Nov. 28, 2002

CAROLINA TO HOST NCAA QUARTERFINAL GAME FRIDAY VERSUS TEXAS A&M: - Second-ranked North Carolina continues its quest to capture the 2002 NCAA Women's College Cup championship when Coach Anson Dorrance's Tar Heels (20-1-4) play host to the fourth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (20-4-1) Friday at 3 p.m. at Fetzer Field in the NCAA quarterfinal round. The winner will earn a trip to the semifinals of the 2002 NCAA Women's College Cup next Friday at Mike Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Gates open for Friday's match at 1:30 p.m. and tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for students and $1 for children. Other NCAA quarterfinal games this weekend--all on Saturday--include Michigan at Santa Clara, Penn State at Connecticut and Portland at Stanford. Semifinal matchups on Friday, Dec. 6 in Austin include the UNC/A&M winner versus the Santa Clara/Michigan winner in one semifinal and the Stanford/Portland winner versus the UConn/Penn State winner in the other semifinal matchup. The national championship match is Sunday, Dec. 8.

NORTH CAROLINA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: - North Carolina earned its spot in this season's 64-team NCAA Tournament field by earning the automatic bid that goes to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champion. The bid was Carolina's 21st in a row. Only UNC and Connecticut have claimed bids to every NCAA Championship played. Carolina has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 74-4 after winning first, second and third round matches over the last two weekends. The Tar Heels have won 16 of the previous NCAA championships, placed second three times and was ousted in the semifinals once. Carolina also claimed the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championship in 1981, the year before the NCAA began sponsorship of national tournaments in women's soccer. Carolina's 16 NCAA championships are 15 more than any other school has won. George Mason, Notre Dame, Florida and Santa Clara have each won one NCAA title.

NORTH CAROLINA LOOKS FOR ANOTHER FINAL FOUR TRIP: - North Carolina will be seeking its 22nd straight spot in a national tournament Final 4 with a win over the Texas A&M Aggies Friday in the NCAA quarterfinals. UNC has made every final 4 ever played including the 1981 AIAW tourney and NCAA Tournaments from 1982-2001.

THE TAR HEELS AT HOME IN THE NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE CUP: - North Carolina has played 52 of its previous 78 games in NCAA Women's College Cup history here at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. UNC has gone 51-1 in those matches with the only loss coming to Notre Dame 1-0 in the 1995 NCAA semifinals. The Fighting Irish won that game on an own goal scored by UNC's Cindy Parlow.

TAR HEELS ADVANCE TO QUARTERFINALS WITH WINS OVER RADFORD, WAKE FOREST AND TENNESSEE: - North Carolina advanced to the quarterfinal round of this year's NCAA Women's College Cup with a troika of impressive victories in the first three rounds of the tournament. UNC defeated Radford 6-1 in the first round, then defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 3-1 in the second round and the Tennessee Lady Vols 3-1 in the third round. The Tar Heels featured a balanced scoring attack in their win over the Highlanders. Carolina peppered Radford with 42 shots and 14 corner kicks to control play (Radford had four shots and one corner kick) and sped to a 5-0 lead before the Highlanders could dent the scoreboard. Six different Tar Heels scored goals in the game with Lindsay Tarpley scoring her 14th, Elizabeth Ball her second, Catherine Reddick her fourth, Leea Murphy her second, Sophie Gervais her third and Jane Smith her first. Both Susan Bush and Mary McDowell had two assists each for UNC. Ball was credited with her first game-winning goal of the campaign. Against Wake Forest, the Tar Heels got on the board in the 38th minute as Reddick tallied her fifth goal of the season on a rocket shot of a free kick from 25 yards out. Sophomore defender Sara Randolph scored her second goal of the season in the second minute of the second half to increase the Tar Heels' lead to 2-0. After Wake cut the lead to 2-1, UNC came back to win 3-1 as Anne Morrell scored the insurance goal, her ninth tally of the season, in the 83rd minute of play. Lindsay Tapley had a pair of assists for the Tar Heels. Carolina outshot the Deacons 20-5 and had a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. Against Tennessee, the Tar Heels gave up an early goal to the Lady Vols in the 19th minute but then held Tennessee without a shot for the last 71 plus minutes of the match. UNC tied the match later in the first half on a goal by Catherine Reddick and then got the game winner from Lindsay Tarpley 1:10 before halftime. Alyssa Ramsey added a goal for the Heels in the second half. UNC outshot the Lady Vols 13-3 in the match.

