College Soccer 360

NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer               Tournament Notebook

#2 (Nov. 26, 2008)

(NCAA Notebook #1)

By Pete LaFleur (editor@collegesoccer360.com)

As college soccer fans prepare to take their Thanksgiving break, here are some interesting facts and figures to chew on with the NCAA quarterfinals right around the corner (there's a wide variety of information, so be sure to scroll all the way through) ... media and SIDs are welcome to incorporate this information into their stories, releases, etc. (please consider acknowledging CollegeSoccer360.com for the historical research) ... be sure to keep checking the site throughout the NCAAs, as we've overcome the technical glitch that slowed down the posting of content for a few days (and don't forget to check out Library of Links, for quick access to information on the final-16/final-8 teams, we hope to keep updating the LOL throughout this week and will update next week as well).

FREE TEXT-MESSAGE/E-MAIL IN-GAME UPDATE SERVICE TO OFFER EXPANDED FEATURES – CollegeSoccer360.com has been providing a free text-message service throughout the NCAAs and users will be provided even more information during these final games ... an e-mail blast typically will be sent out to the users at the start of each game (indicating starters, referees and weather conditions) ... at halftime, a text will be sent with the score, goal information and some quick team stats ... a similar text will be sent at the end of the game, along with an e-mail report that includes full goal and team stat information, plus a listing of each player and her minutes played ... don't miss your chance to take advantage of this convenient service – and stay updated of the action throughout the holiday weekend.

FINAL EIGHT TEAMS INCLUDE PLENTY OF ELITES – The eight teams remaining in the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship include four of the five winningest programs from the current decade and five of the six winningest 2008 senior classes (Penn State is the team from both lists that already has been eliminated):

Winningest Division I Programs of the Decade (2000-08)

204-14-10 – North Carolina (.917; 22.7 wins per season)

188-24-7 – Notre Dame (.874; 20.9 wins per season)

178-27-10 – UCLA (.851; 19.8 wins per season)

175-33-14 – Penn State (.820; 19.4 wins per season)

172-28-9 – Portland (.845; 19.1 wins per season)

winningest programs of the 1990s were UNC (216-7-3/.962/21.6) and ND (196-27-11/.861/19.6)

Winningest 2008 Senior Classes (career record, 2005-08)

91-7-3 – North Carolina (.916; 22.8 wins per season; 2006 NCAA champion, '05 quarterfinals, '07 round-of-16)

90-9-3 – Notre Dame (.897; 22.5 wins per season; 2006 NCAA runner-up, '07 semifinalist, '05 quarterfinalist)

84-8-4 – UCLA (.896; 21.0 wins per season; 2005 NCAA runner-up, '06 and '07 semifinalist)

78-9-5 – Portland (.875; 19.5 wins per season; 2005 NCAA champion, '06 and '07 quartefinalist)

75-17-7 – Penn State (.793; 18.8 wins per season; '05 semifinalist, '06 quarterfinalist, '07 round-of-16, '08 first round)

71-16-11 – Florida State (.781; 17.8 wins per season; '07 runner-up, '05 and '06 semifinalist)

EIGHT IS ENOUGH? – UCLA is making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals while Notre Dame and Portland have advanced to the final-8 for the first straight season and Florida State's senior class is a four-time quarterfinalist ... North Carolina (25), Portland (13), ND (12) and UCLA (9) hold down spots among the seven programs that have made the most all-time quartefinal appearances (spanning 27 seasons):

Active streaks of reaching the NCAA quarterfinals/final-8

6 – UCLA (2003- )

5 – Notre Dame and Portland (2004- )

4 – Florida State (2005- )

All-time streaks of reaching the NCAA quarterfinals/final-8

22 – North Carolina (1982-2003)

11 – Santa Clara (1995-2005)

8 – Connecticut (1993-2000) and UMass (1982-89)

7 – Notre Dame (1994-2000) and N.C. State (1985-91)

6 – UCLA (2003- ) and Penn State (1998-2003)

5 – Notre Dame and Portland (2004- )

