Women's Soccer Championships
November 7, 2002 | Women's Soccer
1981, '82, 83, '84, '86 | 1987, '88, '89, '90, '91 | 1999, 2000
1992 Women's Soccer Championship
The 1992 Tar Heels are widely considered to be the best team in the history of NCAA soccer, and its difficult to argue to the contrary after a 25-0 season that saw Carolina trail only twice all season. Perhaps the most glaring highlight of the Heels dominance throughout the season was Carolina's 9-1 blowout of Duke in the NCAA title game.
The game would be one of the two occasions teams would lead the Tar Heels, as Duke drew first blood to jump out to a 1-0 lead on a rain-soaked and muddy Fetzer Field. But that advantage would be fleeting, as Carolina would roll off nine unanswered goals for the final margin.
The leading scorer on the day would be returning superstar Mia Hamm, who had redshirted the previous season to play for the National team in the World Cup. For the game Hamm had three goals, becoming only the second player to find the back of the net that many times in a championship final.
The Tar Heels outscored their opponents 132-11 on the season, including a four game West Coast road trip that saw the Heels win four games in four days against three ranked opponents, outscoring them 22-2. The victims included UC-Santa Barbara 5-1, Portland 6-1, Saint Mary's 6-0, and Stanford 5-0.
y the end of the season Carolina would establish a new NCAA record by totaling 58 consecutive wins dating back to October of 1990. They outscored their NCAA tournament opponents 19-1 after downing William & Mary 7-0 and Santa Clara 3-0 before the 9-1 championship win over Duke. The tournament was the third in a row held in Chapel Hill.
On the season Hamm led the nation with a school record 97 points on 32 goals and 33 assists, the latter statistic comprising yet another school record. She was the unanimous choice as National Player of the Year and also the ACC player of the year. Both the ACC and NCAA tournaments named her as tournament MVP.
1993 Women's Soccer Championship
Chapel Hill played host to the NCAA Final Four for the fourth year in a row and before an overflow and then NCAA record crowd of 5,721 the Tar Heels dismantled George Mason 6-0 to capture the championship. The game winner came from junior Keri Sanchez, the second consecutive year she scored the goal that sent the Tar Heels to the national title. The record crowd didn't see a close game, as the undefeated Heels rode their high-octane offense to run away with the match and finish the season at 23-0. On the year Carolina scored multiple goals in every game they played, only the second time in school history that feat had been accomplished, the first being 1992.
No team really came close to challenging the Tar Heels in the 1993 NCAA tournament. The tournament expanded to include four rounds of games for the first time, and Carolina won them all by at least three goals. In the opening round the Heels took out Southern Methodist University 4-1, it was the second time that Carolina had beaten SMU by that score on the year. The next day Carolina overwhelmed Florida International 3-0 to return to the final four. The Tar Heels whipped Massachusetts by a score of 4-1 in the semifinals to advance to the championship and ultimately walk away with the title.
In 1993 Mia Hamm was again a unanimous selection as the National Player of the Year as she led the country in scoring with 68 points on 26 goals and 16 assists. For her career Hamm stands as the schools leader in career points with 278, goals with 103 and assists with 72. In addition, Hamm holds NCAA tournament records for career scoring, goals and assists. During her four years Hamm managed to score a total of 16 goals in 13 NCAA tournament games.
Despite breaking a bone in her foot that caused her to miss several weeks during the middle of the season Tisha Venturini returned in time to reap Most Valuable Player honors at the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels claimed their fifth straight league crown by virtue of a 4-1 win over Duke.
1994 Women's Soccer Championship
The 1994 season was another remarkable and triumphant campaign as the Tar Heels went 25-1-1 and won the NCAA championship for an amazing ninth straight year. After four consecutive Final Fours in Chapel Hill the finals moved to Portland, Oregon, where senior Tisha Venturini stole the show.
The NCAA final actually saw the Tar Heels enter the game as the lower seeded team, their opponent Notre Dame holding the nation's number one position. The two teams had played to a scoreless 0-0 tie earlier in the season, but this time Carolina would have little trouble finding the back of the net. Senior Angela Kelly opened the scoring for Carolina, as the Tar Heels outshot the Fighting Irish 25-8.
The story of the Final Four was UNC's Venturini, who scored twice in her final game as a Tar Heel. Carolina would add two more goals to make the Heels final margin of victory in the final 5-0 to secure the title. In the semifinals Venturini led the Tar Heels to another win as they forced their way to a shutout, this time blanking the Connecticut Huskies 3-0.
The Tar Heels had two incredible streaks of consistency snapped in the regular season. An NCAA record consecutive game winning streak hit 92 contests before Carolina and Notre Dame battled to a 0-0 tie in St. Louis on October 2, 1994 at the Americas Challenge Cup.