SCOUTING THE HEELS: - North Carolina is unbeaten in its last 12 matches heading into the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals against Texas A&M. The Tar Heels are 20-1-4 overall and 10-0-2 since its only loss of the season at NC State on October 10. Carolina also started the season 10-0-2 before the loss at NC State. UNC outscores opponents 3.07-0.65 per game. The Heels have outscored opponents 80-17. The defense is led by the veteran back line of Catherine Reddick, Leslie Gaston and Carmen Watley. Senior goalie Jenni Branam has a brilliant 0.36 goals against average while playing 992 minutes in the goal. Her record is 10-0-2 and her save percentage logs in at .867. The Tar Heels have an amazingly balanced scoring attack with every player on the roster except backup goalies Aly Winget and Tyler Griffin having at least one point. Lindsay Tarpley and Alyssa Ramsey lead the Tar Heels in scoring with 44 points and 41 points, respectively. Tarpley has 15 goals and 14 assists and a team-leading five game winning goals. Ramsey has 15 goals and 11 assists. Other players in double figures in points are Susan Bush with five goals and 15 assists for 25 points, Anne Morrell with nine goals and three assists for 21 points, Mary McDowell with five goals and eight assists for 18 points, Catherine Reddick with six goals and four assists for 16 points, Lori Chalupny with three goals and seven assists for 13 points, Elizabeth Ball with two goals and eight assists for 12 points and Anne Felts with three goals and four assists for 10 points.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M: - The Aggies are 20-4-1 heading into the game on Friday. A&M is 18-1-1 this season since starting the season 2-3. The Aggies won the Big 12 Conference regular season championship and finished as the runnerup in the Big 12 Tournament, losing to Nebraska 1-0. That was A&M's only loss since a 4-1 loss against Carolina on September 13. In the NCAA Tournament, A&M beat Northwestern State 8-0, SMU 2-1 in triple overtime and UCLA 1-0 in triple overtime. A&M has outscored its opponents 72-24 this season. Linsey Woodard and Heather Ragsdale share the A&M scoring lead with 34 points while Emma Smith has 28 points, Kristen Strutz 26 points and Christina Echavarry 20 points. Katie Jo Spisak has played all but 64 minutes this season in goal for Texas A&M and has a 0.94 goals against average and save percentage of .776.

THE FIRST UNC-A&M GAME: - North Carolina and Texas A&M played once previously this season with the Tar Heels beating the Aggies 4-1 on September 13 at the Houston College Challenge in Klein, Texas. UNC outshot the Aggies 14-7 in the match. Lori Chalupny led off the scoring for UNC in the game with a goal in the 21st minute assisted by Kacey White. The Tar Heels then scored three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half to speed to a 4-0 lead. Kacey White scored off an assist by Lindsay Tarpley in the 48th minute, Alyssa Ramsey scored on a penalty kick in the 57th minute and Lindsay Tarpley scored in the 59th minute off assists by Sara Randolph and Susan Bush. Heather Ragsdale scored for the Aggies in the 75th minute off an assist by Kristen Strutz. Both Aly Winget for UNC and Kati Jo Spisak for A&M played 90 minutes in goal. Winget had four saves for UNC and Spisak six saves for the Aggies.

DORRANCE VERSUS HIS FORMER PLAYERS: - After a win over a Tennessee team coached by former UNC All-America Angela Kelly last Saturday, North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance has posted a 51-0-1 record in his career in head-to-head coaching matchups with teams coached by his former players. Dorrance is 3-0 in head to head matchups with Kelly and the Lady Vols, also winning in Chapel Hill in 2000 and in Knoxville in 2001. Dorrance is also 21-0 against Virginia teams coached by Lauren Gregg and April Heinrichs, 1-0 against Ohio State coached by Lori Walker, 12-0-1 against Maryland squads coached by April Heinrichs and Shannon Higgins Cirovski, 2-0 against George Washington teams mentored by Shannon Higgins Cirovski and 12-0 against Clemson teams coached by Tracey Bates Leone.

