither team found the back of the net in the first half with UNC outshooting the Tigers 7-3. Finding shots on the net was difficult for both teams as Sandy MacIver made saves on both Tar Heel shots on frame in the first period while Samantha Leshnak made one save for Carolina. UNC took all five corner kicks in the first half.
Carolina will next be in action on Sunday when the Tar Heels travel to Charlottesville, Va., to meet up with the 11th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at Klockner Stadium. Game time is 3 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

TAR HEELS PULL OFF BIG CONFERENCE WIN AT FSU: The 10th-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team returned to the pitch after a 10-day break, earning a 1-0 victory against 16th-ranked Florida State before a crowd of 1,371 fans at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon, September 17. Junior midfielder Dorian Bailey's goal in the 58th minute was the difference in the match in the ACC opener for both teams.
Both teams are now 5-2 overall and Carolina is 1-0 in the ACC and Florida State is 0-1. The victory by Carolina improves its all-time record against the Seminoles to 26-8-4 but it was its first in the series in Tallahassee since a 2-0 win here in 2011.
The only goal of the contest came at 57:11 and it came off a corner kick. A shot by Dorian Bailey was blocked by the Seminoles over the end line for the corner. UNC senior Joanna Boyles sent a perfect corner to the 12-yard line where senior midfielder Abby Elinsky was unmarked. Elinksy headed the ball down into the turf and Bailey was Johnny-on-the-spot at the five-yard line, redirecting Elinsky's redirection like a perfect basketball bounce pass with her head over Florida State goalkeeper Cassie Miller and into the upper right corner of the goal. Bailey was stationed near the left post but flicked the ball across the goal and over the fingertips of Miller with aplomb.
Carolina had not played since losing at fifth-ranked Penn State 1-0 on September 7 and its fresh legs seemed to make a difference in the game. The Tar Heels are currently fighting an injury bug that has temporarily sidelined a group of starters, but Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance made liberal use of his bench, playing 17 players and showing confidence in his reserves. Florida State, conversely does not have as deep a bench as normal this season, and it made only two substitutions in the game. The Seminoles pushed hard for the tying goal for about 20 minutes before UNC was able take over possession over the last 10 minutes of the match, not allowing a shot by FSU in the final 12 ½ minutes of action.
North Carolina finished with a 12-8 edge in shots in the match and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks. UNC generated seven shots on goal – two each by Bailey and Bridgette Andrzejewski and one each by Boyles, Alea Hyatt and Madison Schultz. Cassie Miller finished with six saves for the Seminoles. Florida State finished with four shots on goal, all resulting in saves by Tar Heel goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak. The junior netminder for the Heels made five saves and recorded her third solo shutout of the campaign. Dallas Dorosy had two shots on goal for FSU while Megan Connelly and Deyna Castellanos had one each.
Leshnak saved a point-blank shot by Castellanos from about eight yards out with 32 seconds left in the first half, knocking the ball down with two hands before the Tar Heels could clear the ball over the end line for a corner kick. That was the best opportunity for either team in the opening 45 minutes. In the 64th minute, FSU had a good chance off a free kick but Megan Connolly's dangerous header was gobbled up by Leshnak. The last shot of the game by FSU came with 12:29 left and it was arguably its most dangerous chance of the game but UNC's defense closed down on Castellanos and her shot from inside the penalty area went just high of the cross bar. Maya Worth closed down defensively on the play, forcing Castellanos to adjust and it made have been just enough to throw the dangerous International player's shot off frame.

ENDING FSU HOME UNBEATEN STREAK: North Carolina's 1-0 win on September 17 ended a 36-match unbeaten streak for the Seminoles at the Seminole Soccer Complex. During that streak, FSU had outscored its opponents 108-7 in Tallahassee. It's last home loss came on September 5, 2014 when Florida beat the Seminoles 2-1 in Tallahassee. Florida State was also 70-1-3 in its last 74 home matches dating back to 2011.

TAR HEELS-SEMINOLES SERIES NOTES: UNC is now 26-8-4 all-time against the Seminoles after Carolina's 1-0 win on September 17. Florida State's eight wins are the most all-time against Carolina, one more than Notre Dame possesses. UNC has lost only 69 matches dating back to its inaugural season in 1979.
After a 2-0 win in the regular season by Carolina in 2011, Florida State had gone 6-0-1 against UNC between an ACC Tournament win in 2011 through the 2015 campaign. Over the last two campaigns, UNC is now 2-0-1 against the Seminoles, winning 1-0 in Chapel Hill in the regular season meeting in 2016 and tying in the 2016 ACC Tournament championship game 0-0 prior to Sunday's victory by the Heels in Tallahassee.

ONE-GOAL GAMES BETWEEN THE HEELS & THE NOLES: Beginning with the 2010 campaign, the two teams have played 12 times with FSU going 6-4-2 in those contests. Nine of the 10 wins recorded by the teams in that time have been decided by a single goal. The exception was a 2-0 win by UNC at Tallahassee in 2011. There was a 1-1 tie in Chapel Hill in 2014 and a 0-0 tie in the ACC Tournament in 2016 in Charleston, S.C.

TAR HEELS BLANK UNCW: The ninth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team emerged from the Duke Nike Classic with a second successive shutout victory, beating the UNCW Seahawks 2-0 at Koskinen Stadium Sunday morning, September 3.
Carolina scored both of its goals on nifty passing combinations with double assists credited on both tallies. Sydney Spruill scored her first career goal at 9:11 off assists by Emily Fox and Julia Ashley while Bridgette Andrzejewski notched her first goal of the season at 48:14 with assists by Alessia Russo and Megan Buckingham.
In beating Auburn 5-0 Friday and UNC 2-0 Sunday, Carolina combined to outshoot its opponents 46-4 on the weekend while taking all six corner kicks in the two games.
Samantha Leshnak went the full 90 minutes in both games, garnering the first two solo shutouts of her Tar Heel career. UNC outshot the Seahawks 23-2 Sunday and had a 6-0 edge in corner kicks.
Carolina is now 4-1 on the season while UNCW fell to 2-4.
The Tar Heels outshot the Seahawks 14-0 in the first half and took all three corner kicks in the opening 45 minutes. Three minutes into the match, Bridgette Andrzejewski had a shot for Carolina right on the doorstep but Seahawks' goalkeeper Sydney Schneider was able to parry it away at the last second.
Carolina went up 1-0 six minutes later as freshman Sydney Spruill scored her first career goal with 35:52 left in the first half. Julia Ashley carried the ball up the right side of the field and fed Tar Heel freshman midfielder Emily Fox who crossed to an unmarked Spruill who was unmarked inside the six-yard box for the easy put away.
Andrzejewski kept putting on the pressure throughout the half and Schneider had to make two more impressive saves on shots by the UNC sophomore forward with 31:26 left in the half and again with 9:55 to play. UNC's other shot on goal in the first half came with 27:24 to play when Alessia Russo's shot from the top of the box was saved by Schneider.
Carolina went on to outshoot the Seahawks 9-2 after intermission. The Tar Heels got the insurance goal they needed at 48:14 of the match in the fourth minute of the second half. Bridgette Andrzejewski scored her first goal of the season heading home a ball from inside the six-yard box on the right side. Alessia Russo had the primary assist on the goal, lofting a pass from the left corner perfectly to the head of Andrzejewski. Megan Buckingham also assisted on the goal.
The next best opportunity to score in the second half came with 21:13 to play when freshman Alea Hyatt's shot from in close was saved off the line of UNCW's Schneider.
Schneider finished with seven saves for UNCW while Leshnak made one save for Carolina.
Carolina will be back in action on Thursday when it travels to University Park, Pa. to take on #4-ranked Penn State at Jeffrey Field. The Nittany Lions are a veteran team coming off a 2015 season two years ago in which it won its first national championship. The game will be telecast nationally on the Big 10 Network.

