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#6 UNC Hosts #23 OSU Sunday Hoping To Reward Dorrance With 1,000th Win
August 17, 2018 | Women's Soccer
Tar Heels opened season Thursday with 3-1 win over Illinois.
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TAR HEELS HOST OHIO STATE SEEKING TO REWARD DORRANCE WITH 1,000TH CAREER WIN: After beating Illinois 3-1 Thursday afternoon in its season opener, the North Carolina Tar Heels return to the pitch Sunday to host Ohio State at Finley Field South at 4 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ACC Network Extra with Dean Linke on the play by play call and live stats will be available on GoHeels.com.
Sunday's game will mark the first opportunity for the Tar Heel team to present its head coach Anson Dorrance with a significant school milestone - a 1,000th career victory.
Dorrance coached the Tar Heel men's team for 12 seasons from 1977-88, winning 172 games. He founded the UNC women's soccer program in 1979 and is now in his 40th season as the head coach, coaching his squad to 827 victories. The 3-1 win over Illinois on Thursday marked the 999th win of Dorrance's incredible career.
All of UNC's regular season home games will be played this year at Finley Field South, the Tar Heels' home practice facility located on Old Mason Farm Road in Chapel Hill. Carolina had hoped to be in its new Carolina Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium by this fall but construction is behind schedule. The new stadium is located on the site of the old Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill which stood from 1935-2017.
Carolina played its home games last year at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. and the Tar Heels will play post-season games there in 2018 if Carolina qualifies for ACC and NCAA Tournament action.
In the meantime, Carolina is doing everything it can to produce a fan friendly atmosphere at Finley Field South so that this year's Senior Class can play its final season on campus in Chapel Hill, something Dorrance felt was very important for those 10 student-athletes. Altogether, UNC has nine home regular season games scheduled for the 2018 campaign.
ADMISSION AND PARKING: University of North Carolina home women's soccer matches for 2018 will be played at Finley South Field, 170 Old Mason Farm Road, which is adjacent to the OWASA Mason Farm Water Treatment Center. This space was the 18th fairway in the "old" Finley Golf Course before the course renovation in 1999. There are a number of limitations from a spectator standpoint, and significant planning and effort has been invested to provide a positive student-athlete and fan experience.
All fans are encouraged to go to GoHeels.com in advance of the games to access a story and attached map with parking information for the 2018 season. The parking map is downloadable to print out as a PDF document.
The following parking information is conveyed for fans planning to attend home games. Disability accessible parking will be available in the Finley North Parking Lot at 147 Old Mason Farm Road. A disability accessible vehicle and a disability golf cart will be available to assist with those needing mobility help. Public parking is located at the Finley North Parking Lot, Old Mason Farm Parking Lot, Finley Golf Course as well as the UNC Spine Center at the corner of N.C. Highway 54 and Finley Golf Course Road. Shuttle vehicles will assist with transportation of fans from the parking locations to the field and back. An old pedestrian bridge connecting the Finley Golf Shop and Naismith Grill with the Finley South Fields will also serve as an access point for fans to use.
Admission will be free and concessions will be available. Fans are encouraged to bring folding chairs and blankets to sit on the sloped viewing area. Bleachers are not able to be utilized due to a Duke Power Easement limiting any structures being placed.
MEDIA COVERAGE SUNDAY: Both Thursday's game against Illinois and Sunday's game against Ohio State will be webcast nationally on ACC Network Extra with live streaming on WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Dean Linke is the play by play announcer for both matches. Live stats will also be available on GoHeels.com via Stat Broadcast.
DORRANCE ON CUSP OF 1,000 TOTAL COLLEGIATE COACHING VICTORIES: North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance began his 40th season as the Tar Heel women's soccer head coach in 2018 with a 3-1 win against Illinois. He also served as the head coach of the UNC men's soccer program for 12 seasons from 1977 through 1988. So this fall marks his 42nd season as a UNC head coach, including 10 seasons in which he coached two sports at once.
Dorrance heads into the Ohio State game this weekend just one victory short of 1,000 total collegiate coaching victories.
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 40 years, his teams have gone 827-70-38. His men's teams at Carolina achieved a record of 172-65-21 in his 12 seasons at the helm from 1977 through 1988 when he was succeeded by Elmar Bolowich.
