University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Texas
UNC Returns To Pitch To Host Longhorns Wednesday
August 21, 2018 | Women's Soccer
#4 Tar Heels take on nationally-ranked Texas
CAROLINA CONTINUES SEASON-OPENING HOMESTAND WITH GAMES AGAINST TEXAS AND UCF:Â After opening the season with a pair of wins against Illinois and Ohio State, the University of North Carolina women's soccer team continues its season with a pair of home games this week as well as hosting a neutral site game at Finley Fields South.
UNC (2-0) will play host to Texas (1-0) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. On Friday, Texas will meet up against UCF (0-0) at 5 p.m. Then on next Sunday, UNC will host UCF in the third game in five days at Finley Fields South. That match is scheduled for 2 p.m.
All three games will be televised nationally on ACC Network Extra with live streaming on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN application. Announcers for Wednesday's UNC-Texas game are Kyle Straub and Elizabeth Singletary. Brian Waer will be the announcer for Friday's match between Texas and UCF and Elizabeth Singletary will call the action of Sunday's contest between Carolina and UCF.
Live stats will be available on GoHeels.com for all three games this week.
All of UNC's regular season home games will be played this year at Finley Fields 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 currently being built on the site of the old Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill which stood from 1935-2017 and housed the women's soccer program from 1979-2016.
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 NCAA Tournament action.
In the meantime, Carolina is doing everything it can to produce a fan friendly atmosphere at Finley Fields 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.
TAR HEELS DOWN BUCKEYES FOR DORRANCE'S 1,000TH OVERALL COLLEGIATE VICTORY:Â The University of North Carolina women's soccer team scored a workmanlike 2-0 victory over the 23rd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on August 19, 2018 before a crowd of 732 fans at Finley Fields South.
 With the win, which improved the 2018 Tar Heels to 2-0, Carolina rewarded head coach Anson Dorrance with his 1,000th overall collegiate coaching win. Dorrance coached the Tar Heel men's team to 172 wins over 12 seasons from 1977 through 1988. Sunday's win over Ohio State, which fell to 0-2, gave him 828 collegiate women's wins. Dorrance founded the Tar Heel program in 1979 and is now in his 40th season as its head coach.
 North Carolina (ranked #3 by Top Drawer Soccer, #4 by Soccer America, #6 by United Soccer Coaches) opened its season with a pair of wins over teams coached by Tar Heel alumnae. On Thursday, UNC defeated Illinois 3-1, coached by 1983 UNC alumna Janet Rayfield, the first-ever scholarship women's soccer player at Carolina. On Sunday, UNC beat Ohio State which is coached by 1992 alumna Lori Walker-Hock, now in her 22nd season in Columbus. Walker-Hock won three national championships at Carolina and Rayfield won two.
 On Sunday, UNC scored late in the first half on the first career goal by freshman midfielder Brianna Pinto and then added a second-half tally by junior forward Bridgette Andrzejewski while posting a clean sheet and turning in a suffocating effort on the defensive end.
 UNC ended with a 23-4 edge in shots, including a 12-3 margin in shots on goal. The shot margin in the second half was a startling 16-0. UNC took all seven corner kicks in the game. Carolina split goalkeeping duties with Samantha Leshnak going the first 45 minutes and making three saves. Claudia Dickey played the second half and did not face a shot. Devon Kerr went the whole way in goal for Ohio State, making eight saves. Ohio State defenders also made a pair of saves on shots that would otherwise have been UNC goals.
 In the 37th minute, UNC freshman Rachel Jones got behind the Ohio State defense and was dribbling in on goal before being tripped up and fouled just outside the penalty area. Freshman midfielder Brianna Pinto stepped up and bent a shot from 20 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal for her first career goal. Pinto, whose father Hassan was recruited to play at Carolina while Dorrance was the men's coach and whose mother played softball at UNC, had rejoined the Tar Heels last Wednesday after playing with the U.S. U20 National Team at the FIFA World Cup in France.
 Carolina added an insurance goal in the 58th minute on a brilliant header inside the right post by Bridgette Andrzejewski. Emily Fox, who also played with Pinto in France at the U20 World Cup for the U.S., helped set up the goal. Fox started at left back for Carolina Sunday and early in the second half she controlled the ball on the end line before centering it to redshirt sophomore forward Taylor Otto in the middle of the box. The center forward redirected the ball to the far post and Andrzejewski was there for the nifty put away. She became the fifth different Tar Heel to score in two games for UNC.