4 – Florida State (2005- ), Portland (1993-96), Stanford (1991-94) and Colorado College (1988-91)

Most Trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals (final-8)

25 – North Carolina (1982-2004, 2006, 2008)

18 – Connecticut

14 – Santa Clara

13 – Portland (1993-96, 1998, 2000-02, 2004-08)

12 – Notre Dame (1994-2000, 2004-08)

10 – UMass

9 – UCLA (1997, 2000-01, 2003-08)

8 – Penn State and N.C. State

7 – Colorado College

6 – Stanford (1991-94, 2002, 2008)

5 – Florida State (2003, 2005-08), Virginia, William & Mary, Hartford, UC Santa Barbara, California, George Mason 

4 – Duke (1992, 1994, 2007-08), Texas A&M (2001-02, 2006, 2008), Florida, Clemson, Wisconsin, Central Florida

(three trips each for Cortland St. and Harvard; two each for Princeton, Boston College, Brown, Maryland and Nebraska; one each for Missouri-St. Louis, SMU, FIU, Dartmouth, Michigan, BYU, Ohio State, Washington, Illinois, West Virginia and USC.

Most Trips to the NCAA College Cup Final Weekend (semifinals)

23 – North Carolina

10 – Santa Clara

9 – Notre Dame

8 – Portland

7 – Connecticut

6 – UCLA and UMass

5 – Colorado College

4 – Florida State and George Mason

(three each for California and Penn State; two each for UCF, Wisconsin, N.C. State and Florida; one each for Missouri-St. Louis, Virginia, Hartford, Duke, Stanford, SMU, Princeton and USC)

Active streaks of reaching College Cup final weekend (semifinals)

5 – UCLA (2003- )

3 – Florida State (2006- )

2 – Notre Dame (2007- )

All-time streaks of reaching College Cup final weekend (semifinals)

21 – North Carolina (1982-2003)

5 – UCLA (2003- ) and UMass (1983-87)

4 – Notre Dame (1994-97), Santa Clara (1996-99)

3 – Florida State (2006- ), Portland (2000-02 and 1994-96), Colorado College (1989-91), Connecticut (1982-84)

Notre Dame has gone to the past two NCAA semifinals (2006- )

Most NCAA Title-Game Appearances

21 – North Carolina

6 – Notre Dame

4 – Connecticut

3 – George Mason, Portland and UCLA

(two trips each for Colorado College and Santa Clara; one each for UCF, UMass, N.C. State, Wisconsin, Duke, Florida, Florida State and USC ... Stanford and Texas A&M never have been to the NCAA title game)

A BOATLOAD OF WINS – The quarterfinal field includes five different teams that already have reached 20-plus wins (24-0-0 Notre Dame, 22-1-2 North Carolina, 21-0-2 UCLA, 21-1-1 Stanford and 20-1-0 Portland) ... during the eight years of the 64-team NCAA Tournaament field (2001-08), there have been two previous seasons when the final-8 teams included five or more with 20-plus wins: 2001 (5) and 2006 (6) ... the five teams in 2001 were: UNC (22-0-0), Santa Clara (20-2-0), UCLA (20-2-0), Florida (20-3-1) and Penn State (21-3-1) ... the six teams in 2005 were: UNC (23-1-0), ND (22-2-0), Penn State (22-0-1), Portland (21-0-1), UCLA (20-1-2) and Florida State (20-3-0) ... the eight teams remaining in the 2008 NCAA field (also 18-4-1 Texas A&M, 17-2-3 Florida State and 15-5-3 Duke) impressively have combined for an .887 winning pct. this season (158-14-14), with as many combined ties as losses ... the only previous season in the 64-team era with multiple unbeaten teams among the quarterfinalists was 2005 (when Portland was 21-0-1 and PSU 22-0-1; they later would meet in the semifinals, with UP advancing on Pks).