Altogether, Dorrance's teams have won 999 games in his remarkable coaching tenure in Chapel Hill. His combined women's and men's records are 999 victories, just 135 losses and 59 draws in 51 seasons of collegiate coaching.
Between 1979 and 1988, Dorrance coached the Tar Heel women's and men's teams concurrently. Also during that time period he also served coach of the U.S. women's national team from 1986 through 1994.
HEELS OPEN WITH WIN OVER ILLINOIS:Â The University of North Carolina women's soccer team rallied with three goals in the second half to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini on August 16 3-1 at Finley Field South.
 The game was the season opener for both teams and featured a classic coaching matchup between UNC's Anson Dorrance and Illinois' Janet Rayfield. Dorrance is currently in his 42nd year of coaching service at Carolina and the win over the Illini on Thursday was the 999th of his distinguished career. Dorrance won 172 games while coaching the UNC men's team from 1977-88 for 12 seasons. He has now won 827 games as the Tar Heel women's head coach with a program he founded in 1979. Rayfield, in her 17th season at Illinois, was Carolina's first women's soccer scholarship recipient, playing four years as a Tar Heel from 1979-82 and winning a pair of national championships. Even to this day, 36 years after leaving campus, Rayfield ranks second in career goals as a Tar Heel behind only Mia Hamm while standing third in career points.
 UNC, ranked sixth by the United Soccer Coaches, fourth by Soccer America and third by Top Drawer Soccer, played a deep lineup Thursday and it eventually paid fruit as Carolina rallied for the win, outscoring the Illini 3-0 in the second half and outshooting Illinois 12-1 after halftime.
 Carolina came out of the gate on fire, pressuring the Illinois goal with gusto from the start. Jaelyn Cunningham, who had six saves on the day for Illinois, made a sprawling save on a shot by Alex Kimball at the seven-minute mark. On the ensuing corner kick, freshman Rachael Dorwart hit the cross bar. At 14:38, Tar Heel forward Sydney Spruill hit the cross bar again as UNC took the first seven shots of the game.
 It was Illinois that scored first, however, against the run of play at the 18:55 mark. Illinois midfielder Hope Breslin thread a perfect through ball past a pair of Tar Heel defenders and forward Kelly Maday ran on to it to score from the top of the 18-yard box. UNC goalkeeper Samantha Leshnak was able to get a hand on the shot but was unable to keep the ball from reaching the back of the net.
 Carolina had an excellent shot at tying the game in the 31st minute, again off a corner kick by Annie Kingman. Taylor Otto had a shot in the box that was cleared away by the Illini defense, keeping the Tar Heels off the scoreboard in the first half.
 The second half would be a different story, however, as a shot by Illinois' Makena Silber 31 seconds into the period would be the last shot attempt of the game for the U of I.
 In the 51st minute, Carolina earned the equalizer as sophomore defender Brooke Bingham scored her first career goal on a header off a corner kick by graduate student Annie Kingman. Dorrance then subbed in five players in the 62nd minute and just six plus minutes later three of them combined on the game-winning goal.
 UNC almost took the lead in the 67th minute off a Julia Ashley corner kick. Ru Mucherera's header was cleared off the line at the very last instant by a defender and on the redirect Cunningham stopped a shot from close range by UNC's Mary Elliott McCabe.
 Just over two minutes later, a trio of Tar Heel substitutes combined on the game-winner. Taylor Otto fed Mary Elliott McCabe who touched the ball on to senior Nicole Crutchield. The ball was sent on to junior Madison Schultz who one-touched a volley into the lower left corner from inside the penalty area. The goal came at 68:41 of the match.
 Carolina added an insurance goal at 73:28 of the match. Senior defender Julia Ashley sent a cross from the right sideline that found the head of freshman Rachael Dorwart for a putaway into the lower left side on a single bounce.
 Carolina finished with an edge of 21-3 in total shots and 11-1 in shots on goal. The Tar Heels had nine corner kicks to three for Illinois.
 The Tar Heels will return to action on Sunday against 23rd-ranked Ohio State with a 4 p.m. start at Finley Field South. The game will be nationally televised on ACC Network Extra. The Buckeyes are coached by 1992 alumna Lori Walker-Hock, currently in her 22nd season as the head coach in Columbus. The Buckeyes opened their season with a 2-0 loss at third-ranked Duke on Thursday.