TAR HEELS CLAIM 14TH SUCCESSIVE ACC TOURNAMENT TITLE: - North Carolina posted three successive shutouts wins to win its 14th straight ACC Tournament championship at Tallahassee, Fla., November 7, 8 and 10. The Tar Heels have now posted an all-time record of 38-0-1 in ACC Tournament play. Carolina downed Wake Forest 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Maryland 4-0 in the semifinals and Clemson 6-0 in the championship match. These results came despite the fact the Tar Heels had struggled mightily against all three teams in the regular season and were missing several key players, including four potential starters, to either injury or commitments to the U.S. National Team. In the three games, UNC outshot its opponents 62-16 in the NCAA Tournament. Only one of the foes' 16 shots was on goal, a shot by Clemson with a little less than 15 minutes to play in the championship match.

TAR HEELS WIN ACC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP: - North Carolina won its 13th ACC regular season championship in the 16-year history of the league this season. UNC finished atop the league standings with a record of 4-1-2. Clemson and Virginia tied for second place at 4-3. Carolina has won ACC regular season championships 13 times--in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002.

GASTON NAMED ACC TOURNEY MVP; THREE OTHERS ALL-TOURNAMENT: - Senior defender Leslie Gaston was named the MVP of the 2002 ACC Tournament after leading the Carolina defense to three successive shutout wins. Gaston was joined on the All-ACC Tournament Team by three other Tar Heels--freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley, senior forward Susan Bush and senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam.

BRANAM IS BACK: - Carolina's chances in post-season play were helped by the full return of senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam to the Tar Heel lineup during the ACC Tournament. Branam, recovering from knee surgery last January, had been limited in her play this season. When Branam played all 90 minutes in Carolina's wins over Wake Forest and Maryland in the ACC Tournament it marked the first time she had gone 90 minutes in a match since the USC game on September 1. Branam also played most of the game against Clemson before leaving with the Tar Heels safely ahead 4-0 in the second half. Branam played into the second half of Carolina's win over Radford in the NCAA first round and then went the full 90 minutes in the second round win over Wake Forest and the third round victory over Tennessee. The luxury Carolina has is a more than capable backup in redshirt freshman Aly Winget who has played most of the minutes for Carolina this season.

BUSH, RAMSEY, REDDICK, TARPLEY HEAT UP IN ACC TOURNEY: - North Carolina saw several players start to turn things on offensively in the ACC Tournament. All four may have played their best soccer of the year as Carolina won its 14th straight conference title. Senior forward Susan Bush went into the tournament with only two goals on the season and then scored the game-winning goals in all three tournament games. Junior striker Alyssa Ramsey went into the tournament with four assists on the season and came out with 10 for the season with two against Wake, three against Maryland and one against Clemson. Junior defender Catherine Reddick returned to the lineup in the championship match after missing five consecutive games while playing with the U.S. National Team in the CONCACAF Women's Golf Cup. Reddick had two goals and one assist in the title game. She scored her first goal less than 25 seconds after entering the match, her second on a howitzer from close to 40 yards and her assist was a brilliant feed to Sophie Gervais in the box in the 81st minute. After scoring two goals against Clemson, Reddick has scored one goal in each of UNC's three NCAA Tournament games against Radford, Wake Forest and Tennessee. Tarpley also got off to a great start in the tournament by leading the Heels past Wake in the first round with a pair of goals.

BALANCE VERSUS MARYLAND, CLEMSON: - North Carolina had maybe its most balanced scoring effort of the season in the Tar Heels' wins over Maryland and Clemson in the ACC Tournament. Against the Terrapins, Bush had her fourth goal of the season while junior midfielder Elizabeth Ball had her first and freshman midfielder Kacey White had only her second, the first since the Texas A&M game on September 13. Against Clemson, Reddick had two, her second and third of the season, White had her third, freshman Leea Murphy had the first of her career and Sophie Gervais had her second of the season, also the second of her career. If this balance continues it can only bode well for the Tar Heels.

TAR HEELS END UP ATOP MUDDLED ACC: - In the most competitive Atlantic Coast Conference regular season race in history, North Carolina finished atop the conference with a 4-1-2 record. But it was hardly a clear mandate of UNC's strength. Clemson and Virginia finished tied for second with 4-3 records, while Virginia and Florida State tied for fourth place with records of 3-3-1. Duke wound up sixth at 2-3-2 and Wake Forest and NC State tied for seventh with records of 2-4-1.