 The two goals would be all UNC needed on the afternoon as Dorrance played a deep bench with 21 players seeing action and 20 team memebrs playing at least 22 minutes.
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.
400TH HOME GAME: The North Carolina Tar Heels will play their 400th home game in school history on Wednesday when they host the Texas Longhorns at Finley Fields South. UNC has an all-time record of 357-28-14 in home games, a winning percentage of .912. Carolina has lost only three home games since the start of the 2015, falling against Duke in 2015, NC State in 2016 and Princeton in 2017. Always remarkable at home, the Tar Heels have righted the ship in home matches over the past four seasons after losing 13 games at home over a five-year span from 2010-14.
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 by a 3-1 score 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.
ASHLEY NAMED ACC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK:Â North Carolina senior defender Julia Ashley and Virginia Tech junior goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn shared ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors on August 21, 2018 while Louisville freshman forward Maisie Whitsett was named this week's Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.
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Ashley led a stout Tar Heel defense on the opening weekend of the season as North Carolina downed Illinois, 3-1 and No. 23 Ohio State 2-0 to capture North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance's 1,000th career victory. In the two games combined the UNC defense limited their opponents to just seven total shots, including just four on goal, and three corner kick opportunities.
Ashley was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on August 21.
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WELCOMING ALUMNAE COACHES TO CHAPEL HILL:Â North Carolina's first four home games are being 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.
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.
TAR HEELS RANKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON USC COACHES POLL:Â North Carolina begian the 2018 season ranked sixth in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches, third in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer and fourth in the nation by Soccer America.
Carolina has seven regular season matches scheduled against teams in the USC (formerly National Soccer Coaches Association of America) preseason poll. That includes a match at Stanford, the defending NCAA champion and recipient of 34 of the 35 first-place votes in the poll. The other first-place vote went to 2017 NCAA runner-up UCLA.
Preseason United Soccer Coaches Women's Poll - August 7, 2018
Team, Poll Points, Previous Rank, 2017 W-L-T
1. Stanford, 874, 1, 22-1-0
2. UCLA, 832, 2, 18-3-2
3. Duke, 791, 3, 23-2-0
4. Penn State, 718, 5, 15-5-4
5. South Carolina, 704, 4, 19-2-1
6. North Carolina, 683, 8, 17-3-2
7. Florida, 662, 6, 17-7-0
8. Virginia, 600, 9, 13-6-4
9. West Virginia, 579, 10, 16-4-3
10. Florida State, 546, 15, 13-7-1
11. Texas A&M, 503, 12, 18-2-2
12. USC, 484, 13, 15-3-2
13. Princeton, 473, 7, 16-3-1
14. Notre Dame, 343, 18, 10-7-5
15. Baylor, 334, 11, 15-6-3
16. UCF, 292, 17, 13-2-3
17. Texas, 279, 14, 14-4-3
18. Pepperdine, 237, 16, 15-3-3
19. Santa Clara, 212, 20, 15-7-1
20. NC State, 204, 21, 15-5-2
21. Washington State, 167, 19, 10-8-4
22. Georgetown, 155, 24, 15-3-4
23. Ohio State, 146, 23, 15-5-1
24. Rutgers, 134, 22, 13-2-6
25. Tennessee, 130, 25, 15-4-2
Italicized teams are 2018 regular season opponents.
Soccer America Preseason Women's Poll, August 16, 2018 (2017 records in parentheses)
1. Stanford (24-1-0)
2. UCLA (19-3-3)
3. Penn State (15-5-4)
4. North Carolina (17-3-2)
5. Florida (17-5-1)
6. Florida State (13-7-1)
7. Virginia (13-6-4)
8. West Virginia (16-4-3)
9. USC (15-4-1)
10. Duke (23-3-0)
11. Princeton (16-3-1)
12. Baylor (15-6-3)
13. Texas A&M (12-8-2)
14. South Carolina (21-2-1)
15. Georgetown (14-3-4)
16. California (13-6-1)
17. Santa Clara (15-7-1)
18. N.C. State (14-5-2)
19. Tennessee (11-9-1)
20. UCF (16-2-3)
21. Notre Dame (10-7-5)
22. Pepperdine (15-3-3)
23. Texas (14-4-3)
24. Washington State (10-8-4)
25. Oklahoma State (16-4-3)
On August 21, the first regular season polls appeared with UNC ranked #4 by United Soccer Coaches, #4 by Soccer America and #3 by Top Drawer Soccer.