TAR HEELS PUT UP HIGHEST SCORING OUTPUT IN OVER TWO YEARS IN WIN OVER AUBURN: Joanna Boyles scored a pair of goals and three other Tar Heels added single tallies as the North Carolina women's soccer team powered its way to a 5-0 victory over Auburn at Koskinen Stadium on Friday night, September 1.
The game was the lidlifter of a two-game Friday night doubleheader as part of the Duke Nike Classic. The Tigers and Tar Heels were scheduled for a 5 p.m. kickoff Friday but the game was delayed by two-and-one-half hours by lightning and heavy thunderstorms, finally starting at 7:30 p.m.
Carolina improved to 3-1 on the season while Auburn fell to 2-2-1. The five goals were the most scored by UNC in a game since August 23, 2015 when the Heels beat Fresno State 7-0 at Fetzer Field.
UNC finished with a 23-2 shot margin in the game as it outshot Auburn 12-2 in the first half and 11-0 in the second half. UNC had five corner kicks in the game to one for Auburn. UNC goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak played the whole way and recorded her first career solo shutout, making one save. Sarah Le Beau made nine saves and allowed five goals while guarding the net for the Tigers of the Southeastern Conference.
UNC dominated the first half but was unable to dent the scoreboard until the 29th minute and then it went ahead 1-0 on a spectacular goal by freshman forward Alessia Russo. Megan Buckingham had the assist on the tally. Russo's goal, her second consecutive game-winning tally, came at 28:49 of the match. Russo powered a shot from 25 yards out that was struck on a rope into the upper right 90 of the goal, freezing Le Beau in the process.
Carolina maintained the 1-0 lead until it took complete control with four goals in the final 26 minutes of the match. Russo was taken down in the penalty area right at the 64-minute mark and junior Dorian Bailey struck her penalty kick into the left side for her second goal of the year.
Late in the 74th minute, Taylor Otto of the Tar Heels was taken down in front of the Tar Heel penalty area around 22 yards from goal. Joanna Boyles took the ensuing free kick and sent a ball past the Auburn wall and into the lower left corner of the frame for her second goal of the season.
Boyles scored again less than six minutes later when she finished off a nifty passing combination in the box in tight quarters. Boyles' shot from 12 yards out on the left side found the right side of the net after she took a redirect from Dorian Bailey who shielded a defender with her back to the goal. Taylor Otto also assisted on the goal.
Carolina finished the scoring at 88:42 as Miah Araba, a Chapel Hill native, scored her initial career goal while playing the first six minutes of her Tar Heel career. Araba sent a high, arcing shot from 22 yards out into the upper left 90 of the frame over the head of Le Beau. Bridgette Andrzejewski assisted on the goal.
Carolina will return to action on Sunday when it plays UNCW in the Duke Nike Classic at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. The game will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra.

ASHLEY EARNS HONORS AS ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: North Carolina junior defender Julia Ashley of Verona, N.J. is this week's ACC Defensive Player of the Week while Louisville freshman midfielder Emina Ekic has been named this week's Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. The conference chose its weekly selections on Tuesday, September 4 and they were based on games played August 28-September 3.
Ashley was the outstanding defensive player on the field in the Duke Nike Classic as she led North Carolina to a 5-0 win over Auburn and a 2-0 victory over UNCW. Ashley played 80 minutes in UNC's win over Auburn and then went the full 90 in the shutout win over the Seahawks. North Carolina's defense limited both Auburn and UNCW to just two shots as the Tar Heels finished with a 46-4 shot margin on the weekend. The Tar Heels also held the Seahawks without a corner kick and allowed only one by the Tigers for the game. In North Carolina's win over UNCW, Ashley assisted on Sydney Spruill's game-winning goal in the 10th minute of play.
The latest Soccer America Top 25 has seven ACC teams ranked, with six in the top 12. Virginia leads the way at No. 6 followed by No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 8 Florida State, No. 10 North Carolina, No. 11 Duke, No. 12 Clemson and No. 21 Notre Dame.

TAR HEELS BREAK OUT OF SCORING SLUMP IN WIN AT SOUTH FLORIDA: Freshman Taylor Otto recorded the Tar Heels' first hat trick in four years and freshman Alessia Russo scored the game-winner in the 74th minute as the fourth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team knocked South Florida from the ranks of the unbeaten by a 4-2 score Sunday afternoon, August 27 at Corbett Stadium.
In the process, the Tar Heels bounced back from a 2-1 overtime loss at UCF Friday night and improved to 2-1 on the season. South Florida lost for the first time after starting the season 3-0. It was the first meeting ever between the two teams and it was played on a cloudy day with temperatures in the 80s. The official attendance was 912.
Otto scored three goals for the Tar Heels, including two on penalty kicks. She scored both of Carolina's goals in the first half and then added an insurance goal in the 85th minute. It was the first hat trick by a Tar Heel player since Crystal Dunn scored three goals against Miami on September 22, 2013 in a 4-0 win in Coral Gables, Fla. It was also only the second hat trick notched by a Tar Heel since Courtney Jones scored three goals against Duke on October 28, 2010 in a 5-3 Carolina victory over the Blue Devils in Durham, N.C.
On Sunday, the teams traded goals in the first half to go to intermission at 2-2. Megan Buckingham was taken down from behind in the penalty area in the 17th minute and Otto stepped to the 12-yard spot and finished into the lower right corner for her first career goal at 16:25. Less than four minutes later, Carolina was called for a foul in USF's penalty area and Andrea Hauksdottir scored into the right side of the goal for her third goal of the season.
UNC retook the lead at 37:34 on a nice passing combination between Morgan Goff and Taylor Otto as the Tar Heels took advantage of an interception 30 yards from the South Florida goal. Goff took the ball into the penalty area and found Otto on the right side and she finished from 12 yards out past USF goalkeeper Kat Elliott. Again, the lead did not hold for long as Evelyne Viens scored her fourth goal of the season at 39:19 to tie the game 2-2. Viens dribbled down the middle of the field and with no defender picking her up, Tar Heel goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak came out to try to cut down the angle but Viens chipped her to score from the top of the box.
Regrouping at half, the Tar Heels came out and dominated the second half, outshooting the Bulls 16-2 after intermission and scoring twice to come away with the victory. The game-winning goal came off the foot of freshman Alessia Russo, who joined the team last week from England. She took a pass from Dorian Bailey, dribbled a few yards and then finished from 22 yards out into the lower right corner of the goal. The goal came at 73:58 of the match.
At 84:27, USF defender Kelli Burney took down UNC's Bridgette Andrzejewski in the box, earning a straight red card in the process for denying a clear scoring chance by the UNC sophomore forward. Otto again converted successfully on the penalty kick, going low and to the right side for her third goal of the game.
UNC ended up with a 25-6 edge in shots while the Tar Heels took all 10 corner kicks in the game. Kat Elliott played all 90 minutes in goal for USF and made seven saves while allowing four goals. Samantha Leshnak played all 90 minutes for the Tar Heels and made two saves while allowing two goals.

CONGRATS TO TIFF: North Carolina lost for only the 68th time in its 39-year women's soccer history on Friday, August 25 when UCF came from behind to defeat the Tar Heels 2-1 in double overtime at Orlando, Fla.
In the process, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak became the first Tar Heel alumna in history to beat Anson Dorrance in a head-to-head coaching matchup. Roberts was an All-America midfielder at Carolina, playing for the Tar Heels from 1995-98 and winning NCAA titles in 1996 and 1997.