TARPLEY NAMED ACC ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: - UNC freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.) was named this week as the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year. Tarpley leads the ACC this year in assists per game at 0.61, is second in the conference in points per game at 1.91 and tied for second in the league in goals per game with 0.65. Tarpley was the first Tar Heel to be named the ACC Rookie of the Year since 1996 when Laurie Schwoy was chosen.

TAR HEELS PLACE FIVE PLAYERS ON TWO ALL-ACC TEAMS: - Carolina placed two players on the first-team All-ACC team and three on the second-team All-ACC team in 2002. Defender Catherine Reddick and midfielder Lindsay Tarpley were both named first team All-ACC while goalkeeper Jenni Branam, defender Leslie Gaston and forward Alyssa Ramsey were named second-team All-ACC. Here are brief highlights of their seasons:
Catherine Reddick
Second straight year as first-team All-ACC...starting defender on U.S. National Team...consensus first-team All-America as a sophomore last year and preseason All-America pick this season...has six goals and four assists for the Tar Heels in 2002.
Lindsay Tarpley
UNC's leading scorer with 44 points (15 goals and 14 assists)...leads UNC with five game winning goals...captain of the U.S. Under 19 National Team which won the World Championship in September on her golden goal.
Alyssa Ramsey
Picked to the All-ACC Team for the third successive year...tied for Carolina lead in goals scored with 15 and is second in points with 41...has scored on 24.2 percent of her shots this season, third best scoring percentage on the team behind Sophie Gervais and Catherine Reddick.
Jenni Branam
Was also named to the All-ACC Team in 1999 as a freshman...has an 0.36 goals against average this season and a save percentage of .867.
Leslie Gaston
First Time selection to All-ACC Team...has started as center back this season as the Tar Heels' defense has allowed an average of only 0.65 goals per game...co-captain of the Tar Heels.

A PAIR OF TAR HEELS NAMED TO ACC ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: - Two Tar Heel players--midfielders Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny--were named to the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team. Here are brief bios of the two honorees:
Lindsay Tarpley
UNC's leading scorer with 44 points (15 goals and 14 assists)...leads UNC with five game winning goals...captain of the U.S. Under 19 National Team which won the World Championship in September on her golden goal.
Lori Chalupny
Member of U.S. Under 19 National Team which won the World Championship in September...had three goals and seven assists this season...has scored two game-winning goals.

THE SERIES WITH TEXAS A&M: - North Carolina and Texas A&M have played each other five times since the Aggies became a varsity in 1994. UNC also played A&M's club team in 1980. UNC has won all five meetings since 1994 including a 4-1 win earlier this season. All five of the previous meetings have been in the state of Texas--three in Houston, one in College Station and one in Dallas. This will be the Aggies' first visit to the state of North Carolina to face the Tar Heels.

CAROLINA UNBEATEN IN LAST 40 MATCHES AGAINST ACC TEAMS AT HOME: - North Carolina has not lost in its last 40 matches at home against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference since losing to Duke at Fetzer Field by a 3-2 score on October 19, 1994. The Tar Heels are 38-0-2 in that stretch.

THE ALL-TIME HOME RECORD: - North Carolina has an all-time record of 224-7-4 in home matches in the 24-year history of the program. UNC is 6-0-2 at home this season.

TAR HEELS UNBEATEN AT HOME IN LAST 33 MATCHES: - North Carolina has not lost at home in its last 36 matches. UNC's last home loss came to Penn State by a 3-2 score on September 12, 1999. UNC is 34-0-2 at home since that time.

RAMSEY ON THE TAR HEELS' CAREER SCORING CHARTS: - Tar Heel junior striker Alyssa Ramsey continues to climb the UNC career scoring charts this season. Ramsey enters the game against Texas A&M with 135 career points. She is currently tied for 11th on the Tar Heel career scoring chart with Stephanie Zeh (1981-82). Meredith Florance ranks 10th with 150 career points. Ramsey has now scored 45 goals in her Tar Heel career which puts her in 13th place. Carrie Serwetnyk (1984-87) is in 12th place with 46 goals in her career. Ramsey now has 45 assists in her Tar Heel career which ties her for 11th place on the list with Jena Kluegel (1998-2001). Marcia McDermott (1983-86) is 10th with 46 career assists.