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.
TAR HEELS FAVORED TO WIN 2018 ACC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP: Defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion North Carolina is the preseason favorite to win another conference title in a vote of the league's 14 head coaches. The ACC Office in Greensboro released the preseason poll on August 6.
 The 21-time ACC champion Tar Heels received four first-place votes and 183 points, followed by Florida State (five first-place votes, 174 points), Virginia (two first-place votes, 173 points) and Duke (three first-place votes, 151 points). Duke won last year's regular season championship at 10-0 while North Carolina finished second at 8-0-2. The second-seeded Tar Heels defeated the top-seeded Blue Devils 1-0 in the 2017 ACC Tournament championship game in Charleston, S.C.
In the 2018 preseason balloting, NC State placed fifth in the voting, followed by Clemson, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Louisville. Boston College placed 10th followed by Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Miami and Pitt.
North Carolina sophomore forward Alessia Russo was named to the 2018 preseason All-ACC women's soccer team. She was first-team All-ACC last year as well as the co-Freshman of the Year in the conference and the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 ACC women's soccer tournament.
2018 Preseason All-ACC Women's Soccer Team
Samantha Coffey, So., M, Boston College       Â
Sam Staab, Sr., D, Clemson
Kayla McCoy, Sr., F, Duke
Ella Stevens, Jr., M, Duke      Â
Deyna Castellanos, Jr., F, Florida State
Natalia Kuikka, Sr., D., Florida State
Emina Ekic, So., M, Louisville   Â
Alessia Russo, So., F, North Carolina    Â
Tziarra King, Jr., F, NC State    Â
Taryn Torres, So., M, Virginia  Â
Mandy McGlynn, Jr., GK, Virginia Tech Â
Preseason ACC Coaches Poll
North Carolina (183, 4 first place votes)
Florida State (174, 5 first place votes) Â Â
Virginia (173, 2 first-place votes)
Duke (151, 3 first-place votes)
NC State (144) Â
Clemson (120) Â
Notre Dame (111)Â Â Â Â Â Â
Wake Forest (104)Â Â Â Â Â Â
Louisville (75) Â Â
Boston College (72) Â Â Â Â
Virginia Tech (66) Â Â Â Â Â Â
Syracuse (40) Â Â
Miami (34)Â Â Â Â Â
Pitt (23)
ACC women's soccer teams will kick off the 2018 season on Thursday, Aug. 16. 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. 28. The semifinals and final are scheduled for Nov. 2 and Nov. 4 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
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 quarterfinal round on Monday, August 20. After falling to Japan in the semifinals, the English will play France on August 24 in the third place game.
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.
FOURTEEN TAR HEELS ON NWSL OPENING DAY ROSTERS IN 2018: The National Women's Soccer League, the premier professional league for women's soccer in the United States, opened its fifth season of operation with games in late March 2018. The University of North Carolina's women's soccer program was well represented as 14 former Tar Heels were on opening day rosters for the league this year. UNC was also represented by 14 players on opening day rosters in 2017. Sixteen players were on opening day rosters in 2016. A 15th Tar Heel joined the league later in the 2018 when 2007 Tar Heel alumna Heather O'Reilly became a member of the Carolina Courage of the NWSL after playing in England for two years.
Coach Anson Dorrance's Tar Heel program continues to be one of the best pipelines for players to earn roster spots in the league. Listed below are the 14 alumni playing in the league as of opening day 2018. The year associated with their names indicates the final year they played for the Tar Heel program.
CHICAGO RED STARS - Summer Green, Forward, 2015
HOUSTON DASH - Amber Brooks, Defender, 2012;Â Kealia Ohai, Forward, 2013
NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE - Crystal Dunn, Forward, 2013;Â Jessica McDonald, Forward, 2009;Â Heather O'Reilly, Midfield, 2006 (joined in midseason)
ORLANDO PRIDE - Ashlyn Harris, Goalkeeper, 2009
PORTLAND THORNS FC - Meghan Klingenberg, Defender, 2010;Â Tobin Heath, Midfielder, 2009; Meg Morris, Forward, 2013
SEATTLE REIGN FC - Yael Averbuch, Defender, 2008;Â Allie Long, Midfielder, 2008
UTAH ROYALS FC - Brooke Elby, Defender, 2014;Â Alexa Newfield, Midfielder, 2015;Â Katie Bowen, Forward, 2015
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.