TAR HEELS OPEN WITH VICTORY OVER DUKE: Jessie Scarpa scored off an assist by Joanna Boyles in the fourth minute of overtime on August 18 to lift the sixth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over 12th-ranked Duke before an overflow crowd of 2,012 fans at WakeMed Soccer Park.
UNC is playing its 2017 home games in Cary while a new Fetzer Field is being built on campus. With seating for only around 500 spectators, fans filled every available nook and cranny of the Koka Booth Stadium to watch another in the long series of titanic battles between the two old rivals. UNC earned its first win over the Blue Devils since 2014 and now leads the all-time series 38-3-2.
The matchup did not disappoint in the season opener for both teams. Scarpa and Boyles returned to the pitch Friday for the first time since 2015 after redshirting in the 2016 campaign and they provided the key plays in the Tar Heels' come-from-behind win. Scarpa missed last year while playing with the U.S. U20 National Team at the World Cup in Papua New Guinea while Boyles redshirted after suffering an ACL tear in practice late in the 2015 season.
Their return was obviously serendipitous for Coach Anson Dorrance's side. Duke drew first blood in the match after the Tar Heels turned the ball over in the midfield. Imani Dorsey fed a ball from the left side of the field to Ella Stevens who lofted a perfectly placed ball over the Tar Heel defensive line while driving down the middle of the field. Taylor Racioppi was on the receiving end of the service and she got enough of her right foot on it to send it over the arms of UNC goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak, who was making her second career start. The goal came at 24:46 of the match.
UNC had two golden opportunities to tie the score over the next few minutes. Joanna Boyles had her shot go high at 27:46 off a direct kick and then Bridgette Andrzejewski stole a clearance pass and missed just high of the cross bar at 28:23.
Just over three minutes later, however, the Tar Heels got the tying tally after UNC freshman midfielder Emily Fox drove to the goal and drew a foul just outside the penalty area. Boyles stepped up and this time her kick was true as she sent it past the Duke defensive wall and Duke goalkeeper E.J. Proctor. It hit the underside of the cross bar and nestled into the back netting for a tie game. It was Boyles' first goal since she scored against Notre Dame on October 22, 2015.
The two teams went to halftime tied at 1-1 and with Duke having outshot Carolina 5-4 in the first half. While Carolina possessed the ball for long periods in the second half, it was Duke who seemed to create the most dangerous opportunities to get a game-winner. The two teams also combined for 11 corner kicks in the second half. Duke took 10 of the 15 shots in the second half.
The drama in the game amped up to another level in the closing two minutes of regulation as Samantha Leshnak kept the Tar Heels in the match by making two incredible saves in one-on-one chances against veteran Duke forwards who found themselves open in the penalty area. She knocked down a shot by Racioppi with 1:07 left in regulation and then made another world class save to deny a shot by Kayla McCoy with 18 seconds to play. Malinda Allen sent a follow up shot wide left and the Heels survived to play overtime.
After those late Duke chances, UNC came out with four defenders in the overtime, one of them being Scarpa, who joined Julia Ashley, Taylor Otto and Maya Worth in the back. Just under three minutes into overtime, the Tar Heels earned a corner kick from the right side. Boyles' initial service was volleyed out by the Duke defense but Dorian Bailey tracked the ball down on the right side of the box and sent the ball to Boyles' foot again. The pass could not have been truer as Scarpa skyed over two Duke defenders to head the orb down and inside the left post from 12 yards out, setting off a mass celebration on the field and in the crowd. It was the first goal for Scarpa since she scored against Liberty on November 13, 2015.
Duke finished with a 15-10 edge in shots while both teams took six corner kicks. E.J. Proctor played all 93:12 in goal for Duke and made two saves while allowing two goals. Samantha Leshnak proved to be another hero on the night for the light blue XI as in her 93:12 between the pipes she made six saves while allowing just goal.

BOYLES NAMED ACC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK AFTER SEASON OPENER: North Carolina senior midfielder Joanna Boyles earned the first Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season August 21.
Boyles tallied a goal and an assist as No. 6 (coaches poll) /10 (Soccer America poll) North Carolina rallied for 2-1 overtime win against #12 (coaches poll)/13 (Soccer America poll) Duke on August 18 in the season opener for both teams at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
After Duke had taken a 1-0 lead in the game's 25th minute, Boyles scored the game-tying goal 6:54 later. She scored on a direct kick from 20 yards out that hit the underside of the cross bar and bounced in. The game went to overtime and Boyles stepped up again with the assist on the game-winner by Jessie Scarpa at 93:12. UNC earned a corner kick in the 93rd minute and Boyles' corner was volleyed out by a Duke defender. UNC's Dorian Bailey tracked down the ball and sent it back to Boyles, whose service into the box was perfect, finding Scarpa around eight yards out, and she headed the ball down and just inside the left post for the game-winning tally.

A NEW HOME FOR 2017: North Carolina women's soccer's long-time home, Fetzer Field, was torn down in May 2017 and a new Fetzer Field is currently being built on the same spot on the UNC campus with the opening scheduled for August 2018.
In the interim, UNC's five home games for the 2017 campaign are being played at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Seating capacity at Koka Booth Stadium is 500 plus standing room. No admission charge will be in place for any of UNC's five regular-season home games in 2017.
The Tar Heels' five home games started with a 2-1 overtime win over Duke on August 18. The Heels beat Clemson 1-0 on September 21 and then blanked Syracuse 7-0 on September 30. The Tar Heels played to a 0-0 tie with Louisville on October 22 and finish the regular-season against Notre Dame on October 26.
The previous Fetzer Field was built in 1935 as a Works Project Administration program in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It became the home of UNC women's soccer when the team became a varsity program in 1979.

CONSISTENCY, STATISTICAL ANOMALY OR JUST VERY GOOD?: North Carolina enters Thursday's match against Notre Dame with an all-time winning percentage of .906 dating back to the program's first year in 1979.
The fact is that UNC's program under the direction of head coach Anson Dorrance has been remarkably consistent in his 39 years as head coach regardless of where or when the Tar Heels took the pitch.
Under Dorrance, UNC has won 90.6 percent of its games overall, 86.9 percent of its ACC regular-season games, 89.4 percent of its ACC Tournament games, 90.4 percent of its NCAA Tournament games, 91.7 percent of its home games and 89.9 percent of its road and neutral site games.

16 TAR HEELS NAMED TO 2016-17 ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL: A record 385 North Carolina student-athletes were named to the 2016-17 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll, announced on July 13, 2017 by the league. It's the second year in a row and the fourth time in the past five years that UNC has established a new high and the fifth year in a row that more than 300 Tar Heel student-athletes have been honored.
Coach Anson Dorrance's North Carolina women's soccer team produced 16 of the 385 Tar Heels on the Honor Roll. Fifty-three percent of the team's 30 members were tapped for the Honor Roll. Carolina had placed 17 members of the team on the 2015-16 Honor Roll. Seniors Joanna Boyles and Darcy McFarlane were named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the fourth successive year.
The 2016-17 school year honorees included sophomore Julia Ashley, sophomore Dorian Bailey, senior Joanna Boyles, junior Megan Buckingham, junior Cannon Clough, sophomore Nicole Crutchfield, senior Sarah Ashley Firstenberg, senior Hanna Gardner, senior Lindsey Harris, junior Annie Kingman, senior Darcy McFarlane, sophomore Kate Morris, freshman Zoe Redei, junior Frances Reuland, freshman Abby Staker and junior Maya Worth.
The ACC Honor Roll is comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a grade point average of 3.0 or better for the full academic year. The conference recognized a record 4,472 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom.
UNC's record total marked an improvement of 29 over last year, when the Tar Heels had an all-time high of 356 students honored. Carolina had 339 recognized in 2014-15, following a then-record 347 in 2013-14. UNC's total in 2012-13, 329, was also a record at the time.
The number of UNC students honored for 2016-17 is roughly half of Carolina's total number of student-athletes and is an improvement of about 100 student-athletes over the past decade.

FOUR TAR HEELS NAMED TO 2016 ALL-ACC ACADEMIC TEAM: Four members of Coach Anson Dorrance's 2016 NCAA semifinalist women's soccer team were named to the sport's All-ACC Academic Team as announced on February 7, 2017 by Commissioner John Swofford.
All 15 schools were represented on last year's All-ACC Academic Team. The Tar Heels who earned honors on last year's team were senior midfielder Cameron Castleberry, redshirt senior defender Hanna Gardner, junior midfielder Megan Buckingham and junior midfielder Annie Kingman.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during a player's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
2016 All-ACC Academic Women's Soccer Team - North Carolina Honorees
Megan Buckingham, Jr., North Carolina, Media & Journalism
Cameron Castleberry, Sr., North Carolina, Psychology
Hanna Gardner, R-Sr., North Carolina, Biology & Environmental Studies
Annie Kingman, Jr., North Carolina, Economics

TAR HEELS ELECT TEAM CAPTAINS: The North Carolina women's soccer team has elected four players as team captains for the 2017 campaign. The captains are senior midfielder Annie Kingman of Woodside, Calif., senior midfielder Joanna Boyles of Raleigh, N.C., junior defender Julia Ashley of Verona, N.J. and senior midfielder Megan Buckingham of Novi, Mich.