Seventeen days later the Heels would be shocked on their home field, where Duke University handed the Tar Heels a 3-2 defeat. That loss snapped a 101-game unbeaten streak for Carolina dating back to September of 1990. The setback was also Carolina's first home loss at Fetzer Field since 1980, the second year of the women's soccer program.
Carolina would see Duke twice more in the 1994 season, and on both occasions the Tar Heels gained some measure of revenge for the home loss. The first meeting was a 4-2 win in the ACC tournament championship game. In the contests Venturini would score three times, the first hat trick in the seven-year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
The third game between the two neighbors would come in the South Regional title game. After eliminating NC State the day before the Tar Heels handled Duke 3-1, with Angela Kelly netting a pair of goals.
Staci Wilson arrived in Chapel Hill and was named first team All-America in addition to National Freshman of the Year. For the season Venturini was soccer's most dominant player, collecting almost every imaginable honor that collegiate soccer has. Her senior class would finish their careers with a record of 97 wins, one loss, one tie and four national championships.
1996 Women's Soccer Championship
The University of North Carolina women's soccer team returned in 1996 looking to reclaim its stranglehold on the sport's national title. After losing in the national semifinals the year before to Notre Dame Carolina once again had something to prove, which is exactly what they did via a 1-0 overtime victory of Notre Dame in the NCAA championship.
In front of 8,800 people in Santa Clara, California the Tar Heels stood as the higher seed, but perhaps as the team with more to prove. Carolina had been the surprise pick as the top seed in the NCAA tournament after losing to Notre Dame earlier in the season 2-1 in overtime. The loss marked the first time any school had ever beaten North Carolina twice in a row.
As expected the game was extremely close, as neither team was able to find away to penetrate the opposition's defense. Regulation ended with the game at a scoreless standstill, necessitating overtime to decide a national champion. In the match's 111th minute Carolina finally broke through, as senior forward Debbie Keller put one away to end her career on the highest possible note by scoring the only goal in a national title game.
The Tar Heels had an impressive showing in the NCAA tournament, shutting out William & Mary, James Madison and Florida by a total of 19-0 to reach the Final Four. In the semifinals Carolina faced a stiff challenge from the host Santa Clara team. The two teams had played early in the year, with Carolina escaping with a 1-0 victory on a last minute goal by Keller. This game would also be decided by one goal, as second half scores by Cindy Parlow and Robin Confer gave the Heels a 2-1 victory.
That the Tar Heels reclaimed the national title and finished an impressive 25-1 is a testament to UNC Head Coach Anson Dorrance as much as his talented team. Concerned about his team's lackluster play early in the season Dorrance made some bold changes to his lineup in the wake of the Notre Dame loss.
In addition to moving a handful of players to new positions, the team began playing a flat three-woman back line defensively, a strategy that worked magnificently and the Tar Heels have employed ever since.
Following the loss to Notre Dame the Tar Heels powered their way through the final 17 games of the season, claiming their eighth ACC crown by deflating Florida State 7-1. Carolina then went on to win the program's 14th championship in 16 years.
1997 Women's Soccer Championship
North Carolina was once again the best team in the country in 1997 as the Tar Heels finished 27-0-1 on their to another national championship. The Heels faced harsh competition in the final three games of the NCAA tournament, but behind co-national players of the year Cindy Parlow and Robin Confer, Carolina was able to survive a pair of one goal games and defeat the Connecticut Huskies 2-0 to capture the NCAA championship.
In the biggest game of the season Carolina's biggest two stars combined to ensure Carolina would take home the NCAA championship trophy. Junior Cindy Parlow broke the ice by scoring the Heels first goal. Later in the game teammate Robin Confer scored to give the Tar Heels a 2-0 lead.
Those would be the only two scores of the game, as Carolina tied an NCAA record previously held by the 1987 Tar Heels with their 22 shutout of the year. In 28 games, the most any Carolina squad has played in one season, Carolina yielded a paltry eight goals.
oth the quarterfinals and the semifinals had been tough challenges for the Tar Heels. After defeating Wake Forest and Florida by scores of 6-0 and 5-0, Carolina outlasted a pesky Harvard squad 1-0.
Santa Clara would push the Heels even further in the semifinals. The Bronco's took a 1-0 lead in the first half, holding it until Carolina's Lorrie Fair found the net in the second half to even the score. The Tar Heels leading scorer on the year Robin Confer came calling to complete the comeback, 2-1. For the season Confer would rack up 20 goals and 22 assists. She also stands alone as the player having participated in the most games for North Carolina, having graced the field in 107 contests from 1994 through 1997.
The Tar Heels lone tie of the season came in a lightning shortened 2-2 affair against Notre Dame in the Notre Dame adidas Lady Footlocker Classic. It was the only mark spoiling Carolina's otherwise perfect record. North Carolina also added another ACC championship to its lengthy list of accomplishments. The Heels defeated Florida State, Clemson and then Maryland to take the title.
