University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Women's Soccer Holds First Practice
August 2, 2022 | Women's Soccer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of North Carolina women's soccer team held its first official practice of the 2022 season at Dorrance Field on Tuesday. The Tar Heels went through conditioning tests in the morning before returning for an intrasquad scrimmage later in the evening.
"If you look at the morning it's the best we've ever done in the beep," UNC Head Coach Anson Dorrance said. "We had more people get to 40 on the beep and we set a record for the number of people over 50. We also set a record for the highest beep score we've ever seen, and the highest freshman beep score we've ever seen. The fitness session in the morning demonstrated that the girls got some aerobic stuff done in the summer."
The Beep Test is a multi-stage running test used to determine an athlete's physical fitness. A player runs continuously back and forth between two markers 20-meters apart in sync with beeps from a pre-recorded audio.
Afterward, the Tar Heels worked on serving balls over distance and finishing with headers and off the volley.
"The kids did the work," Dorrance explained. "They did the fitness work, and they did the ball work we wanted them to do because ball mastery is critical. A lot of very good pieces were seen this morning and we saw stuff today in the scrimmage that we liked."
Avery Patterson and Aleigh Gambone each scored a goal in the abbreviated intrasquad scrimmage, consisting of four 10-minute periods. Patterson scored off a corner kick in the first period and Gambone found the back of the net in the third period as her shot deflected off a defender.
"Some of the personalities showed up again," Dorrance explained. "Maycee Bell is starting to get back to her high level which is an incredibly high level. Avery Patterson was very tough to stop, and Emily Colton created a lot of chances. A lot of people up and down the roster had great moments.
"I knew we were going to have a deep team and today confirmed it. You want competition in practice and today we saw kids fighting for starting positions, fighting for playing time, and fighting for what will eventually be the traveling team, so game on!"
UNC, which is ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, welcome back 10 players who started 11 or more games a season ago. The Tar Heels also return four of their top five goal scorers led by Colton, who scored a team-high seven goals as a freshman.
Carolina has 15 days of training ahead of them until the season opener versus No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday, Aug. 17 at Dorrance Field. UNC will host exhibition matches against VCU on Sunday and No. 3 BYU on Aug. 13.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets are available now for purchase through the UNC Athletics Ticket Office. General admission season tickets are $64 and reserved tickets are $80. Season ticket holders receive access to the McCaskill Building to get an up-close view of Carolina Soccer's historic excellence and achievements and will also be invited to join host Freddie Kiger as he speaks to legendary head coach Anson Dorrance on this year's team, previous seasons, and his journey leading Carolina Soccer.
Click here to purchase tickets.
"If you look at the morning it's the best we've ever done in the beep," UNC Head Coach Anson Dorrance said. "We had more people get to 40 on the beep and we set a record for the number of people over 50. We also set a record for the highest beep score we've ever seen, and the highest freshman beep score we've ever seen. The fitness session in the morning demonstrated that the girls got some aerobic stuff done in the summer."
The Beep Test is a multi-stage running test used to determine an athlete's physical fitness. A player runs continuously back and forth between two markers 20-meters apart in sync with beeps from a pre-recorded audio.
Afterward, the Tar Heels worked on serving balls over distance and finishing with headers and off the volley.
"The kids did the work," Dorrance explained. "They did the fitness work, and they did the ball work we wanted them to do because ball mastery is critical. A lot of very good pieces were seen this morning and we saw stuff today in the scrimmage that we liked."
Avery Patterson and Aleigh Gambone each scored a goal in the abbreviated intrasquad scrimmage, consisting of four 10-minute periods. Patterson scored off a corner kick in the first period and Gambone found the back of the net in the third period as her shot deflected off a defender.
"Some of the personalities showed up again," Dorrance explained. "Maycee Bell is starting to get back to her high level which is an incredibly high level. Avery Patterson was very tough to stop, and Emily Colton created a lot of chances. A lot of people up and down the roster had great moments.
"I knew we were going to have a deep team and today confirmed it. You want competition in practice and today we saw kids fighting for starting positions, fighting for playing time, and fighting for what will eventually be the traveling team, so game on!"
UNC, which is ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, welcome back 10 players who started 11 or more games a season ago. The Tar Heels also return four of their top five goal scorers led by Colton, who scored a team-high seven goals as a freshman.
Carolina has 15 days of training ahead of them until the season opener versus No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday, Aug. 17 at Dorrance Field. UNC will host exhibition matches against VCU on Sunday and No. 3 BYU on Aug. 13.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets are available now for purchase through the UNC Athletics Ticket Office. General admission season tickets are $64 and reserved tickets are $80. Season ticket holders receive access to the McCaskill Building to get an up-close view of Carolina Soccer's historic excellence and achievements and will also be invited to join host Freddie Kiger as he speaks to legendary head coach Anson Dorrance on this year's team, previous seasons, and his journey leading Carolina Soccer.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Players Mentioned
Defender
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Midfielder
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Midfielder/Forward
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Defender/Forward/Midfielder
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