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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.
How will Coach Hubert Davis’ team mesh with only four returnees after losing nine players from last season and bringing in seven newcomers? His third team will get tough tests of its progress, starting in late November as the Tar Heels play at least seven — and potentially nine — games against teams ranked in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25 ranking.
With eight newcomers and seven returnees, Coach Courtney Banghart’s fifth Carolina team faces a challenging women’s basketball schedule that includes at least seven — and potentially nine — games against teams in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25 ranking. Although the Tar Heels will likely only face a challenge on one of their non-conference home game — the Nov. 30 matchup with No. 8 (according to the ESPN ranking) South Carolina, they face a difficult overall schedule.
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.
PITTSBURGH — With Drake Maye digging into his bag of tricks and the defense digging in after a slow start, North Carolina is off to its best start in 26 years. Maye ran for two touchdowns and showed his improvisational skills with a left-handed touchdown pass as the No. 18 Tar Heels rolled to a 41–24 victory over Pittsburgh in their ACC opener for their best start since 1997, when Coach Mack Brown’s last team of his first stint also started 4–0.
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.
UNC defensive linebacker Tomari Fox and linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen talk to the media ahead of the Tar Heels’ game Saturday at Pitt.
Tickets for a UNC-Duke game that cost at least $119 (with fees) on secondary ticket markets would be considered a pretty good deal if it was men’s basketball. That number is eye-popping for football, considering the struggles of both programs over the years, particularly the Blue Devils.
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.
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