Dec. 3, 2002

Here is even more information about the Carolina Trip to the Final Four.

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 Santa Clara, UNC has an amazing record of 399 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 and rarely play on their home field.

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 532-24-15. UNC's average record per year is 22.2-1.0-0.63. 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, Alyssa Ramsey and Susan Bush have three game-clinching tallies. Lori Chalupny has two game-winning goals for UNC. 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 83-17 this season. That is a per game average of 3.19-0.65. UNC is outshooting opponents by an average of 21.2-8.5 shots per game. Carolina has scored on .151 percent of its shots, its opponents on only .077 percent. In the history of the program, UNC has scored 2,453 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 20-0-0. 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. The only other season that Carolina has had as few as three seniors was 1995. 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 15 of its first 26 games of the season against nationally-ranked teams at the time of the contest, going 12-0-3 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, beat #11 Tennessee on November 23 and downed #4 Texas A&M 3-0 on November 29.

PROJECTED LINEUP: - The projected starting lineup for Carolina in Santa Clara 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.

TAR HEELS IN THE COACHING RANKS: - Twenty-one former UNC players and staff members are currently head or assistant coaches in the professional, national team or collegiate ranks in 2002. This group includes April Heinrichs, head coach of the U.S. National Team; Tracey Bates Leone, head coach of the U.S. Under-19 National Team; and Bill Palladino, assistant coach of the U.S. National Team.

NORTH CAROLINA PLAYERS ON THE NATIONAL TEAMS: - Seventeen current or former Tar Heel players are members of current rosters for the United States National Team (10), United States U.S. Under-21 National Team (3) and United States Under-19 National Team (4). Since 1985, UNC has had 42 of its alumnae play on the full U.S. National Team at one time or another. This includes 14 players who earned status on the team sometime during the 2002 season. Nine of the 22 players with the most caps in U.S. National Team history are Tar Heels and five of the Top 9 goal scorers in National Team history played at Carolina.

CAROLINA PLAYERS IN THE WUSA: - Twenty-nine former UNC players have been on Women's United Soccer Association rosters over the past two years, the most of any college in the U.S. Twenty-four UNC players were on rosters during the 2002 campaign. The 2002 WUSA champion Carolina Courage was coached by UNC alumna Marcia McDermott ('86) with UNC alumna Susan Ellis ('84) as her assistant. Lauren Gregg ('82) also serves as WUSA Vice President in charge of Player Personnel.

CAROLINA INDIVIDUALS IN THE NCAA STATS: - Freshman midfielder Lindsay Tarpley currently ranks ninth in the nation in assists per game at 0.63 while senior Susan Bush is ranked 20th with 0.58 assists per game. Tarpley is 24th in points per game at 1.88.

CAROLINA IN THE NATIONAL TEAM STATS: - The Tar Heels are ranked second this week in NCAA stats in scoring offense at 3.19 goals per game. The Tar Heels are currently 12th in goals against average at 0.63. Carolina is currently second in the nation in winning percentage at.889.

THE ACC LEADERS: - North Carolina currently leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in the following team statistical categories: Shots Per Game--21.2; Goals Per Game--3.19; Assists Per Game--3.73; Points Per Game--10.12; Goals Allowed Per Game--0.63; Shutouts Per Game--0.46; Goals Against Average--0.63. The Tar Heels are fourth in total saves with 89. 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.

THE DORRANCE LEDGER: - Carolina heads into the Santa Clara game with an all-time record of 532-24-15 in 24 years of college soccer. All of those games have been played under the aegis of Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance.

THE INJURY SITUATION: - Three Tar Heels have been lost to Carolina for the remainder of the 2002 season, including a pair of potential starters. Freshman defender Amy Steadman had left knee surgery in early September and junior midfielder Jordan Walker had surgery on her right knee during UNC's fall break October 17-19. Sophomore defender Laura Winslow is also out for the season after having surgery on the arch in her left foot.

REDDICK WITH THE U.S. NATIONAL TEAM: - Three current members of the Tar Heels were called into the National Team training camp on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 by U.S. National Team Head Coach April Heinrichs. Junior defender Catherine Reddick, freshman forward Lindsay Tarpley and freshman midfielder Lori Chalupny were amongst the 28 players called to training camp by Heinrichs. Heinrichs released Chalupny and Tarpley after three days of practice with the National Team to return to the Tar Heels while Reddick was retained and has not played with Carolina in the last three matches. The National Team was playing in the Ninth Annual U.S. Nike Cup Tournament. The U.S. played Russia September 29 in Uniondale, N.Y., Australia in Cary, N.C. on October 2 and will face Italy in Cary, N.C. on October 6. Reddick rejoined the Tar Heels October 7 and played against NC State, Clemson and Florida State.

REDDICK NAMED TO SOCCER BUZZ AND SOCCER AMERICA PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS: - University of North Carolina junior defender Catherine Reddick is one of 12 players named to the Soccer Buzz preseason All-America team. She was also one of the 11 players selected a preseason All-America by Soccer America. She is the sole member of the top-ranked Tar Heels named to the squads. CAROLINA PICKED TO WIN 2002 ACC TITLE: - The 2001 NCAA runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels were selected preseason favorites for the 2002 ACC Women's Soccer season in a poll completed by the league's eight coaches. The Tar Heels received 62 of a possible 64 points. North Carolina, holder of 17 national championships and the last thirteen ACC Tournament Championships, returns numerous key players from last year's team, including three seniors. The Tar Heels will return eight starters, including All-America's Catherine Reddick, Alyssa Ramsey and Sara Randolph. Virginia claimed the second spot in the poll with 57 points, as the Cavaliers look to last season's ACC leader in goals per game, Lindsay Gusick. Virginia edged out third place Clemson, which received 41 points in the poll. Clemson returns starters Deliah Arrington and Lindsay Browne, who were both named First-Team All-ACC and First-Team All-South. Florida State received 35 points for fourth place in the poll, while Duke fell just five points behind in fifth place. Wake Forest and Maryland finished with 27 and 23 points respectively, while NC State rounded out the poll in eighth place with 13 points.

FOUR TAR HEELS HELP U.S. UNDER 19 TEAM WIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: - Four freshmen members of Carolina's 2002 team were instrumental in helping the United States' Under 19 National Team win the title at the 2002 Under 19 World Championships held in August and September in Canada. Forward Lindsay Tarpley, midfielder Lori Chalupny and defender Kendall Fletcher were all starters on the team. Defender Amy Steadman was slated to start but she tore in ACL in practice in preparation for the tournament and is now out for the entire 2002 season. The American Team won the championship 1-0 over host Canada on a golden goal in overtime by Tarpley. Tarpley also served as the captain of the U.S. Team.