THREE TAR HEEL PLAYERS CHOSEN IN 2018 NWSL DRAFT:Â January 18, 2018 was the annual draft day for the National Women's Soccer League and it was good news for a trio of Tar Heel seniors who had filed for the draft.
All three Tar Heels were chosen between the 24th and 32nd selections in the draft amongst the overall picks.
Midfielder Megan Buckingham was chosen in the third round of the draft by the Chicago Red Stars, the closest franchise to her Novi, Michigan home. Buckingham was the 24th pick overall.
Midfielder Abby Elinsky was selected in the third round of the draft by the Houston Dash of the NWSL. She was the 30th pick overall in the draft. Elinsky, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, played three years at Carolina after transferring from Illinois.
Midfielder Joanna Boyles was also picked in the draft. A fifth-year senior at Carolina in 2017, Boyles missed the 2016 season with an ACL tear but came back to have a tremendous senior year in 2017. Boyles was chosen by the Boston Breakers in the fourth round as the 32nd pick overall.
The 2018 NWSL season begins in March. Three of the four Tar Heels who registered for the draft were selected by NWSL teams.
DORRANCE INDUCTED INTO USC HALL OF FAME: North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance and former U.S. men's national team coach Bruce Arena, two of the country's most successful soccer coaches, became the newest members of the United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame on January 19, 2018. Both individuals were inducted as the Class of 2018 during the annual Awards Banquet at the United Soccer Coaches Convention inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia.
Dorrance had recently completed his 41st season of overall coaching at the University of North Carolina. He has led the Tar Heels' women's soccer program to 22 national championships, becoming the first coach in NCAA history to win 20 titles in a single sport. In addition to 172 wins as the UNC men's soccer coach for 12 seasons from 1977-88, Dorrance has amassed 826 wins – the most by any coach in college soccer history – in 39 seasons since founding the women's soccer program at his alma mater in 1979. U.S. Soccer hired Dorrance to simultaneously lead the United States Women's National Team from 1986-1994 and under Dorrance's direction, the U.S. won the first FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991.
Altogether, Dorrance has coached Tar Heel teams to 998 wins beginning in September 1977 when he started coaching the men's squad. From 1986-88, he simultaneously coached the women's team at Carolina, the men's team at Carolina and the U.S. Women's National Team for three years.
A member of United Soccer Coaches since 1975, Dorrance is a six-time national Coach of the Year honoree on the women's side and a one-time honoree on the men's side. He has received numerous other accolades from the United Soccer Coaches: 1992 Honorary All-American, 2001 Mike Berticelli Excellence in Coaching Education Award, 2006 Women's Soccer Award of Excellence, 2006 Bill Jeffrey College Long-Term Service Award and the 2010 Honor Award. In addition, Dorrance was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the prestigious Werner Fricker Builder Award from U.S. Soccer in 2017.
The United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame was established in 1991 to honor achievement in coaching, work on behalf of the association and lifetime contributions to the game of soccer. Each year, up to three inductees are elected into the association's Hall of Fame based on selections made through balloting of the Hall of Fame Committee. Click here for list of United Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame members.
UNC ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: In 2018, North Carolina will be seeking an NCAA Tournament bid for the 37th straight year. The Tar Heels are the only team in the country to have earned an NCAA Tournament in each of the 36 years years the NCAA has sponsored a championship in women's soccer through the 2017 campaign
North Carolina is 127-13-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games in its 36 appearances in the championship. In the previous 36 years, UNC has won 21 NCAA championships, lost in the championship game three times and lost in the semifinals three times. That's 27 trips to the College Cup in 36 years of tournament play.
UNC has lost outright just 13 times in NCAA Tournament games, including once in the quarterfinals, five times in the third round and once in the second round. On two occasions, UNC failed to advance on penalty kicks - against Florida State in the 2005 quarterfinals and against UCF in the 2011 third round.