Most 20-Win Seasons Since 2001

7 – North Carolina (all but 2007)

6 – UCLA (all but 2002 and 2004)

5 – Notre Dame (2003-06, 2008) and Portland (2001-02, 2004-05, 2008)

IRISH COLLECT 24 WINS OF REDEMPTION – Notre Dame (24-0-0) has reached 24 wins for the third time in the program's history (the '04 and '06 teams each won 25) ... there now have been 19 Division I women's soccer teams ever to to total 24-plus wins in a season (15 by UNC, three for ND and Florida's 1998 squad) ... three current teams – UNC (22), UCLA (21) and Stanford (21) – still have a shot at reaching 24 wins this season ... the only previous years with multiple 24-win teams are 1998 (UNC and Florida) and 2006 (UNC and ND) ... those season also marked the most combined wins ever in an NCAA title-game matchup (records are prior to the final): UNC (26-1-0) vs. ND (25-0-1) in 2006 (51-1-1 combined); and UNC (24-0-0) vs. Florida (25-1-0) in 1998 (49-1-0 combined).

Most Wins in a Season (1982-2008)

27 – North Carolina (27-0-0 in 1997 and 2003; 27-1-0 in 2006)

26 – Florida (1998)

Teams with 25 wins have included UNC in 1992, ’94, ’95, ’96 and ’98, and ND in ’04 and ’06 … teams with 24 wins have included UNC in '84, '86, '89, '91, '96, '99, '01 and ND '08

TALL TASK – Notre Dame is attempting to become only the second team since 1993 to win the NCAA title without suffering a loss or tie all season (UNC's 2003 title squad went 27-0-0)

National Champions with Unbeaten/Untied Records

2003 – North Carolina (27-0-0)

1993 – North Carolina (23-0-0)

1992 – North Carolina (25-0-0)

1991 – North Carolina (25-0-0)

1990 – North Carolina (24-0-0)

National Champions With No Losses and One Tie

1997 – North Carolina (27-0-1)

1989 – North Carolina (24-0-1)

1987 – North Carolina (23-0-1)

1986 – North Carolina (24-0-1)

1984 – North Carolina (24-0-1)

Portland won the 2005 NCAA title with a 23-0-2 record (one tie was PK semifinal vs. Penn State)

WE MEET AGAIN – The upcoming Notre Dame-Florida State game will mark the third straight season that those teams have faced off in the quarterfinal round or later (ND won 2-1 in the 2006 semifinals, FSU 2-1 in the '07 semifinals) ... this marks only the sixth time in the 27-year history of the Division I women's soccer tournament that two teams have battled three (or more) consecutive years with so much on the line ... Portland and UCLA are riding an even longer streak, having faced each other each of the past four seasons in the NCAA quarterfinals, semifinals or title game:

Three-Plus Straight Years Meeting in the NCAA Quarterfinals of Later

2006-08 Notre Dame 2, Florida State 1 (SF) ... FSU 2, ND 1 (SF) ... quarterfinals (TBA)

2004-07 UCLA vs. Portland (QF-final-QF-QF)

1995-97 North Carolina vs. Santa Clara (QF-SF-SF)

1994-96 ND vs. UNC (final-SF-final)

1994-96 ND vs. Portland (SF-final-SF)

1988-91 UNC vs. North Carolina State (final-SF-QF-QF)

Consecutive-Year Matchups on the College Cup Final Weekend

2006-07 ND vs. FSU

2001-02 UNC vs. Santa Clara

1996-97 UNC vs. SCU

1994-96 ND vs. UNC

1994-96 ND vs. Portland

1989-90 UNC vs. Colorado College

1985-86 UNC vs. George Mason

1985-86 UNC vs. CC

REMATCH GAME– The 2008 NCAA Tournament has featured 15 games this season that were a rematch from the 2008 regular season ... in most of those cases (10), the team that won the regular-season game also won the NCAA matchup (four teams avenged the earlier loss while Duke's win over Virginia was a rematch of a regular-season tie) ... teams that turned the tables and won/advanced from the more important 2008 matchup (i.e. In the NCAAs) included Rutgers vs. Penn State in the first round, Virginia vs. West Virginia in the second round, Northeastern vs. Harvard (second round) and Florida vs. UCF (second round).