TV SCHEDULE FOR UNC WOMEN'S SOCCER IN 2017 ANNOUNCED: The initial list of 2017 University of North Carolina women's soccer games to be televised and webcast in affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference was announced on August 14.
Additions to the TV list could come from other networks at a future date and game times on the designated dates are currently tentative.
Here's a rundown of UNC women's soccer television/webcasting dates so far. ACC Tournament games are pending if the Tar Heels earn a tourney invite and advance round by round.
ESPNU
Sunday, September 24, 2017, North Carolina at Virginia, 3 p.m., Charlottesville, Va. (Tar Heels won 2-1)
Sunday, November 5, 2017, ACC Championship final game, 1 p.m., Charleston, S.C.
Big Ten Network
Thursday, September 7, 2017, North Carolina at Penn State, 7 p.m., University Park, Pa. (Tar Heels lost 1-0)
Regional Sports Network
Friday, November 3, 2017, ACC Championship semifinal game #1, 5:30 p.m., Charleston, S.C.
Friday, November 3, 2017, ACC Championship semifinal game #2, 8 p.m., Charleston, S.C.
ACC Network Extra Games (with live streaming on WatchESPN)
Friday, August 18, 2017, North Carolina vs. Duke, 6 p.m., Cary, N.C. (Tar Heels win in overtime 2-1)
Friday, September 1, 2017, North Carolina vs. Auburn, 5 p.m., Durham, N.C. (Tar Heels win 5-0)
Sunday, September 3, 2017, North Carolina vs. UNCW, 11 a.m., Durham, N.C. (Tar Heels win 2-0)
Sunday, September 17, 2017, North Carolina at Florida State, 1 p.m., Tallahassee, Fla. (Tar Heels win 1-0)
Thursday, September 21, 2017, North Carolina vs. Clemson, 6 p.m., Cary, N.C. (Tar Heels win 1-0)
Saturday, September 30, 2017, North Carolina vs. Syracuse, 12 p.m., Cary, N.C. (Tar Heels win 7-0)
Thursday, October 5, 2017, North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., Coral Gables, Fla. (Tar Heels win 3-0)
Sunday, October 8, 2017, North Carolina at Wake Forest, 5 p.m., Winston-Salem, N.C. (Tar Heels win 2-0)
Saturday, October 14, 2017, North Carolina at Boston College, 7 p.m., Newton, Mass. (Tar Heels win 4-1)
Thursday, October 19, 2017, North Carolina at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., Blacksburg, Va. (Tar Heels win 4-0)
Sunday, October 22, 2017, North Carolina vs. Louisville, 1 p.m., Cary, N.C. (Tar Heels and Cardinals tie 0-0)
Thursday, October 26, 2017, North Carolina vs. Notre Dame, 6 p.m., Cary, N.C.
Other Webcasts
Friday, August 25, 2017, North Carolina at UCF, 7 p.m., KnightsTV.com (Tar Heels lose 2-1 in double overtime)
Sunday, August 27, 2017, North Carolina at South Florida, 1 p.m., Facebook Live (Tar Heels win 4-2)

SCARPA, WUBBEN-MOY NAMED TO TOP DRAWER SOCCER PRESEASON XI TEAMS: University of North Carolina junior forward Jessie Scarpa has been named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's Division I preseason Best XI team announced by the magazine on August 14.
In addition, freshman defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, a native of England, who joined the Tar Heels on August 23 and is projected as UNC's starter at center back this year, was tapped for Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman Best XI.
The return of last fall's U.S. U20 Women's World Cup team is significant in this year's Preseason Best XI for women's Division I soccer. Scarpa was one of many preseason Best XI selections who played in last year's U20 FIFA World Cup in Papua, New Guinea and sat out the 2016 collegiate season in the process. Wubben-Moy was a member of the English Team that played at the 2016 U17 Women's World Cup. She is currently a member of the English side at the U19 level.

WCHL ANNOUNCES 2017 WOMEN'S SOCCER BROADCAST SCHEDULE: WCHL Radio (97.9 FM, 1360 AM) has announced its 2017 broadcast schedule for the University of North Carolina women's soccer season. This marks the seventh successive year that UNC's hometown radio station has aired games involving the storied program of head coach Anson Dorrance.
Paul Connell is back for his sixth year as the play-by-play announcer for Tar Heel women's soccer on WCHL. John Stanley also returns as the chief analyst and a roster of former Tar Heel women's soccer players will also serve as guest commentators during the course of the season.
WCHL will air six regular season games – three at Carolina's temporary 2017 home field at WakeMed Soccer Park. WCHL will also air a game against UNCW at Durham, N.C., and road games at Virginia and Wake Forest.
If UNC qualifies for the NCAA Tournament and earns the right to host games, WCHL plans to also air up to three games in Cary on the road to the 2017 College Cup slated for December 1 and 3 in Orlando, Fla.
There will be a half hour pre-game show with the exception of the Clemson and Notre Dame games. Those games start at 6 p.m. real time and WCHL will have live cut ins during the first half of play and then air the second half of those contests in their entirety.
Broadcast Schedule
Sunday, Sept. 3, 11 a.m., vs. UNCW at Duke Nike Classic, Durham, N.C.
Thursday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m, vs. Clemson, Cary, N.C.
Sunday, Sept. 24, 3 p.m., at Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
Sunday, Oct. 8, 5 p.m., at Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Sunday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m., vs. Louisville, Cary, N.C.
Thursday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m. vs. Notre Dame, Cary, N.C.
Potential NCAA Tournament Games in Cary, N.C.
Saturday, November 11, NCAA First Round
Friday, November 17, NCAA Second Round
Sunday, November 19, NCAA Third Round

ANDRZEJEWSKI NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) and the Missouri Athletic Club announced August 8 the 61 NCAA Division I players named to the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists for women and men for the 2017 season.
University of North Carolina sophomore forward Bridgette Andrzejewski is amongst the 30 female candidates on the 2017 Watch List. Andrzejewski was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2016 while leading the Tar Heels to the College Cup. She was also an NSCAA coaches third-team All-America selection. The Lutherville, Md., native started 21 games last year and played in 25. She led UNC with nine goals and a total of 20 points.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is the most prestigious individual award in college soccer and is presented annually to the most outstanding male and female players of the year. This year's winners will be announced Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The MAC Hermann Trophy Watch Lists are compiled by members of the United Soccer Coaches Men's and Women's NCAA Division I All-America Committees. Fifteen semifinalists will be named for both the men's and women's MAC Hermann Trophy near the end of the college season based on voting by NCAA Division I coaches and from those candidates, three finalists will ultimately be placed on the ballot for the coveted award.
For more information about the MAC Hermann Trophy, including a list of past winners, visit MACHermannTrophy.org.

TAR HEELS CHECK IN AT NO. 6 IN PRESEASON COACHES POLL: Coach Anson Dorrance's 2017 University of North Carolina women's soccer team was ranked sixth in the preseason poll issued August 4 by the United Soccer Coaches Association. The USCA previously went under the name of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America before being changed this summer.
North Carolina, returning six starters off its 2016 team which reached the NCAA semifinals before falling to West Virginia 1-0, was 17-4-4 a year ago. The Tar Heels were one of six Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the preseason Top 25 poll and the highest-ranking league entity in the group.
West Virginia, 2016 NCAA finalist, is ranked No. 1, while Stanford is second, 2016 NCAA champion USC is third, South Carolina is fourth and Georgetown fifth. The Tar Heels, who defeated the Gamecocks in last year's NCAA quarterfinals, head the second five in the poll followed by No. 7 Florida, No. 8 BYU, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Auburn.
UNC's 2017 regular season schedule includes games against No. 10 Auburn, No. 11 Virginia, No. 12 Duke, No. 13 Clemson, No. 15 Florida State and No. 18 Notre Dame.

UNC PICKED 10TH IN PRESEASON SOCCER AMERICA POLL: The 2017 University of North Carolina women's soccer team was ranked 10th the preseason Soccer America poll released August 16. Coach Anson Dorrance's team returns 20 letter winners and six starters from last year's squad which reached the NCAA College Cup semifinals before falling to consensus #1-ranked West Virginia 1-0.
Stanford was No. 1 in the Soccer America Women's Preseason College 25 rankings ahead of West Virginia, the 2016 NCAA Division I runner-up, Penn State, UCLA and Florida State, which rounded out the top five. Defending national champion USC is No. 8.
The Tar Heels play seven games in their 2017 regular season against teams in the Soccer America preseason Top 25.

