Women's Soccer Heads To FSU With First Place At Stake

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Second-ranked North Carolina looks to gain a share of first place in the ACC Thursday night as it travels to Tallahassee to take on front-running Florida State, who leads the second-place Tar Heels by three points in the conference standings. The game will be televised on the ACC Network at 8 p.m.

Three of the last four ACC regular season titles have been claimed by either Carolina or Florida State. UNC won the regular season championship outright in 2018 and 2019, while the Tar Heels and Seminoles shared the crown in 2020. Carolina has finished alone in first place 22 times and shared the regular season title twice, while FSU has one solo regular season ACC title and three co-regular season conference championships.

The Tar Heels enter the match on a three-game winning streak with consecutive shutout victories over Pitt (4-0), NC State (2-0) and Wake Forest (1-0). The Seminoles are coming off a 5-1 victory over No. 12 Duke a week ago.

Since opening the season 1-0-2, Florida State has won nine of their last 10 matches with its only blemish being a road loss at No. 17 Notre Dame.

The Tar Heels are making their first trip to Tallahassee since 2018 and they're seeking their first win over FSU since 2018. UNC and FSU played to a 2-2 double overtime tie a year ago. The Seminoles defeated Carolina 3-2 in the ACC Tournament Championship game in 2020.

Committee Ranks Heels No. 2 | The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Committee revealed its ranking of the top 10 teams Sunday with the Tar Heels landing at No. 2. The Tar Heels are also ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and are No. 3 in the RPI.

Hansen Named ACC Defensive Player of the Week | UNC senior Tori Hansen was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, the league announced on Tuesday. She is the first player to win the weekly award twice during the 2022 campaign. Hansen scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in Carolina's 1-0 victory over Wake Forest on Friday as UNC posted its third consecutive shutout win. The Tar Heels held the Demon Deacons to just one shot on goal and seven total shots for the match despite only controlling 47 percent of the possession.

Last Meeting | North Carolina forward Isabel Cox's bid for a game-winning hat trick was tipped over the cross bar by Florida State goalkeeper Cristina Roque with 1:12 to play in the second overtime as the teams played to a 2-2 draw at Dorrance Field in 2021. Carolina had taken a 2-1 lead with 28:41 left in regulation on Cox's second goal of the game, but FSU's Breata Olsson notched her second goal of the game with 10:47 to play in regulation to tie the game at 2-2. FSU stunned the Tar Heels scoring just 65 seconds into the match. Olsson stole the ball and launched a shot from 35 yards out that nestled into the upper right corner. play in the half.

The Series | North Carolina leads the all-time series with Florida State, 29-11-5 and have won the last two meetings in Tallahassee. UNC has an all-time record of 9-4 in the capital of the Sunshine State.

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Players Mentioned

Isabel Cox

Tori Hansen