TAR HEELS DOWN DUKE TO WIN 2017 ACC CHAMPIONSHIP:Â Carolina comes into the 2018 season as the defending Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion.
The University of North Carolina women's soccer team (ranked #4, seeded #2) defeated top-seeded and second-ranked Duke Sunday afternoon, November 5 to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C. Zoe Redei's goal on a rebound in the first minute of the second half was the difference as the Tar Heels prevailed by a score of 1-0 over their arch rivals. That was the same score by which the Tar Heels had beaten NC State Friday night in the semifinals on Alessia Russo's second-half unassisted goal.
 With the victory, the Tar Heels earned their first ACC championship since 2009 and their 21st ACC Tournament title overall since the first event in 1988. The Tar Heels also won the ACC title in 1987 when it was contested in a round robin format. The tournament title also earned Carolina the automatic bid to the NCAA championship from the ACC.
Carolina outshot the Blue Devils 11-10 in the game and had a 3-0 edge in corner kicks. UNC had five shots on goal in the game and Duke had just two. E.J. Proctor made four saves for the Blue Devils and allowed the only goal of the game while Samantha Leshnak had two saves for Carolina. Leshnak recorded her 11th solo shutout of the season in 19 games with nine of those shutouts coming against ACC teams.
 Alessio Russo was named the tournament MVP after scoring the game-winning goal against NC State in the semifinals and assisting on the game-winning goal in the championship match.
The complete All-Tournament Team is as follows:
Veronica Latsko, Virginia
Tziarra King, NC State
EJ Proctor, DukeÂ
Ella Stevens, DukeÂ
Schuyler DeBree, Duke
Kayla McCoy, Duke
Julia Ashley, North CarolinaÂ
Joanna Boyles, North CarolinaÂ
Dorian Bailey, North CarolinaÂ
Abby Elinsky, North CarolinaÂ
Alessia Russo, North Carolina – MVP
 The only goal of the game came in the first minute of the second half. Alessia Russo had a shot in box on the left side that was deflected by a Duke defender. The ball fell directly into the path of Zoe Redei who took a couple of dribbles and then blasted a shot from 10 yards out into the top shelf of the goal for the eventual winning score. It was Redei's second goal of the season, both in the last seven days and both on rebounds.
Carolina had two tremendous chances to score in the opening 16 minutes of the game but were denied on both occasions by reaction saves by Proctor. Julia Ashley's header off a free kick by Joanna Boyles at 3:24 was deflected off the right post for a corner kick. Redei had a close-in header in the box saved by Proctor in the 16th minute. Duke placed only two shots on goal, both saved by Leshnak. The Tar Heel junior keeper saved a shot from distance by Ella Stevens in the 72nd minute while Leshnak denied Karlie Paschall from close range in the 86th minute, the best Blue Devil chance of the game.
North Carolina heads into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 15-2-2. Duke is 19-2-0 on the season. The only losses for the Blue Devils this year came against North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Duke 2-1 on August 18 in the season opener between the two teams. The loss in the ACC Tournament snapped a school-record 19-game winning streak for the nationally second-ranked Blue Devils (19-2).
UNC IN ACC TOURNAMENT: Carolina will once again be seeking a berth in the 2018 ACC Tournament as the season progresses. UNC has qualified for a spot in every tournament dating back to the first event in 1988. The top eight teams in the 2018 regular season standings will earn spots in this coming year's tournament.
After winning the 2017 ACC Tournament, North Carolina is 64-5-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament dating to the first tournament in 1988. North Carolina has an all-time winning percentage of 89.9 percent in ACC Tournament games.
The championship last year was the 21st in ACC Tournament play for Carolina in the 30-year history of the tournament. Florida State has won five ACC titles, Virginia has won two and Wake Forest and NC State have won one each.
SERIES RECORDS VERSUS THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS: North Carolina and Texas will be playing for the sixth time in history on Wednesday. UNC leads the all-time series 5-0. The two teams played against each other four straight years from 2000-03 and then did not meet again for 12 years. In the most recent meeting UNC won in Austin 2-0 on August 29, 2015.
Carolina's long series with UCF began in 1981. Sunday's meeting will be the 23rd in history. UNC leads the all-time meetings ledger 17-1-4. A year ago, UCF earned its first win in the series by beating the Tar Heels 2-1 in double overtime in Orlando.