Regular-Season Result ... NCAA Rematch

Duke 0, at Virginia 0 ... Duke 2, @UVa 0 (round-of-16)

Florida State 1, at Boston College 0 ... @FSU 1, BC 0 (round-of-16)

UCLA 2, USC 1 (@L.A. Coliseum) ... @UCLA 1, USC 0 (round-of-16)

Central Florida 1, at Florida 0 ... UF 2, UCF 0 (second round)

Florida State 3, at Auburn 0 ... @FSU 1, Auburn 0 (second round)

Illinois 2, at Missouri 0 (OT) ... Illinois elim. Missouri in PKs (second round)

Minnesota 2, at South Dakota State 0 ... @MN 2, SDSU 0 (second round)

Harvard 2, at Northeastern 1 ... NE elim. Harvard in PKs (2-2/4-2, second round)

at North Carolina 5, Charlotte 1 ... UNC 4, Charlotte 0 (second round)

at UCLA 3, San Diego 0 ... @UCLA 1, USD 0 (second round)

at West Virginia 3, Virginia 0 ... @UVa 3, WVU 2 (second round)

at Boston College 1, Central Connecticut 0 ... @BC 3, CC 0 (first round)

at Portland 7, Northern Arizona 0 ... @UP 6, NAU 1 (first round)

Penn State 1, at Rutgers 0 ... @RU 2, PSU 1 (OT, first round)

San Diego 1, at Long Beach State 0 ... USD 1, LBSU 0 (first round)

The upcoming quarterfinal between Texas A&M at North Carolina will be another rematch from the 2008 season (UNC won at A&M, 3-2) ... the only possible rematch in the College Cup semifinals would be North Carolina vs. Duke (UNC won earlier this season, 3-0 at Duke) ... there are seven potential rematch scenarios in the 2008 championship game:

North Carolina vs. Notre Dame ... ND won 1-0 at UNC

North Carolina vs. Stanford ... teams tied 1-1, at Stanford

UCLA vs. Stanford ... UCLA won 1-0, at home

North Carolina vs. Florida State ... teams tied 2-2, at UNC

UCLA vs. Portland ... UCLA won 1-0, at UP

Notre Dame vs. Duke ... ND won 3-1 (@UNC)

Florida State vs. Duke ... FSU won 5-2, at home

HOME-STATE HEROES – The rosters for the eight remaining teams include players from 30 home states, plus four Canadian provinces, Finland and Germany ...

Home States for Players from 2008 Quarterfinalist Teams

48 – California (UCLA 19, Stanford 14, Portland 6, UNC 4, ND 3, Duke 2)

30 – Texas (A&M 17, ND 7, UNC 3, Duke 2, Portland 1)

12 – Florida (FSU 8, UNC 2, Duke 2) and NC (UNC 8, Duke 4)

11 – Colorado (A&M 5, Portland 3, FSU 2, UNC 1)

10 – New Jersey (UNC 4, Duke 2, FSU 2, ND 1, Stanford 1) and Illinois (ND 5, FSU 3, Duke 1, UNC 1)

9 – New York (UNC 4, Duke 3, ND 1, UCLA 1)

7 – Arizona (1 each from all but FSU) and Indiana (ND 3, 1 each from Duke, FSU, Stanford, UCLA)

6 – Ohio (ND 2, Duke 2, FSU 1, UNC 1) and Washington (Portland 3, Stanford 2, UCLA 1)

4 – Georgia (Duke 2, Portland 1, Stanford 1) and Missouri (ND 2, A&M 2)

3 – Oregon (Portland 2, Stanford 1) and Pennsylvania (1 each for Duke, FSU and UNC)

2 – British Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Utah

1 – Alabama, Alberta, Connecticut Finland, Germany, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Manitoba, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ontario, Tennessee and Virginia

Different Home States/Provinces/Countries

14 – Duke

14 – North Carolina

12 – Notre Dame

11 – Florida State (eight states, three foreign countries)

10 – Portland (nine states, one foreign country)

10 – Stanford

9 – UCLA (six states, three provinces)

6 – Texas A&M

(avg. of 11 home states/foreign countries/provinces per team)

Home States Represented on the Most Quarterfinalist Teams

7 teams – Arizona

6 teams – California

5 teams – Indiana, New Jersey and Texas

4 teams – Colorado, Illinois, New York and Ohio

Home States – By The Numbers ...