CAROLINA PICKED SECOND IN 2017 PRESEASON ACC POLL: Coach Anson Dorrance's 2017 University of North Carolina women's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings for the upcoming season. The Tar Heels finished behind only 2016 ACC Tournament champion Florida State among the 14 teams in the preseason poll.
Two Tar Heel forwards were picked to the preseason All-ACC Team in a vote by the league's 14 head coaches. Sophomore Bridgette Andrzejewski, the 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year, was named to the preseason team. She is joined on the preseason honor squad by Tar Heel redshirt junior Jessie Scarpa. A 2016 redshirt while she was playing on the U.S. U20 National Team at the FIFA World Cup, Scarpa was a first-team All-ACC choice as a sophomore in 2015.
The Seminoles received eight first-place votes and 186 points, followed by North Carolina (two first-place votes, 172 points), Duke (one first-place vote, 170 points), Virginia (two first-place votes, 160 points) and Notre Dame (one first place vote, 145 points). Clemson placed sixth in the voting followed by NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Boston College placed 10th followed by Miami, Louisville, Syracuse and Pitt.
ACC women's soccer teams kicked off their 2017 season on Friday, Aug. 18. The top eight teams in the final league standings will advance to the ACC Championship, which will get underway with quarterfinal matches at campus sites on Sunday, Oct. 29. The semifinals and final are scheduled for Nov. 3 and Nov. 5 at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.
2017 Preseason All-ACC Women's Soccer Team
Cassie Miller, R-Sr., GK, Florida State
Sam Staab, Jr., D, Clemson
Rebecca Quinn, Sr., D, Duke
Natalia Kuikka, Jr., D, Florida State
Megan Connolly, Jr., M, Florida State
Sandra Yu, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Deyna Castellanos, So., F, Florida State
Jessie Scarpa, Jr., F, North Carolina
Bridgette Andrzejewski, So., F, North Carolina
Jennifer Westendorf, So., F, Notre Dame
Veronica Latsko, Sr., F, Virginia
Preseason ACC Coaches Poll
1. Florida State (186 points, 8 first-place votes)
2. North Carolina (172, 2 first-place votes)
3. Duke (170, 1 first-place vote)
4. Virginia (160, 2 first-place votes)
5. Notre Dame (145, 1 first-place votes)
6. Clemson (120)
7. NC State (104)
8. Virginia Tech (91)
9. Wake Forest (72)
10. Boston College (71)
11. Miami (65)
12. Louisville (63)
13. Syracuse (33)
14. Pitt (18)

TAR HEELS HOST FIVE GAMES AT WAKEMED SOCCER PARK IN 2017: The University of North Carolina will play host to five games this fall at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., while the new Fetzer Field is being built on the UNC campus.
The Tar Heels will host five ACC opponents at WakeMed which is located at 201 Soccer Park Drive in Cary. The Tar Heels are playing Duke in the season opener in a designated non-conference game and then playing four ACC games later in the year.
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, August 18 – Duke vs. North Carolina, WakeMed Soccer Park, 6 p.m.
Thursday, September 21 – Clemson vs. North Carolina, WakeMed Soccer Park, 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 30 – Syracuse vs. North Carolina, WakeMed Soccer Park, 12 p.m.
Sunday, October 22 – Louisville vs. North Carolina, WakeMed Soccer Park, 10 a.m.
Thursday, October 26 – Notre Dame vs. North Carolina, WakeMed Soccer Park, 6 p.m.
Following are some bullet points for fans as they plan their trips to Cary to watch the Tar Heels play this year.
• There will be no admission fee
• There will be no parking fee (primary parking in lot B and plenty of overflow)
• There is permanent seating for 500 fans
• There will be standing room only seating if the grandstand fills up
• No outside food or beverage can be brought in
• Concessions will be available (Backyard Bistro)
• Gates will open one hour prior to kickoff
• All five home games as tentatively scheduled to be streamed on ACC Network Extra and three games are tentatively scheduled for WCHL Radio

TAR HEELS ANNOUNCE NINE NEWCOMERS FOR 2017 SQUAD: The University of North Carolina women's soccer program finalized its recruiting class for 2017 on June 21 as announced by head coach Anson Dorrance.
The recruiting class includes four freshmen who enrolled at Carolina in January 2017 as well as another four players who have been admitted to the University and enrolled in August of this year. Another player attended Carolina as a freshman last year and is joining UNC women's soccer for her sophomore season this fall.
Miah Araba is a local player for the Tar Heels who is a native of Chapel Hill and the valedictorian of the 2017 class at Carrboro High School. The 5-3 Araba played four years of high school soccer at Carrboro High where she was a member of 2A NCHSAA state championship teams three straight years from 2015-17. Each of those years she was named All-Conference, All-Region and All-State. In 47 career games, she recorded 147 points on 54 goals and 39 assists. She was consistent throughout her career, recording 46 points as a sophomore, 41 points as a junior and 50 points as a senior.
Brooke Bingham is another native of the Tar Heel State, hailing from Laurel Springs. She enrolled in January and stands 5-9. Bingham has been playing soccer on the club level since she was 12 years old but did not play high school soccer, practicing with a boys' team instead. She is a veteran of the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP program, being included on rosters and called into camps at the U18 and U19 levels since late 2014.
Sam DeSantis attended Carolina as a freshman in 2016-17 and is being added to the roster as a goalkeeper in the fall. She was a Dean's List student at Carolina as a freshman, earning a 3.94 grade point average while majoring in information science and mathematics. DeSantis stands 5-7 and played four years of soccer at Saint Stephens High School in her hometown of Hickory, N.C. She was an All-State and All-Conference honoree in high school while serving as the team captain.
Emily Fox enrolled at Carolina in the spring semester 2017 and is a long-tenured member of U.S. women's soccer youth national teams. Fox stands 5-5 and is a native of Ashburn, Va. Fox attended Stone Bridge High School where she played one year of varsity soccer before concentrating on ODP and youth national team soccer. She earned membership on the U.S. U20 women's national team beginning in 2015 and still maintains membership on the team, currently as team captain. She was a member of the U.S. team which participated in the U20 World Cup in Papua, New Guinea in November 2016. Her UNC teammates Jessie Scarpa and Taylor Otto were also members of that squad. Fox was named to the Best XI Team at right defender at the 2015 CONCACAF Championships in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Alea Hyatt joined the Tar Heels in January 2017 from the West Coast where she attended Santa Barbara High School in California. An athletic training major, Hyatt stands 5-9 and has a brother, Colin, who plays soccer at Stanford. She played soccer in high school and was also a kicker on the football team. Hyatt played for both the Eagles Soccer Club and Surf Soccer Club, was part of the Olympic Development Program and a U18 U.S. Women's National Team member. She is a lifelong native of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Alessia Russo stands 5-9 and joins the Tar Heels from her hometown of Maidstone, Kent, England. She is an alumna of St. Simon Stock Catholic School where she excelled in soccer, cross country, track and field, cricket and netball. Russo currently plays for Brighton and Hove Albion WFC in the English Women's Super League and for the England U19 Team. She has played for England since the U15 level and has earned 50 caps and scored 23 goals overall. Russo played for the England U17 side in the FIFA World Cup in Amman, Jordan in October 2016.
Laura Sparling is another local player for the Tar Heels who will enroll in August. She stands 5-5 and is a native of Chapel Hill, N.C. Sparling attended Carrboro High School from 2014-17, where she played midfield and forward on the women's soccer squad, starting all four years. She led Carrboro High School to three straight NCHSAA 2A state title-winning teams from 2015-17. She notched the game-winning goal in the state championship game as a senior when she was tapped for the All-Conference, All-Region and All-State honor squads. Despite being injured her junior year, she finished her high school career with 19 goals and 27 assists.
Sydney Spruill enrolled at Carolina in January 2017 and is majoring in communications. Standing 5-5 tall, Spruill is a native of Greenville, N.C., where she attended Rose High School. An accomplished youth soccer and volleyball player, she spent eight years on CASL, PGSA, Orlando City and Concorde Fire club soccer squads. She played one year of high school soccer at Rose in the spring of 2016, scoring 23 goals and adding 20 assists while being named first-team All-State.
Lotte Wubben-Moy will enroll at Carolina in August 2017. Standing 5-10 tall, she is a 2017 alumna of Stoke Newington School and Sixthform in London, England, where she competed in soccer, netball and track and field. Wubben-Moy is an accomplished veteran of English youth national teams. She captained the English side in the 2016 U17 Women's U17 World Cup in Amman, Jordan. Wubben-Moy also has garnered two FA Youth Cup wins with Arsenal Ladies at the U17 level. Overall, she has made 12 appearances with the Arsenal Ladies within in the space of three seasons with her debut coming at the age of 16. Wubben-Moy has 35 international appearances for England from the U15-U19 levels, recording three goals and five assists. She primarily plays a center back spot for her club and national teams.