CONGRATS TO TIFF:Â As North Carolina begins to start its 2018 season with four successive games against teams coached by Tar Heel alumnae, a shout out is in order for Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak who last season became the first Tar Heel to defeat her mentor Anson Dorrance in a head-to-head encounter.Â
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.
Roberts was an All-America midfielder at Carolina, playing for the Tar Heels from 1995-98 and winning NCAA titles in 1996 and 1997. She graduated from Carolina in the Class of 1999.
CONSISTENCY, STATISTICAL ANOMALY OR JUST VERY GOOD?:Â North Carolina enters Wednesday's match against Texas 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.
TV SCHEDULE FOR UNC WOMEN'S SOCCER IN 2018 ANNOUNCED:Â The list of 2018 University of North Carolina women's soccer games to be televised and webcast in affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference was announced on August 15.
 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 & NCAA Tournament games are pending if the Tar Heels earn tourney invites and advance round by round.
Seventeen of Carolina's 18 regular season games are currently scheduled to be televised.
 ACC Network Extra Games (with live streaming on ESPN3 and WatchESPN)
August 16, Illinois at UNC, 5 p.m.
August 19, Ohio State at UNC, 4 p.m.
August 22, Texas at UNC, 5 p.m.
August 26, UCF at UNC, 2 p.m.
August 30, UNC vs. Providence at Durham, N.C., 4:30 p.m.
September 2, UNC vs. Marquette at Durham, N.C., 12 p.m.
September 14, UNC at Florida State, 7 p.m.
September 20, Pittsburgh at UNC, 4 p.m.
September 23, UNC at Clemson, 1 p.m.
September 29, Louisville at UNC, 12:30 p.m.
October 4, UNC at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
October 7, UNC at Syracuse, 1 p.m.
October 13, UNC at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
October 18, Boston College at UNC, 3 p.m.
October 21, Miami at UNC, 1 p.m.
October 25, Wake Forest at UNC, 3 p.m.
  Pac 12 Network Game
   September 9, UNC at Stanford, 5:30 p.m.
TAR HEELS ANNOUNCE FIVE NEWCOMERS FOR 2018 SQUAD: The University of North Carolina signed five prospective student-athletes to National Letters-Of-Intent for the Tar Heel women's soccer program on February 21, 2018. Tar Heel head coach, beginning his 40th year as UNC women's soccer coach this fall, announced the signings.
 Claudia Dickey – Goalkeeper – Charlotte, N.C. – Charlotte Latin School
Rachael Dorwart – Midfielder – Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Cumberland Valley High School
Rachel Jones – Forward – Lawrenceville, Ga. – Collins Hill High School
Mary Elliott McCabe – Forward – Charlotte, N.C. – Charlotte Latin School
Brianna Pinto – Midfielder – Durham, N.C. – Charles E. Jordan High School
 In the Top Drawer Soccer Girls IMG Academy Class of 2018 rankings, Pinto is the No. 3-ranked recruit, Dorwart is the No. 8-ranked recruit, Jones is the No. 9-ranked recruit, Dickey is the No. 24-ranked recruit and McCabe is the No. 124-ranked recruit.
Top Drawer Soccer ranks the Tar Heels' 2018 recruiting class as the nation's third best, even with just five student-athletes in the class. USC has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class and Stanford has the No, 2-rated class.
Dickey is the daughter of Alex and Christa Dickey. She will be a two-sport athlete at Carolina, also playing basketball. Dickey was a member of the U18 and U20 National Women's Soccer Teams in 2016 and 2017. As a junior, she was an All-America and All-State soccer player at Charlotte Latin and the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Player of the Year. She also made All-State in soccer as a sophomore when she was a second-team All-America selection. She was named the Greater Charlotte Goalkeeper of the Year three straight years from 2015-17. She was also named All-State in soccer as a freshman in 2015. In her career at Charlotte Latin, she has played 3,276 minutes in goal, allowing just 16 goals and making 260 saves. Her career goals against average was .391.