19 – UCLA players from California

17 – Texas A&M players from Texas

14 – Stanford players from California

8 – Florida State players from Florida

8 – North Carolina players from North Carolina

7 – Notre Dame players from Texas

6 – Portland players from California

5 – Texas A&M players from Colorado

5 – Notre Dame players from Illinois

Duke (14 states; 25 players)

4 – North Carolina

3 – New York

2 – California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas

1 – Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania

Florida State (8 states, 3 foreign countries; 22 players)

8 – Florida

3 – Illinois

2 – Colorado, New Jersey

1 – Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Finland, Germany, Manitoba

North Carolina (14 states; 33 players)

8 – North Carolina

4 – California, Illinois, New York

3 – Texas

2 – Florida

1 – Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania

Notre Dame (12 states; 28 players)

7 – Texas

5 – Illinois

3 – California, Indiana

2 – Ohio, Missouri

1 – Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York

Portland (9 states, 1 foreign country; 21 players)

6 – California

3 – Colorado

3 – Washington

2 – Oregon, Utah

1 – Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, British Columbia

Stanford (10 states; 24 players)

14 – California

2 – Washington

1 – Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia

Texas A&M (6 states; 27 players)

17 – Texas

5 – Colorado

2 – Missouri

1 – Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee

UCLA (6 states, 3 Canadian provinces; 27 players)

19 – California

1 – Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Washington, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario

STACKING UP THE FINAL-8 ...

Goals Per Game (national rank)

UNC – 3.36 (1)

ND – 3.29 (2)

Portland – 3.29 (3)

Stanford – 3.04 (5)

FSU – 2.91 (7)

A&M – 2.52 (11)

UCLA – 2.35 (17)

Duke – 2.30 (18)

Goals-Against Average (national ramk)

UCLA – 0.17 (1)

Stanford – 0.30 (2)

Portland – 0.38 (3)

ND – 0.41 (4)

UNC – 0.55 (10)

FSU – 0.57 (11)

Duke – 0.80 (43)

A&M – 1.07

Save Perentage (national rank)

UCLA – .953 (1)

Stanford – .870 (7)

FSU – .857 (20)

ND – .833 (44)

Portland – .833 (44)

UNC – .808 (96)

Duke – .808 (97)

A&M – .784

Shutouts

UCLA – 19

UNC – 16

ND – 16

Stanford – 16

FSU – 14

Portland – 14

Duke – 13

A&M – 8

Games With 2-Plus Goals Allowed

Stanford – 0

UCLA – 0

Portland – 1

ND – 2

Duke – 4

FSU – 4

UNC – 5

A&M – 6

Shots Allowed (per game)

Portland – 6.0

Stanford – 6.4

UNC – 6.8

ND – 7.4

UCLA – 7.9

FSU – 9.9

Duke – 10.1

A&M – 11.0

Shots On Goal Allowed (per game)

Portland – 2.3

Stanford – 2.4

ND – 2.5

UNC – 2.9

UCLA – 3.7

FSU – 4.1

Duke – 4.3

A&M – 5.0

Shot Efficiency (Shots Per Goal)

Portland – 5.4

UNC – 6.5

Duke – 6.6

Stanford – 6.8

FSU – 7.2

ND – 7.5

A&M – 7.8

UCLA – 8.5

Scoring Margin

UNC – +70 (84-14)

ND – +69 (79-10)

Stanford – +63 (70-7)

Portland – +61 (69-8)

FSU – +51 (64-13)

Duke – +34 (53-19)

A&M – +33 (58-25)

UCLA – +5 (54-4)