BUSH NOW IN TOP 25 IN ASSISTS : - With 36 career assists, Susan Bush has moved into the Top 25 in UNC history. The senior forward from Houston, Texas is now tied for 22nd in UNC history with Laurie Schwoy (1996-2000). Janet Rayfield (1979-82) and Lorrie Fair (1996-99) are tied for 20th with 37 career assists.

BRANAM SETS CAREER SAVES RECORD: - North Carolina senior goalkeeper Jenni Branam broke the Tar Heel career records for saves in the Duke game on October 27. The senior from Placentia, Calif. now has 129 saves in her Tar Heel career. The old record was held by Beth Huber who had 116 saves from 1981-84.

OVER THE LAST 17 YEARS, AN AMAZING RECORD : - Over the past 17 seasons of North Carolina women's soccer, the Tar Heels have posted one of the most amazing records in college sports. Beginning with the first game of the 1986 against UMass and going into the match against Tennessee, UNC has an amazing record of 397 victories, 12 losses and 13 ties. That's an overall winning percentage of .956 in that time. The Tar Heels have posted this record despite the fact the game of women's soccer on the collegiate level has become more and more competitive over the last decade and the fact the Tar Heels annually play one of the toughest if not the toughest schedule in the nation.

THE ALL-TIME RECORD: - North Carolina is currently in its 24th year as a varsity athletic team. Heading into the NCAA Tournament third round, the Tar Heels have an all-time record of 531-24-15. UNC's average record per year is 22.1-1.0-0.6. The Tar Heels' all-time winning percentage is .945. UNC is 79-5-3 in ACC regular season games since 1987, the first year of league play. That is a winning percentage of .925.

WINGET'S SAVE TOTAL: - UNC's Aly Winget has made the third most saves in a season in Carolina history with her 56 saves. Her save total is the most since Lori Walker had 63 saves for the Tar Heels during the 1989 season. The school record for saves in a season is 89 by Molly Current in 1980.

GAME-WINNING GOALS: - Carolina has spread around its 20 game-winning goals this season. Lindsay Tarpley leads the team with five game-winners while Anne Morrell and Susan Bush has three game-clinching tallies. Two more Tar Heels--Alyssa Ramseyand Lori Chalupny--have two each. Other game winners have come from Mary McDowell, Kacey White, Catherine Reddick, Elizabeth Ball and Sara Randolph.

THE GOAL DIFFERENTIAL: - Carolina has outscored its opponents 80-17 this season. That is a per game average of 3.20-0.68. UNC is outshooting opponents by an average of 21.3-8.7 shots per game. Carolina has scored on .150 percent of its shots, its opponents on only .078 percent. In the history of the program, UNC has scored 2,450 goals while allowing its opponents 261.

THE TWO-GOAL STANDARD: - When Carolina has scored two or more goals in a game this season the Tar Heels have a record of 19-0-0. When failing to score or scoring only once, UNC is 1-1-4.

ONLY THREE SENIORS: - Carolina has the fewest seniors on this team that at any point in the 24-year history of the program. All are starters--Leslie Gaston on defense, Susan Bush at forward and Jenni Branam in the goal. Although those will be three big losses for the Tar Heels, 24 of the team's 27 players will return next season and to that mix the Heels hope to add another outstanding recruiting class.

UNC VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: - Carolina has played 14 of its first 25 games of the season against nationally-ranked teams at the time of the contest, going 11-0-3 in those games. The Tar Heels tied #8 Nebraska 1-1 in two overtimes in Lincoln, Neb. on August 30, beat #23 Southern California 2-0 in Lincoln, Neb. on September 1, beat #11 Washington 5-1 in Chapel Hill on September 8, beat #8 Texas A&M 4-1 in Houston on September 13, beat #3 Texas 3-2 in Houston on September 15, tied #4 Portland 0-0 in overtime in Portland, Ore. on September 28, beat #1 Stanford 1-0 on October 4 in Moraga, Calif., beat #19 Clemson 2-1 in two overtimes on October 12 in Clemson, S.C., beat #21 Florida State 5-1 in October 15 in Tallahassee, Fla., beat #16 Wake Forest 3-2 on October 30 in Winston-Salem, N.C., tied #23 Maryland 1-1 on November 1 in Chapel Hill, beat #16 Maryland 4-0 on November 8, beat #12 Clemson 6-0 on November 10 and beat #11 Tennessee on November 23.

