May 9, 2006

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- Defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion and NCAA quarterfinalist North Carolina will play one of the nation's most difficult schedules in 2006 as next year's docket was formally released Tuesday by the UNC Department of the Athletics. Carolina will play 19 regular-season matches, only seven at home, and 13 of UNC's 19 opponents participated in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

The schedule will be filled with difficult opponents as head coach Anson Dorrance seeks to reload a North Carolina squad that lost a large senior class of 10 players following the 2005 season. UNC was 23-1-1 in 2005 and 9-1 in the ACC. The Tar Heels won the ACC regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals where they played to a 1-1 tie with Florida State before the Seminoles advanced to the national semifinals via penalty kicks.

Dorrance has landed the nation's top-ranked recruiting class according to Soccer Buzz magazine as nine freshman Tar Heels join the Tar Heels in August. UNC also returns the services of four players who red-shirted in 2005 due to injuries as well as 13 other letter winners who played significant roles on the 2005 unit.

Carolina's 2006 schedule includes 2005 NCAA champion Portland, 2005 NCAA semifinalist Florida State and 2005 NCAA quarterfinalist Virginia. Four other teams who made the Sweet 16 will play the Tar Heels this season -- Texas A&M, Yale, Marquette and Boston College. SMU and Duke made the NCAA second round last year and Connecticut, Florida, Clemson and Wake Forest all participated in last year's tournament.

Carolina will open the season with nine non-conference games, only one of which will be played at home. The final 10 games of the regular season will be ACC games, six of them scheduled for Chapel Hill's Fetzer Field. UNC opens the season with games in Texas at Texas A&M and at SMU August 25 and 27 before hosting its home debut against UNC Greensboro on August 29 at 7 p.m. at Fetzer Field. The following three weekends UNC will play in the East Coast Invitational at New Haven, Conn. against UConn and Yale, the Nike Portland Invitational in Portland, Ore. againt Washington and Portland and the Duke adidas Classic in Durham, N.C. against Marquette and Florida.

ACC play begins September 21 when Carolina plays host to Florida State. UNC's other ACC home matches are against Miami, Maryland, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. UNC's ACC road games are at Clemson, Virginia, Duke and NC State.

The 2006 ACC Tournament and 2006 NCAA College Cup will both be played at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.