As the ACC Women's Soccer Championship begins today in Cary, North Carolina finds itself in an unfamiliar position: looking up.
The Tar Heels (14-3-1, 7-3-0 ACC) have won 19 of the previous 21 league tournaments, including the past four. But the defending NCAA champion enters tonight's quarterfinal match against Maryland as the No. 3 seed, behind top-seeded Florida State (14-3-1, 7-2-1) and second-seeded Boston College (15-2-1, 7-2-1).
"We've struggled to score goals this year," UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. "We're not focusing as much as we did last year. I think some of our decisions on where we're going to shoot the ball aren't as good."
Senior forward Casey Noguiera, last season's national player of the year, has been limited to just six goals after scoring 25 in 2008, a key factor in the Tar Heels' offensive struggles.
North Carolina's defense, which has held 11 opponents scoreless this season, has had to carry the team, Dorrance said. The defense has been bolstered by the return of senior midfielder Tobin Heath, who returned from a commitment to the National Team for the Tar Heels' regular season finale Sunday, a 1-0 road win over Maryland Sunday.
"We feel better now that [Heath] is back," Dorrance said. "She's been absent for five games of the conference, which certainly hasn't helped us."
Two of UNC's league losses came against teams that qualified for the ACC tournament: fourth-seeded Virginia Tech (13-6-0, 6-4-0) and Florida State.
While the Seminoles finished with the same conference record as Boston College, Florida State claimed the top seed by winning the head-to-head matchup, 3-2.
The Seminoles open at noon today against eighth-seeded Duke (8-7-4, 4-4-2), a team that held them to a scoreless tie on Oct. 11. FSU coach Mark Krikorian said his team won't take its tournament opponents for granted..
"All of the teams that are playing in this tournament [may] be in the NCAA tournament," Krikorian said.
This season Florida State allowed only 15 goals while scoring a league-high 54. Sophomore forwards Tiffany McCarty and Jessica Price have scored a combined 26 goals this season, placing the pair in the top five in the ACC in goals scored.
"This year we have a variety of pieces that can ease the burden of being responsible for scoring the goals," Krikorian said.
The tournament champion will have to win three games in five days, a format that rewards deeper teams.
Even though North Carolina is known for its fast-paced, aggressive style, Dorrance doesn't think the tournament schedule will affect his team.
"The fact that we try to play our roster mitigates the exhaustive aspect of the way we play," Dorrance said. "We hope this will contribute to helping us put a very competitive team on the field."