DORRANCE EARNS 800TH WIN: On Sunday, October 9, 2016, the University of North Carolina women's soccer program achieved a pair of monumental milestones in program history - the program's 800th victory in its 900th game.
The North Carolina women's soccer program began as a varsity team in the 1979 season. The Tar Heels played the program's 900th game on October 9 when Carolina rallied past Wake Forest 2-1 at Fetzer Field.
In the process, head coach Anson Dorrance earned his 800th career victory as the head coach of the Tar Heels as the symmetry lined up perfectly.

CONGRATULATIONS COACH DORRANCE: North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance is now in his 39th season as the Tar Heel head coach in 2017. He also served as the head coach of the UNC men's soccer program from 1977 through 1988. So this fall marks his 41st season as a UNC head coach, including 12 seasons in which he coached two sports at once.
Dorrance achieved his 800th career victory as the women's head coach on Sunday, October 9, 2016 when the Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 2-1 at Fetzer Field. In his 39 years, his teams have gone 821-69-37. His men's teams at Carolina achieved a record of 172-65-21 in his 12 seasons at the helm.
Altogether, Dorrance's teams have won 993 games in his remarkable coaching tenure in Chapel Hill.

FOLLOW CAROLINA WOMEN'S SOCCER ON TWITTER: Fans are able to follow Carolina women's soccer through Twitter updates at both @ncwomenssoccer (athletic communications office account) and @uncwomenssoccer (players and staff account). Fans can check during the week, in-game and post-game for live news, videos and links to all your favorite Carolina soccer news. Carolina's Twitter sites have now combined to pass the 38,800-follower mark, the most in college women's soccer. @uncwomenssoccer has over 23,000 followers while @ncwomenssoccer has over 15,800 followers.

JUST FOUR TIMES SINCE 1986: Carolina's 3-0 setback at USC on September 11, 2016 marked only the fourth loss for the Tar Heels by a margin of more than one goal since the 1985 season.
Carolina has played 780 games since the end of the 1985 season, losing by more than one goal just four times.
That streak traces back to the opening game of the 1986 season against George Mason, a 3-3 tie.
After losing to George Mason 2-0 in the 1985 NCAA Tournament championship game, the Tar Heels went 25 years without losing a game by more than one goal.
Since 1986, UNC has only lost four games by more than one goal. Two of those four losses have come against Virginia. The Tar Heels fell to Notre Dame 4-1 on November 20, 2010, lost to Virginia 2-0 on October 20, 2013, was upended by Virginia 2-0 on November 7, 2014 and lost to USC 3-0 on September 11, 2016.

DID YOU KNOW...: North Carolina would have to lose its next 762 games in a row for head coach Anson Dorrance to have a .500 coaching winning percentage in his career at the helm of the Tar Heels.
UNC enters this Thursday's game against Notre Dame with an all-time record of 821-69-37. Dorrance has coached the Tar Heels in all 927 of their games.

THE?ALL-TIME?RECORD: UNC heads into its match against Notre Dame with a record of 821-69-37 overall, a winning percentage of .906. The Tar Heels have an all-time winning percentage of .904 in NCAA Tournament games, almost the exact same winning percentage in the most important games it plays every year.

AVERAGE?RECORD?PER?YEAR: UNC's average record per year in its 39 years of soccer is 21.1 wins per year, 1.8 losses per year and 0.9 ties per year.

SHUTOUTS?ARE?INFREQUENT: UNC's 0-0 tie against Louisville on October 22, 2017 was only the 54th time the Tar Heels have been shut out in their history. Altogether, UNC has played 927 matches since 1979.
The Tar Heels have been blanked on the scoreboard in only 5.7 percent of the games they have played in during their history. Carolina has suffered 40 shutout losses in its history. The Tar Heels have also played 14 scoreless ties in their history history.
Only five times in UNC history have the Tar Heels been shutout in back-to-back games in the same season.
That happened against Portland and Florida in 2012, against Notre Dame and Florida State in 2013, against UCLA and Pepperdine in 2014, against Florida State and Duke in 2015 and against USC and NC State in 2016.

17?ACADEMIC?ALL-AMERICAS?SINCE 2005: On November 26, 2013, UNC junior defender Caitlin Ball of Chapel Hill, N.C. was chosen as a first-team Academic All-America by Capital One and the College Sports Information Directors of America.
UNC has had 17 selections for the Capital One Academic All-America first, second and third teams since 2005.
Carolina also had seven women's soccer players named Academic All-Americas from 1983-2001, giving the program 24 selections since the Academic All-America program began in 1983. Academic All-Americas were chosen for women's soccer in an at-large pool from 1983-2004. In 2005, a specific women's soccer academic All-America Team was selected by Capital One and CoSIDA.
Following is a summary of the 24 selections since 1983.
•1983 - Lauren Gregg, third team.
•1985 - Beth Huber, second team.
•1993 - Shelley Finger, second team.
•1994 - Shelley Finger, first team.
•1998 - Cindy Parlow, first team.
•2000 - Lindsay Stoecker, second team.
•2001 - Kristin DePlatchett, first team.
•2005 - Heather O'Reilly, second team; Lindsay Tarpley, third team.
•2006 - Heather O'Reilly, first team (Academic All-America of the Year); Anna Rodenbough, second team; Yael Averbuch, third team.
•2007 - Yael Averbuch, second team; Anna Rodenbough, second team.
•2008 - Kristi Eveland, first team; Yael Averbuch, first team (Academic All-America of the Year); Anna Rodenbough, second team.
•2009 - Kristi Eveland, first team; Whitney Engen, second team; Ashlyn Harris, second team.
•2011 - Adelaide Gay, first team; Amber Brooks, second team.
•2012 - Amber Brooks, first team.
•2013 - Caitlin Ball, first team.