PROJECTED LINEUP: - The projected starting lineup for Carolina in Texas A&M game is as follows:
Forwards--#11 Susan Bush, #12 Alyssa Ramsey, #37 Anne Morrell
Midfielders--#5 Maggie Tomecka, #10 Sara Randolph, #38 Lori Chalupny, #25 Lindsay Tarpley
Defenders--#26 Carmen Watley, #29 Leslie Gaston, #31 Catherine Reddick
Goalkeeper--#24 Jenni Branam
Top Reserves:
Forwards--#17 Elizabeth Ball, #33 Mary McDowell, #36 Leigh Blomgren, #39 Leea Murphy, #30 Brynn Hardman,, #35 Jane Smith
Midfielders--#4 Kendall Fletcher, #6 Anne Felts, #9 Kacey White, #32 Sophie Gervais
Goalkeepers--#59 Aly Winget

UNC'S LONG SHUTOUT STREAK: - Earlier this season the Tar Heels kept their opponents from scoring for a long streak of 557:54. The streak started at the 3:40 mark of a game against Marquette on September 20 and lasted until UNC allowed a goal to NC State at 1:34 of the game with the Wolfpack on October 10. The scoreless streak included complete shutouts in successive games against Florida International, Portland, Oregon, Stanford and Saint Mary's.

A SCHOOL RECORD FOR TIED GAMES: - Carolina has set the school record for tied games in a season in 2002 with four. The previous record was three in 1988 when Carolina finished 18-0-3. Carolina's ties have come against Nebraska 1-1 on August 30, 0-0 against Portland on September 28, 0-0 against Duke on October 27 and 1-1 against Maryland on November 1. Prior to the Nebraska match, UNC's last tie game had been five seasons earlier when Carolina played to a 2-2 tie at Notre Dame on September 19, 1997.

CAROLINA IN OVERTIME GAMES: - Carolina has played 27 overtime games in its history, including five this season. The Tar Heels have an all-time record of 13-2-12 in overtime contests. The five overtime games in one season is a school record. The previous high was four overtime games in 1988.

RAMSEY NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK SEPTEMBER 9: - North Carolina junior forward Alyssa Ramsey was named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week in women's soccer after leading the Tar Heels to a 2-0 record the week of Sept. 2-8. Ramsey guided the Tar Heels over Guilford College, 9-0, and Washington, 5-1, in the Nike Carolina Classic, improving #1 UNC to 3-0-1 on the campaign. Against Guilford, Ramsey scored two goals and added two assists for a total of six points in the game. In the second game of the Classic against the Washington Huskies, the Cornelius, N.C., native scored one goal and added one assist in the victory.

TARPLEY WINS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS SEPTEMBER 16: - North Carolina freshman forward Lindsay Tarpley was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week for women's soccer and the Carolina Waterscapes Player of the Week after leading the Tar Heels to a 2-0 record September 13 and 15 over two Top 10 ranked teams Tarpley guided the Tar Heels over #8 Texas A&M, 4-1, and #3 Texas, 3-2, in the Houston College Challenge. Against Texas A&M, Tarpley scored one goal and added one assist for a total of three points in the game. She had the assist on the game-winning goal against the Aggies. In the second game of the Challenge, the Kalamazoo, Michigan native had the game-winning goal against #3 Texas.

TARPLEY EARNS ACCOLADES FROM SOCCER BUZZ, SOCCER AMERICA SEPTEMBER 16: - University of North Carolina freshman forward Lindsay Tapley was not only the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Player of the WeeK September 16, she also was named to Soccer Buzz's Elite Team of the Week and Soccer America's Team of the Week. Soccer Buzz said of Tarpley, "Freshman continued dominant play scoring game-winner against Top 5 foe Texas and goal and assist against Texas A&M in two huge wins for Carolina." Soccer America also praised Tarpley, saying, "U.S. U-19 heroine paces top-ranked Tar Heels past No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 3 Texas, contributing goal and assist in 4-1 win over Aggies and another goal--her fifth of the season--in 3-2 victory over Longhorns.

