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DURHAM — Wins never seem to come easy for Carolina but somehow they keep overcoming the defensive lapses and offensive hiccups to win. There were plenty of both Saturday night at Wallace Wade Stadium. But when you have Drake Maye — even on a night when he has two costly fumbles — you always have a chance.
CHAPEL HILL — From the start of the season, Coach Anson Dorrance said he had one of his deepest teams — except for his group of defenders. And that group keeps getting smaller. After losing for the season star center back Macee Bell in the season opener and then Kayleigh Herr, her replacement, shortly afterward, the Tar Heels persevered with defenders such as Julia Dorsey routinely playing all 90 minutes.
CHARLOTTE — Continuity in the Carolina backcourt has been rare since Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington started three consecutive seasons, culminating with the 2009 national championship. There have been productive combinations, such as the duo of Marcus Paige and Joel Berry II that led Carolina to the 2016 Final Four or the pairing of Berry and Theo Pinson during the Tar Heels’ 2017 national championship season. But personnel changed from year to year.
North Carolina jumped three spots to No. 2 in the latest United Soccer Coaches women’s soccer Top 25 poll after a pair of shutout ACC victories last week. The Tar Heels (11–3, 4–2 ACC), who defeated Pittsburgh 4–0 on Thursday and N.C. State 2–0 on Sunday, are tied at No. 2 with Alabama (13–1–1).
CHARLOTTE — Driving around in a 2014 Ford Fusion while she was a star high school player in Texas, Deja Kelly could never have imagined the ride she’d have while playing at Carolina. After college athletes were allowed to use their name, image and likeness (NIL) to earn money in the summer of 2021, the world of college sports has changed. Kelly’s world has followed along at a pace that’s as impressive as for any women’s basketball player in the country.
CHARLOTTE — Of the many crucial elements to building a successful program, recruiting — and doing it the right way — is at the top of the list. A Carolina women’s basketball program expected to be a national contender in Coach Courtney Banghart’s fourth season in Chapel Hill didn’t get to this level by just stacking talent without regard to what kind of people she brings in.
You knew it wasn’t a good sign when Kayla McPherson used crutches to get to the bench before the Live Action With Carolina Basketball scrimmage, and that was confirmed Monday. Coach Courtney Banghart announced that the 5–8 redshirt freshman guard from Hull, Ga., will be sidelined for the start of the season after she suffered a lower-body injury and is scheduled to have surgery this week.
CHARLOTTE — It’s ACC Tipoff week, and you can stream all press conferences on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3). The event is being held at The Westin Charlotte, with the women’s players and coaches talking with the media on Tuesday and the men’s players and coaches taking their turn on Wednesday.
Coach Mack Brown has grown accustomed during his second stint as Carolina’s coach to having an offense that’s much better than his defense. That hasn’t changed through the Tar Heels’ 5–1 start, particularly considering that the offense has talented, skilled players such as quarterback Drake Maye and receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green.
CHAPEL HILL — In Carolina’s 400th home women’s soccer victory in program history, the Tar Heels’ scoring chances didn’t number that high, but it almost felt like it as they kept coming. With UNC dominating possession and keeping N.C. State’s chances to a minimum, only the outstanding goaltending from Wolfpack goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta kept it close. The Heels still came away with an impressive 2–0 victory Sunday before 3,683 fans at Dorrance Field.
After its best performance of the season a week earlier, Carolina’s defense went through its share of struggles Saturday at Miami. But that unit made enough big plays to keep the Tar Heels in control on a day that Caleb Hood emerged as their main running back. With Carolina’s 27–24 win in Miami Gardens, Fla., the Tar Heels (5–1) are alone atop of the ACC Coastal Division at 2–0 and learned how to win when quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t always on top of his game.
CHAPEL HILL — Excitement was in the air in the Smith Center on Friday night, with the most combined anticipation for Carolina’s men’s and women’s teams in years. It was a fun night for all involved at Live Action With Carolina Basketball, although starts on both teams didn’t play in the scrimmages.
CHAPEL HILL — Coming off a frustrating road loss and facing a No. 13 Pittsburgh team off to the best start in program history, No. 5 Carolina showed that it’s still one of the country’s most dangerous women’s soccer teams. UNC’s performance in a 4–0 win Thursday night at Dorrance Field to snap a five-game Panthers win streak was as dominating as Saturday night’s 2–1 loss at Virginia Tech was surprising.
It’s the week to show how highly ESPN regards UNC’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. Earlier this week, ESPN gave both high seeds in its early NCAA tournament bracket projection, and on Thursday, both were high in its preseason Top 25 list.
North Carolina’s women’s basketball team will reportedly play a scrimmage closed to the public on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Carmichael Arena against reigning national champion South Carolina. This is according to a report in The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C. A UNC spokesperson said that the school won’t announce or confirm any details about preseason scrimmages before or after they happen since they are intended to be closed team activities.
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