O'REILLY JUST SECOND TAR HEEL EVER INDUCTED IN CoSIDA ACADEMIC AMERICA HALL OF FAME: Four distinguished professionals, all standout collegiate scholar-athletes, were inducted as the newest members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America® Hall of Fame. This year's class of inductees includes University of North Carolina women's soccer standout Heather O'Reilly (2003-06) who led Carolina to a pair of NCAA championships and was the CoSIDA Women's Soccer Academic All-America of the Year in her senior season in 2006.
Created in 1988, the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame recognizes former Academic All-Americas who received a college degree at least 10 years ago, have achieved lifetime success in their professional careers, and are committed to philanthropic causes.
This year's 2017 inductees into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame were:
• Heather O'Reilly, University of North Carolina women's soccer standout who helped UNC earn two NCAA titles and went on to international success with the U.S. National Team, winning three Olympic gold medals and a FIFA world championship;
• Dr. Stacey Johnson, a two-time national champion and four-time All-America fencer at San Jose State University and a 1980 U.S. Olympian;
• Rachel Price Bell, PhD, an All-America volleyball standout at the University of North Alabama who was twice selected as the top female student-athlete in the Gulf South Conference;
• Stephanie White, Purdue University women's basketball standout and the 1999 national Player of the Year when she led the Boilermakers to the 1999 NCAA championship who went on to star in the WNBA before turning to coaching professionally and at the collegiate level.
The four new inductees joined the prestigious 142-members Academic All-America® Hall of Fame this June. They were inducted into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame at CoSIDA's annual convention in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday, June 11th during the organization's annual Hall of Fame Ceremony at the World Center Marriott. The CoSIDA convention was held in conjunction with the annual National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and Affiliates Convention for a fifth straight year.
O'Reilly became the second UNC student-athlete to be inducted into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame, joining Tar Heel swimmer Sue Walsh, Class of 1984, who was inducted in 2002.
"In our 2017 Academic All-America Hall of Fame class, we recognize four women who made major contributions to their respective collegiate sports and who continue to make significant impact in their professional careers," said Andy Seeley, UCF Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and current CoSIDA president. "As undergraduates, they excelled at the highest levels in their respective sports while also being committed to obtaining extraordinary academic success."
The June 11th Hall of Fame induction ceremony featured ESPN's Rece Davis as emcee and legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, the ambassador of the Academic All-America® program, as special guest and presenter. At that time, the 2016 Dick Enberg Award recipient, former Ole Miss chancellor Dr. Robert Khayat, was also recognized.
"We are so pleased to announce this year's Academic All-America Hall of Fame class. For so many of us involved with CoSIDA, this annual induction celebration has truly become a special evening honoring amazing individuals with wonderful and heartfelt stories of great accomplishment as both students, athletes and citizens within their communities," noted Bernie Cafarelli, American Athletic Conference Associate Commissioner for Communications/External Affairs and chair of the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame committee.
"Their stories have a lasting impact on those who attend the event each year. On behalf of the Academic All-America committee, we are proud to welcome another distinguished group into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame."
The biographical information on this year's Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction class is listed below.
Heather O'Reilly – University of North Carolina, '07, Soccer
A 2015 World Cup champion as a midfielder for the U.S. National Women's Soccer Team. Three-time USA Olympic gold medalist (2004, 2008, 20012). Three-time World Cup medalist. Two-time NCAA national champion while starring for the University of North Carolina soccer program.
That is the illustrious resume of O'Reilly, who began her international soccer career at the early age of 17 in 2002. That year, Heather earned her first cap with the United States Women's National Team (WSWNT). In 2004, during her sophomore year at North Carolina, her soccer dreams became a reality when she was named the youngest member of the 2004 Olympic Team.
O'Reilly was an education major at UNC, where she played forward for the Tar Heels from 2003 through 2006. She appeared in 97 matches, scoring 59 goals and assisting on 49 others. She helped leAd the powerhouse UNC squad to national championships in 2003 and 2006. In her final three seasons, she was an All-America first-team selection, following her consensus national freshman of the year honor in 2003. A two-time Academic All-America in 2005 (second team) and 2006 (first team), O'Reilly was awarded a distinctive NCAA Today's Top VIII Award following her senior year. In 2006, O'Reilly's No. 20 jersey was retired by the UNC program,
O'Reilly is one of the world's most capped soccer stars with over 200 international appearances to her name. She is also the eighth most capped player in USWNT history.
In September of 2016, O'Reilly announced her retirement from the Women's National Team after 15 years, and retired on September 15 after a friendly match against Thailand, held in Columbus, Ohio.
She signed with the Arsenal Ladies Football Club in London on January 18th, 2017. O'Reilly previously played professionally for FC Kansas City and Boston Breakers of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS).

KINGMAN CHOSEN FOR ORDER OF GOLDEN FLEECE: Two Tar Heel student-athletes – Ezra Baeli-Wang and Annie Kingman – were among the 29 most recent inductees to UNC's Order of the Golden Fleece, the University's oldest honorary society. This class was tapped in a public ceremony on March 31, 2017 and honored again in a private ceremony on April 7.
Baeli-Wang was a senior from Hillsborough, N.J., and a member of the men's fencing team. He was a peace, war & defense and Asian studies double major with a minor in creative writing.
Kingman was a junior from Woodside, Calif., and a member of the women's soccer team. She is majoring in economics with minors in English and history.
Both are members of UNC's Student-Athlete Advisory Counci – Baeli-Wang currently serves as co-president – and have excelled academically and athletically at UNC.
The following citations were read for Baeli-Wang and Kingman at the tapping ceremony in announcing and explaining their nomination for the prestigious society:
Ezra Baeli- Wang
For his leadership as a student-athlete and advocacy for fairness, inclusion and diversity in athletics. Ezra served as president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council, representative on the UNC Faculty Athletics Committee, and captain of the fencing team. Ezra organized an effort among student athletes from multiple North Carolina institutions to write and petition the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal House Bill 2.
Annie Kingman
For her leadership as a student-athlete and her work within the Honor Court. A midfielder on the women's soccer team, Annie demonstrates relentless hard work and pursuit of excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Annie was named to the All-ACC Academic team, All-ACC Tournament team and finished second on the team in points. Annie actively works to enforce and protect the University's Honor Code.
Members are selected based upon service to Carolina, as reflected in scholarship, motivation, creativity, loyalty, and leadership in academic and extracurricular pursuits. Founded in 1904 to unite student leaders at UNC, inductees are generally seniors but juniors, graduate students, faculty and alumni also eligible for membership.

TAR HEELS IN THE ACC: Parity arrived in the Atlantic Coast Conference many years ago and yet the Tar Heels have lost only 26 ACC regular-season games since league play began in 1987.
The Tar Heels are 199-26-10 all-time in ACC regular-season matches.
UNC has averaged just 0.84 ACC regular-season losses a year in the 31 years of league play.
In the middle of the 2015 season, the Tar Heels had a three-match ACC regular-season losing streak, the first time that has happened in history.
Prior to that streak, UNC had fallen in back-to-back ACC games just four times in history.
The four occasions were September 18, 2013 home versus Notre Dame (0-1) and September 21, 2013 at Florida State (0-1); October 23, 2011 at Virginia Tech (0-1) and October 27, 2011 at Maryland (1-2 in overtime); October 22, 2009 at Florida State (2-3 in two overtimes) and October 25, 2009 at Miami (0-1); October 17, 2000 at Florida State (2-3 in double overtime) and October 27, 2000 at Wake Forest (0-1).
Remarkably, in four of the past eight seasons, UNC had a losing record in ACC play at one point in the campaign. The Tar Heels started the 2010 season 0-1 in the ACC, the 2012 season 1-2-1 in the ACC, the 2013 season 1-2 in the ACC and the 2016 season 0-1 in the ACC. The only other time in history when UNC had a losing record in ACC regular-season play in its history was 2002 when the Tar Heels lost their season opener to NC State.

14 TAR HEELS ON OPENING DAY ROSTERS FOR 2017 NWSL SEASON: All the 2017 clubs in the National Women's Soccer League have announced their 20-player rosters for the upcoming campaign which began on April 12, 2017.
The opening day rosters included 14 alumnae from Coach Anson Dorrance's University of North Carolina women's soccer program.
All the Tar Heels are returnees to the NWSL in 2017 with the exception of Summer Green, who sat out 2016 with a knee injury, and Cameron Castleberry, a senior on UNC's 2016 NCAA semifinalist team, who begins her rookie season in the league.
Following is a list of all 14 Tar Heels in the league in 2017 with their respective teams, positions and the final year in which they played at UNC.
Boston Breakers: Brooke Elby (Defender, UNC '14)
Chicago Red Stars: Summer Green (Forward, UNC '15)
Houston Dash: Amber Brooks (Midfielder, UNC '12); Kealia Ohai (Forward, UNC '13)
FC Kansas City: Yael Averbuch (Defender, UNC '08); Katie Bowen (Defender, UNC '08); Alexa Newfield (Midfielder, UNC '15)
NC Courage: Jessica McDonald (Forward, UNC '09)
Orlando Pride: Ashlyn Harris (Goalkeeper, UNC '09)
Portland Thorns: Meghan Klingenberg (Defender, UNC '10); Allie Long (Midfielder, UNC '08); Tobin Heath (Forward, UNC '09); Meg Morris (Defender, UNC '13)
Washington Spirit: Cameron Castleberry (Midfielder, UNC '16)

A RARE HOME LOSS FOR CAROLINA: Carolina's 1-0 loss against NC State at Fetzer Field on September 16, 2016 was just the 27th home loss in Carolina history and just the second home loss in the over the last three seasons combined. Carolina went 8-1 at home in 2015 and was 10-1 at home in 2016 after a 1-0 win over Clemson on November 20, 2016. Carolina is 3-0-1 at home so far in 2017. The loss to the Wolfpack was the first for Carolina in 22 home meetings against NC State. It was the first shutout loss for Carolina at home since it fell against Duke on October 16, 2015 - a 1-0 loss to the Blue Devils.