WELCOMING ALUMNAE COACHES TO CHAPEL HILL:Â North Carolina's first four home games will be played against teams coached by Tar Heel alumnae who played for coach Anson Dorrance at Carolina.
Illinois is coached by Janet Rayfield, UNC Class of 1983. She is currently in her 17th season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini. Rayfield lettered on the first four UNC teams, winning national championships in 1981 and 1982. To this day, Rayfield ranks third in career points at Carolina with 223 and second in career goals in UNC history with 93.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are coached by Lori Walker-Hock, who is now in her 22nd season as the head coach in Columbus. Walker lettered at Carolina from 1989-91, winning NCAA titles each of those seasons. Walker ranks second in career save percentage at UNC at .902 and she is fifth in career goals against average at 0.42.
Next week, UNC will host Texas on Wednesday, August 22 and UCF on Sunday, August 26. The Longhorns are coach by Angela Kelly, UNC Class of 1995. Kelly was a first-team All-America midfielder at Carolina in 1994 and she played on four NCAA championship teams as a Tar Heel, losing only one game in her career. Kelly is in her seventh season as the head coach at Texas.
UCF is coached by Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak who is now in her sixth season as the head coach of the Knights. Roberts played at Carolina from 1995-98, winning national championships in 1996 and 1997. She was a first-team All-America in 1996 and 1998. She won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games and she was also a member of the U.S. team which won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.
TWO TAR HEELS NAMED TO MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST:Â United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club has announced the 45 NCAA Division I women's soccer players named to the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, presented by World Wide Technology.
The University of North Carolina has two representatives on the women's 45-member watch list. The Tar Heel duo is senior defender Julia Ashley of Verona, N.J., who is now in her fourth year as a starter at right back for the Tar Heels, and sophomore forward Alessia Russo of Kent, England, who was the 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the 2017 ACC Tournament.
The MAC Hermann Trophy, presented by World Wide Technology, 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. 4, 2019 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.
TRIO OF TAR HEELS COMPETE IN FIFA U20 WORLD CUP:Â A total of three current University of North Carolina women's soccer players competed at the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup held Aug. 5-24 in the Brittany region of northwestern France.
Sophomore midfielder Emily Fox and freshman midfielder Brianna Pinto represnted the U.S. team at the competition. The American side went 1-1-1 in group play and did not advance to the quarterfinal round. Fox and Pinto flew home from France and rejoined their teammates for practice on Wednesday, August 15.
Sophomore forward Alessia Russo competed for the British side which won its group. England defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the semifinal round on Monday, August 20.
Fox also played on the U.S. U20 Team two years ago in 2016 when she was a high school senior. That squad which also included current UNC players Jessie Scarpa, a redshirt senior forward, and Taylor Otto, a redshirt sophomore forward.
RECORD NUMBER OF TAR HEELS NAMED TO ACC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL: For the third year in a row and the fifth time in the past six years, a record number of Tar Heels earned spots on the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll for the 2017-18 school year. North Carolina placed 391 student-athletes, an all-time high, on the ACC's 62nd-annual honor roll. It's the sixth year in a row that more than 300 Tar Heel student-athletes have earned the recognition.
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. UNC's record total marked an improvement of six over last year, when the Tar Heels had an all-time high of 385 students honored. The number of UNC students honored for 2017-18 is roughly half of Carolina's total number of student-athletes and is an improvement of more than 100 student-athletes over the past decade.
Tar Heel women's soccer players included on the 2017-18 ACC Academic Honor Roll included freshman Miah Araba, junior Dorian Bailey, senior Megan Buckingham, sophomore Natalie Chandler, senior Cannon Clough, junior Nicole Crutchfield, freshman Emily Fox, sophomore Morgan Goff, junior Megan Joyner, senior Annie Kingman, junior Kate Morris, freshman Tayor Otto, sophomore Zoe Redei, senior Frances Reuland, junior Jessie Scarpa, freshman Laura Sparling, sophomore Abby Staker, senior Maya Worth and freshman Lotte Wubben-Moy.
TAR HEEL ALUMNA PARLOW CHOSEN FOR NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME:Â The U.S. Soccer National Hall of Fame announced May 31 that Cindy Parlow, UNC Class of 1999, has been selected for induction in the Hall's 2018 class.