GASTON MERITS KUDOS FROM ACC, SOCCER BUZZ, SOCCER AMERICA OCTOBER 7: - Senior defender Leslie Gaston won a troika of accolades October 7 as she was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week, a member of Soccer America's Team of the Week and and was tapped for Soccer Buzz's Elite Team of the Week. Gaston was the bedrock of a UNC defense which had not allowed a goal in the previous 556:20. Gaston has moved to center defense much of that time as Catherine Reddick missed almost two full games with a red card and then was gone from the team for three matches when she played with the U.S. National Team in the 2002 U.S. Nike Cup.

MORRELL EARNS TRIPLE AWARDS OCTOBER 21: - Sophomore forward Anne Morrell earned a trio of awards when she was named the ACC Player of the Week, a member of the Soccer America Collegiate Team of the Week and a member of the Soccer Buzz Elite Feet Team of the Week. Morrell, from Plymouth, Mich., earned these awards on October 21. In the previous week she scored three goals including the game winning goals in back to back wins over ACC opponents Florida State and Virginia.

BUSH, GASTON EARNS DOUBLE AWARDS NOVEMBER 11: - Senior forward Susan Bush and senior defender Leslie Gaston captured a duo of awards when they were members of the Soccer America Collegiate Team of the Week and the Soccer Buzz Elite Feet Team of the Week this week.

TARPLEY CELEBRATES 19TH BIRTHDAY IN GRAND STYLE: - Freshman forward Lindsay Tarpley celebrated her 19th birthday on September 22, 2002 in grand style as she recorded the first hat trick of her Tar Heel career in a 6-0 whitewashing of Florida International. Tarpley scored Carolina's first two goals of the game and then added the fifth UNC goal early in the second half to finish the hat trick. The hat trick was the first by a UNC freshman since September 5, 1997 when Meredith Florance scored three goals in an 8-0 victory over Tennessee.

DORRANCE IS NCAA'S WINNINGEST COACH: - In virtually any category you can think of Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance ranks as the winningest coach in NCAA and ACC history. Entering the 2002 season, Dorrance had an all-time winning percentage of .948. Amongst active NCAA coaches, John Walker of Nebraska was second at .824. Dorrance had 511 victories entering the season. Second on the list of active coaches was Len Tsantiris of Connecticut with 362 wins.

CAROLINA INDIVIDUALS IN THE NCAA STATS: - Freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley currently ranks 14th in the nation in assists per game at 0.61 while senior Susan Bush is ranked 15th with 0.60 assists per game. Tarpley is 23rd in points per game at 1.91.

CAROLINA IN THE NATIONAL TEAM STATS: - The Tar Heels are ranked second this week in NCAA stats in scoring offense at 3.20 goals per game. The Tar Heels are currently 12th in goals against average at 0.65. Carolina is currently third in the nation in winning percentage at.880.

THE ACC LEADERS: - North Carolina currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in the following team statistical categories: Shots Per Game--21.28; Goals Per Game--3.20; Assists Per Game--3.72; Points Per Game--10.12; Goals Allowed Per Game--0.68; Shutouts Per Game--0.44; Goals Against Average--0.65. The Tar Heels are fourth in total saves with 86. Individually, the Tar Heels have players ranked 2nd and 3rd in points per game in the ACC. Freshman Lindsay Tarpley is second at 1.91 points per game and junior Alyssa Ramsey is third at 1.64 points per game. Tarpley is tied for 2nd in the ACC in goals per game with 0.65 and Ramsey is fourth with 0.60. Tar Heel players rank 1-2-4-10-10 in assists per game in the conference. Tarpley is #1 with 0.61 assists per game, Susan Bush is #2 at 0.60, Alyssa Ramsey is #4 at 0.44 and Elizabeth Ball and Mary McDowell are tied for #10 at 0.32. There is only one Tar Heel ranked in the Top 10 in the conference in shots per game. That is Tarpley who is second with 4.26. Tarpley is also third in the ACC in game winning goals per game with an average of 0.22. Freshman goalkeeper Aly Winget leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in goals against average at 0.93.

TAR HEELS IN THE POLLS THIS WEEK: - North Carolina is ranked #2 this week by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas National Rankings; Soccer Buzz; SoccerTimes.com College Coaches Division I Women's Soccer Poll and by Soccer America.

REGIONAL POLLS HAVE CAROLINA #1: - As the nation's #1 team, it is obvious Carolina also tops the Southeast Region rankings as well. Regional rankings are conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas and Soccer Buzz.