IN THE ACC REGULAR SEASON: In its last 41 ACC regular season games, UNC is 32-5-4, a winning percentage of 82.9 percent.
The Tar Heels had a 17-game ACC unbeaten streak ended at Louisville on October 8, 2015 that had stretched from late in the 2013 season.
The Tar Heels won their last three ACC games of the 2013 season, went 9-0-1 in 2014 and finished 7-3 in the conference in 2015. UNC was 6-2-2 in the league last year and is 8-0-1 so far in 2017.
Prior to falling at Louisville in 2015, Carolina's last ACC regular season loss had come on October 20, 2013 when Virginia beat the Tar Heels 2-0 at Fetzer Field.
Carolina's three ACC regular season losses in 2015, however, were not a first. UNC fell three times in ACC play in 2000, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In three of those five seasons UNC ended up winning the NCAA championship (2000, 2009, 2012).
Nevertheless, 32 wins, just five losses and four ties in UNC's last 41 regular season ACC games is a remarkable accomplishment given the parity in the league at this point.

HEATH NAMED 2016 U.S. SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR: University of North Carolina women's soccer alumnae Tobin Heath and Crystal Dunn finished first and second in the 2016 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year voting, respectively, as announced December 13, 2016 by United States Soccer.
Heath, who has long been a fan favorite for her entertaining style of play and dynamic work with the ball, wins the award for the first time in her ninth year with the U.S. Women's National Team. She won after earning 40 percent of the vote while Crystal Dunn came in second with 34 percent.
"It's obviously an honor to win an award like this, especially when you look at the list of amazing players who have won it before," Heath said. "This year was a difficult one for our team, but overall we played some great soccer so it's humbling to be recognized individually. I'm just proud to be in the company of all the great players that were nominated and all of the players that played for the USA this year. I couldn't have accomplished anything without the support of my teammates and my coaches, and while it was a fun year for me personally, I'm excited not only about my own future, but also the future of this team as I know we have a lot more room to grow and many more goals to achieve."
This year saw the 28-year-old Basking Ridge, N.J. native elevate her game to an even higher level. Heath played in 22 games, scoring six goals while recording eight assists tying for second-most on the team with Dunn. Both numbers were career bests for Heath, who this year competed in her fifth world championship for the USA. She played 1,747 minutes in 2016, good for second-best on the team.
Heath was one of the USA's best players at the 2016 Olympic Games where she recorded two assists. In her fourth season playing for the National Women' Soccer League's Portland Thorns FC, Heath finished the year with 10 assists - a new league record - in only 14 appearances for the club - while helping PTFC to the regular season title. She was named to the NWSL Best XI.
A new voting process was put into place in 2014. Votes are collected from respective National Team coaches, National Team players who have earned a cap in 2016, American soccer league (MLS, NASL and NWSL) head coaches, select media members, former players and administrators.
The U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year has been awarded since 1985, when midfielder Sharon Remer earned the first Female Athlete of the Year honor. The Young Female Player of the Year honor was first awarded in 1998, with Tar Heel alumna Cindy Parlow earning the honor.
Another Tar Heel alumna, Lucy Bronze, who played for Carolina on its 2009 NCAA championship team, recently was honored by the English Football Association. An England national team defender, Bronze picked up the FA WSL 1 Players' Player of the Year recognition.

EIGHT FORMER TAR HEELS COMPETE AT 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES: Eight former Tar Heel players were part of the Olympic Games Tournament in Brazil this past summer.
The full U.S. squad included five players from the University of North Carolina. Two former Tar Heels were also named as alternates for the team. The New Zealand team featured recent Carolina graduate Katie Bowen, who also was on the roster for the Football Ferns at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.
Full team members in 2016 were defenders Whitney Engen and Meghan Klingenberg, midfielders Allie Long and Tobin Heath and forward Crystal Dunn. Alternates, who traveled to Rio de Janeiro and practiced with the team were midfielder Heather O'Reilly and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
O'Reilly was a member of U.S. Olympic Teams which won gold medals in 2004 in Athens, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. Heath was a member of both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Teams. Klingenberg was an alternate on the team in London. Engen, Long and Harris all traveled to Olympic Games for the first time in their Team USA careers.
Altogether, UNC has had 30 selections to the full rosters for U.S. Olympic Teams in the six Games, beginning in 1996. The U.S. won gold medals in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the silver medal in 2000. Tar Heels have also competed on Olympic rosters over the years for Canada and New Zealand.
North Carolina led all universities in representation on this year's team with five full roster players and two alternates. Virginia had two on the full roster and one alternate. Penn State and Stanford had two players each on the team. UCLA had one full roster player and one alternate. Washington, Santa Clara, Portland, California and Rutgers had one player each. Lindsey Horan who went straight to the professional ranks in 2012 after her high school career, also competed for the U.S. side. She had signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Tar Heels before turning pro straight out of high school.

RALLYING FROM A TWO-GOAL DEFICIT: North Carolina rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to defeat Notre Dame on September 20, 2014 in South Bend, Ind.
The Tar Heels came back from a two-goal deficit to win for the first time since September 1, 2006 when UNC trailed Connecticut 2-0 at halftime but rallied to win 3-2 in regulation at New Haven, Conn.
Carolina has played 924 matches in its history. There have been only 24 games in that time in which the Tar Heels have ever trailed by more than a single goal in a game. That's 2.6 percent of the matches Carolina has played in history.
The Notre Dame comeback marked the fifth time UNC has rallied from two goals down to win. The Tar Heels have accomplished the feat against Santa Clara in 1993, Duke in 1999, NC State in 2003, Connecticut in 2006 and Notre Dame in 2014.

TAR HEELS IN ACC OPENERS: North Carolina lost to NC State 1-0 in its ACC opener for the 2016 season on September 16, 2016. It was only the fourth loss in an ACC opener for the Tar Heels in their history.
Carolina won its 2017 ACC opener 1-0 at Florida State. The Tar Heels are 25-4-1 overall in conference openers after win at Florida State on September 17.
Carolina's losses in ACC openers came at home against NC State 1-0 on September 16, 2016, at Maryland 2-1 on September 13, 2012, against Boston College in Chapel Hill 3-2 on September 23, 2010 and at NC State 2-1 on September 10, 2002. UNC also tied its ACC opener at NC State 1-1 on September 20, 1988.

TAR HEELS IN THE CAROLINA NIKE CLASSIC: On the opening weekend of the 2016 season, Carolina swept a pair of games in the Carolina Nike Classic as the Tar Heels beat UCF 2-0 and Charlotte 3-0.
UNC has now hosted a version of the Carolina Nike Classic, under the current name or the names of other title sponsors, since the initial event in 1980 a total of 26 times.
Carolina has a 47-3-2 record in its early season tournaments at home. The only losses were to Penn State in 1999, Notre Dame in 2008 and Stanford in 2014 with ties against Stanford in 2010 and Florida in 2012.
Carolina played a single game to open the 2017 weekend against Duke in Cary, N.C. but it was not part of a formal Nike Classic.

CAROLINA?IN?SEASON?OPENERS: Carolina has a record of 32-5-2 all-time in season openers after beating Duke 2-1 in overtime to open the 2017 campaign on August 21. The only losses were in 1983 vs. Connecticut (road), 2006 vs.Texas A&M (road), 2007 vs. South Carolina (home), 2012 vs. Portland (road) and 2014 vs. Stanford (home) and there were ties in 1985 vs. George Mason (home) and 2002 vs. Nebraska (road).

UNC?IN?HOME?OPENERS: North Carolina has a record of 34-2-3 in home openers all-time after beating Duke 2-1 in overtime on August 18, 2017.
The only losses came to South Carolina 1-0 in 2007 and to Stanford 1-0 in overtime in 2014 and the ties were against George Mason in 1985, against Stanford in 2010 and against Florida in 2012.