Dec. 11, 2007

By Dave Lohse

Associate Athletic Communications Director

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--When Florida State University and the University of Southern California met last Sunday for the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship at Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas, it marked the first time since 1982 that two teams were meeting for the championship in their first-ever championship game appearances. Thank parity for that. Thank the University of North Carolina for that.

It had been since 1982, the first year of NCAA play, that two newbies made their way to the title game. Carolina dispatched the University of Central Florida 2-0 in that match at Orlando, Fla. Then blame Carolina for hoarding so many of the appearances since that point that two first-time contenders had to wait a quarter century for it to happen again.

By the way, USC defeated Florida State 2-0 in the championship game. That's USC, a team that had never won more than one game in any previous NCAA Tournament. The Women of Troy, who had perfected the NCAA Tournament second round exit, were now national champions. What made it more amazing is that they survived a College Cup field which included UCLA, in the College Cup for the sixth time since 2000 and fifth season in a row; Florida State, in the College Cup for the fourth time since 2003; and Notre Dame, a College Cup participant for the ninth time since 1994.

But the Women of Troy were undaunted by the experience and thus became only the seventh school in history to win the NCAA Division I National Championship. The count is North Carolina 18 (plus one AIAW Tournament), Portland 2, Notre Dame 2, Florida 1, Santa Clara 1 and USC 1. The 21 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships have been divided up as North Carolina 19, Virginia 1 and NC State 1.

So anyone who thinks North Carolina is in some kind of decline in women's soccer because the Tar Heels have failed to make the College Cup three of the last four years, please, I beg of you relax. Parity is here. The playing field has changed and the days of being a fixture in the College Cup are long gone. Enjoy instead the fact we root for a team, which in 29 varsity seasons has lost a total of 33 games. Egad, that is amazing. Enjoy the fact that in a season when the Tar Heels started the year 7-3, as they did in 2007, they still went on and won the undisputed Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship, the ACC Tournament championship for the 19th time and earned one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament for the 25th time in the 26-year history of the tournament. If that is the definition of an off year, wow, I know a lot of teams who will take it year in and year out.

In this day and age schools can no longer stockpile all the good talent. Games are decided by one goals in many cases. Having rock solid defenses is mandatory.

The difficulty for Carolina in 2008 will be that fact that three of the top five starters on the defensive end of the field must be replaced - starting center back Jessica Maxwell, starting right back Ariel Harris and starting holding center midfielder Robyn Gayle. In addition, Jaime Gilbert, the first forward off the bench, also graduates.

The Tar Heels will get back Ali Hawkins, a talented defender and holding center midfielder, who missed the 2007 campaign because of an ACL tear. All three starting forwards return. Both co-starters in goal return. Starting left back Kristi Eveland returns. Several key reserves like Mandy Moraca, Rachel Givan, Allie Long and Meghan Klingenberg return. And UNC will sign a six-woman recruiting class in February, all of whom will compete for starting positions next season.

So congratulations are due to USC. A tip of the hat to the Women of Troy. Carolina will be al; right. After all, of the 40 national and ACC championships won by ACC schools, UNC has 38 of them. There's no need to fret.