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DURHAM — An irritating pattern for North Carolina women’s soccer struck again, leaving them fit to be tied. It happened in the national championship game against UCLA last season, two weeks earlier against Florida State and Sunday at Duke — a win booted aside by a late opponent goal. There were 16 seconds left against the Bruins and one second left against the Seminoles.
CHAPEL HILL — It’s hard to beat top-ranked North Carolina in women’s soccer this season, but unranked teams have no shot. There are many reasons, but it all starts with a defense that barely allows any shots. When Miami finally got off a shot in the 71st minute on a free kick during the Tar Heels’ 1–0 win Thursday at Dorrance Field, that ended a streak of 152 minutes, 15 seconds without an opponent getting off a shot. And it was the Hurricanes’ only shot of the night.
The ACC Network’s series “3-Day Weekend,” which travels to the league’s college towns to give viewers a taste of the best they offer, will spotlight Chapel Hill in its next episode. “3-Day Weekend: Chapel Hill” debuts at 9:30 p.m. Friday, featuring host Jess Roy touring the best of the town.
North Carolina’s women’s soccer team remained the unanimous No. 1 pick in the United Soccer Coaches poll, while the UNC men’s soccer team moved up five spots to No. 13. Carolina remained the only Division I school with both soccer teams undefeated heading into the men’s team’s game at 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN3) against Elon.
Maintaining rivalries already was a challenge for Carolina when the ACC expanded to 15 schools, and it’s only going to get worse for the 2024–25 school year when the league adds Stanford, Cal and SMU. UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance was a vocal opponent of the latest expansion and what it meant for his program in terms of travel and scheduling.
RALEIGH — After an intense and frustrating draw with Florida State, a letdown against a bad N.C. State women’s soccer team wouldn’t have been a surprise. Top-ranked North Carolina made sure there would be none of that, jumping out to an early lead and rolling to a 4–0 victory Saturday night over the one-win Wolfpack before a record crowd of 3,972 at Dail Soccer Field.
North Carolina’s big 2–1 victory over Duke on Sunday got the attention of the men’s college soccer world. After not even getting votes in the previous United Soccer Coaches Top 25, the Tar Heels debuted in the poll at No. 18.
Carolina held the No. 1 spot in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 after remaining undefeated in a week with two games against ranked teams and continues to own the ACC’s weekly awards. The Tar Heels won 1–0 at Virginia (which went from No. 22 to unranked) and played Florida State (which moved up a spot to No. 2) to a 3–3 draw. The Tar Heels got all eight first place votes after the Seminoles got one first-place vote a week ago.
CHAPEL HILL — Many of the positives were outlined for the North Carolina women’s soccer team Sunday afternoon. Quite a bit was accomplished when the top-ranked Tar Heels tangled with third-ranked Florida State. So the outcome just didn’t seem right.
In North Carolina’s first game as the nation’s No. 1 women’s soccer team, the undefeated Tar Heels showed why with terrific defense against their fifth ranked opponent in 10 games. Junior forward Ally Sentnor gave UNC the only goal it would need in a 1–0 victory over No. 22 Virginia on Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
North Carolina is back atop the women’s college soccer world. For the first time in over a year, the Tar Heels are No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll released Tuesday afternoon. In addition, UNC is No. 1 in the first RPI list of the season and has played two teams in the top five.
You may be able to play North Carolina to a draw in soccer, but beating the Tar Heels has been another matter so far this season. UNC is one of three schools in the country that are undefeated in men’s soccer and women’s soccer, with a combined record of 8–0–6.
CHAPEL HILL — Nobody can beat North Carolina’s soccer teams, at least so far this season. UNC’s men’s team continued its longest unbeaten run to start a season in eight years, playing No. 10 Notre Dame to a 1–1 draw Friday at Dorrance Field after the women’s team beat Virginia Tech to remain unbeaten.
CHAPEL HILL — The pitch shifted dramatically in the second half, thanks to a formation shakeup. After No. 2 North Carolina got outshot in a half for the first time all season, the undefeated Tar Heels took control in the second half to avenge a loss last season with a 1–0 victory Friday over Virginia Tech at Dorrance Field in the ACC opener for both teams.
Undefeated Carolina returned to its preseason United Soccer Coaches women’s soccer Top 25 position at No. 2 after winning a road game against one ranked SEC team and tying another in a big week for senior forward Avery Patterson.
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