 Dorwart, the daughter of Chuck and Shannon Dorwart, graduated early from Cumberland Valley High School and enrolled at Carolina in January 2018. She played four years of high school soccer, but was limited to 50 games played as an attacking center midfielder due to national team commitments and injuries but nevertheless scored 76 goals and 36 assists in those 50 games. She set a school record with 47 goals as a sophomore. Dorwart was named an NSCAA high school All-America as a sophomore and junior and a three-year All-State selection. She was the 2016 Pennsylvania State Gatorade Player of the Year. She has been a member of the U.S. National Teams at the U14, U15, U17, U18 and U19 levels. She played her club soccer for Penn Fusion Soccer Academy.
 Jones is the daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Jones. She will graduate this spring from Collins Hill High School. Jones has been on U.S. youth national teams for four years and is currently a member of the U18 women's national team. As a junior in 2017, she was named Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, Atlanta Journal Constitution Player of the Year and a USAA All-America. She was also 2017 NSCAA high school state player of the year and the 2017 Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Year. She broke Collins Hill's single season scoring record with 41 goals in 2017.
 McCabe is the daughter of Elliott and Jennifer McCabe. She will graduate from Charlotte Latin School this spring where she has led her high school soccer team to 3A NCISAA state titles her freshman through junior seasons. She has played club soccer for Charlotte Soccer Academy on the ECNL level since age 13. At Charlotte Latin, she earned All-State, All-Region and All-Conference honors her freshman through junior years. With Charlotte Soccer Academy, she has been a team captain since the U16 level and led the team in scoring for each of the past four years. Through her junior year at Charlotte Latin, she has 185 career points on 74 goals and 37 assists, leading a team which has gone 54-3-8 in points three times and goals three times as well.
 Pinto is a dynamic midfielder and the daughter of a pair of Tar Heel alumni and former student-athletes. Her father, Hassan, played soccer at Carolina, and her mother, Meleata, was a softball player. Both of her brothers play soccer, including Hassan, who starts at right back for Elon. She played her freshman year at Jordan High School and since has concentrated on her club and national team commitments. She was a member of CASL ECNL from 2014-17 and NTH Tophat Development Academy beginning in 2018. She has been a U14, U17, U19, U20 and U23 national team member already in her young career. She is the youngest player in the modern era to make a tournament roster for the senior women's national team at the March 2017 She Believes Cup. She competed for the 2016 US U20 CONCACAF and 2018 US U20 CONCACAF teams which qualified for the World Cups in both of those years. She was the 2015 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in N.C. as a freshman when she scored 24 goals and added eight assists for Jordan. She is ranked as the #1 midfielder in the Class of 2018 by Top Drawer Soccer.
DORRANCE EARNS 800TH WIN:Â 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, 2016 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.
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 39,800 followers, the most in college women's soccer. @uncwomenssoccer has over 22,800 followers while @ncwomenssoccer has over 17,000 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 789 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 768 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 Wednesday's game against Texas with an all-time record of 828-70-38. Dorrance has coached the Tar Heels in all 936 of their games.
THE ALL-TIME RECORD: UNC heads into its match against Texas with a record of 828-70-38 overall, a winning percentage of .905. The Tar Heels have an all-time winning percentage of .899 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 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 936 matches since 1979.Â
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).
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 199-26-11 all-time in ACC regular-season matches.
UNC has averaged just 0.81 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);Â October 23, 2011 at Virginia Tech (0-1) and October 27, 2011 at Maryland (1-2 in overtime);Â 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.
A RARE HOME LOSS FOR CAROLINA: Carolina's 2-1 loss against Princceton at WakeMed Soccer Park on November 19, 2018 was just the 28th home loss in Carolina history and just the third home loss in the last three seasons combined (2015-17). Carolina went 8-1 at home in 2015 and was 10-1 at home in 2016 after ending with a 1-0 win over Clemson on November 20, 2016. Carolina was 6-1-2 at home in 2017.
IN THE ACC REGULAR SEASON: In its last 42 ACC regular season games, UNC is 32-5-5, 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 finished 8-0-2 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 five ties in UNC's last 42 regular season ACC games is a remarkable accomplishment given the parity in the league at this point.
RALLYING FROM A TWO-GOAL DEFICIT:Â 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:Â On the opening weekend of the 2018 season, Carolina swept a pair of games in the Carolina Nike Classic as the Tar Heels beat Illinois 3-1 and Ohio State 2-0.
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 27 times.
Carolina has a 49-3-2 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 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.