Parlow played at Carolina from 1995-98. She was a three-time National Player of the Year selection, two-time NCAA champion and two-time College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America during her career. She played on the U.S. National Team for nine years, retiring in 2004 after winning the 1999 World Cup championship and 1996 and 2004 Olympic gold medals. Since 2005 she has been a successful coach on the collegiate, professional and club level with stops all across the United States
After starting for four years at forward for the Tar Heels from 1995-98, the midfielder was a key player on the U.S. Women's National Team during a remarkable stretch of years in which the program was establishing itself as a one of the best in the world. She was the youngest member of the Olympic gold medal-winning team in 1996 and also played at the 2000 Summer Games when the U.S. won a silver medal. Most notably though, she was a part of the team that would win the 1999 FIFA World Cup and scored two goals in that historic tournament, including the first in a 2-0 semifinal victory against Brazil in front of 73,123 fans at the old Stanford Stadium.
Parlow served as the head coach of the Portland Thorns in 2013. She led the Thorns to the inaugural National Women's Soccer League title that year after serving as an assistant coach at Carolina from 2006-12.
When she wrapped up her international career in 2004, Parlow had played for the USA 158 times. Prior to that, she scored 68 goals for the Tar Heels which she led to back-to-back national championships in 1996 and 1997 and won the Herrmann Trophy as the nation's top player in 1997 and 1998. She was also named the 1998 U.S. Soccer Young Female of the Year.
Parlow had a decorated history with the U.S. Women's National Team. She retired as the squad's fifth all-time leading scorer during an era in which she helped the U.S. women win the World Cup in 1999 and claim third place in 2003. Her 158 caps and 75 goals also earned her two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal and, to this day, she remains the youngest soccer player, male or female, to win an Olympic gold medal and a World Cup.
Parlow also served on the coaching staff for the U.S. U-14 & U-15 Girls' National Teams from 2010-2013.
TRIO OF TAR HEELS NAMED ALL-ACC ACADEMIC FOR 2017-18:Â Three North Carolina women's soccer players were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team, announced February 1 by the league. Tar Heels named to the squad, which recognizes combined academic and athletic performance, were senior Megan Buckingham and juniors Julia Ashley and Dorian Bailey.
 Buckingham, from Novi, Mich., graduated in December with a major in media and journalism. She was named to the All-ACC Academic Team for the second year in a row.
 Ashley is from Verona, N.J., and Bailey is from Mission, Kan. Both are majoring in exercise and sport science.
 To be considered for the All-ACC Academic teams, conference student-athletes must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average for the fall semester, as well as a cumulative 3.0 over the course of their college careers.
CONSISTENCY, STATISTICAL ANOMALY OR JUST VERY GOOD?:Â North Carolina enters Sunday's match against Ohio State with an all-time winning percentage of .905 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 40 years as head coach regardless of where or when the Tar Heels took the pitch.
Under Dorrance, UNC has won 90.5 percent of its games overall, 86.7 percent of its ACC regular-season games, 89.9 percent of its ACC Tournament games, 89.9 percent of its NCAA Tournament games, 91.2 percent of its home games and 89.9 percent of its road and neutral site games.
TAR HEELS ELECT TEAM CAPTAINS: The North Carolina women's soccer team has elected three players as team captains for the 2018 campaign. The captains are graduate student and midfielder Annie Kingman of Woodside, Calif., senior defender Julia Ashley of Verona, N.J. and redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Otto of Apex, N.C.
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 total an amazing 39,700 followers, the most in college women's soccer. @uncwomenssoccer has over 22,800 followers while @ncwomenssoccer has over 16,900 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 788 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 before that streak ended in 2010.
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 767 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 Sunday's game against Ohio State with an all-time record of 827-70-38. Dorrance has coached the Tar Heels in all 935 of their games.
AVERAGE RECORD PER YEAR: UNC's average record per year in its 40 years of soccer is 21.15 wins per year, 1.77 losses per year and 1.0 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 935 matches since 1979.Â
The Tar Heels have been blanked on the scoreboard in only 5.8 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.
CAROLINA IN SEASON OPENERS: Carolina has a record of 33-5-2 all-time in season openers after beating Illinois 3-1 in overtime on August 16.  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 35-2-3 in home openers all-time after beating Illinois 3-1 on August 16.
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.