Shots Per Game

ND – 24.5

UNC – 21.9

FSU – 20.9

Stanford – 20.7

UCLA –19.9

A&M – 19.6

Portland – 17.9

Duke – 15.1

Shots On Goal Per Game

ND – 11.8

Stanford – 11.0

UNC – 10.6

FSU – 10.2

Portland – 9.0

A&M – 8.6

Duke – 7.1

UCLA – 7.0

Corner-Kick Margin

ND – +122 (166-44)

UNC – +118 (161-43)

Stanford – +107 (151-44)

UCLA – +97 (152-55)

Portland – +76 (129-53)

FSU – +69 (146-77)

A&M – +42 (132-90)

Duke – +26 (123-97)

Corner Kicks Per Game

ND – 6.9

UNC – 6.4

FSU – 6.6

Stanford – 6.6

UCLA – 6.6

Portland – 6.1

A&M – 5.7

Duke – 5.4

Best All-Time NCAA Tournament Win Percentages (min. 12 gms)

(1) .929 – North Carolina (97-7-1; 27 yrs)

(2) .779 – Notre Dame (47-13-1; 16 yrs)

(3) .767 – Portland (43-12-3; 16 yrs)

(4) .758 – Florida State (24-7-2; 9 yrs)

(5) .755 – UCLA (37-12-0; 13 yrs)

(6) .686 – Santa Clara (40-18-1; 19 yrs)

(7) .686 – Penn State (29-13-1; 14 yrs)

(8) .625 – Texas A&M (22-13-1; 14 yrs)

(9) .625 – Florida (19-11-2; 12 yrs)

(10) .620 – Connecticut (43-26-2; 26 yrs)

(11) .620 – Nebraska (15-9-1; 10 yrs)

(12) .579 – Tennessee (10-7-2; 8 yrs)

(13) .568 – USC (10-7-2; 8 yrs)

(14) .563 – George Mason (13-10-1; 11 yrs)

(15) .561 – Duke (16-12-5; 15 yrs)

(16) .541 – Stanford (18-15-4; 18 yrs)

All-Time NCAA Tournament Victories

(1) 97 – North Carolina (27 yrs)

(2) 47 – Notre Dame (16 yrs)

(3) 43 – Portland (16 yrs)

(4) 43 – Connecticut (26 yrs)

(5) 40 – Santa Clara (19 yrs)

(6) 37 – UCLA (13 yrs)

(7) 29 – Penn State (14 yrs)

(8) 24 – Florida State (9 yrs)

(9) 22 – Texas A&M (14 yrs)

(10) 19 – Florida (12 yrs)

(11) 21 – Virginia (19 yrs)

(12) 18 – Stanford (18 yrs)

(13) 16 – Duke (15 yrs)

GETTING OVER THE HUMP – This week's quarterfinal games could provide historic moments for programs such as Texas A&M, Stanford and Duke, who have combined to qualify for the NCAAs 47 times but have made only two combined trips to the College Cups final weekend (Duke in 1992 and Stanford in '93).

Most NCAA Trips Without Reaching Quarterfinal Round (final-8)

14 – Wake Forest (every other team with 10-plus NCAA trips has made at least one final-8 game)

Most NCAA Trips With Only One Quarterfinal Appearance

12 – SMU

11 – BYU

10 – Dartmouth and USC

Most NCAA Trips Without Reaching College Cup Semifinals (final-4)

23 – William & Mary

14 – Texas A&M, Clemson and Wake Forest

12 – Boston College

11 – BYU and Harvard

10 – Dartmouth and Nebraska

Most NCAA Trips With Only One Semifinal Appearance (final-4)

21 – Virginia

18 – Stanford

15 – Duke

14 – Hartford

12 – SMU

10 – USC

Most NCAA Trips Without Reaching Title Game

23 – William & Mary

21 – Virginia

18 – Stanford

16 – California

14 – Texas A&M, Clemson, Hartford, Penn State and Wake Forest

Most NCAA Trips With Only One Title-Game Appearance

15 – Duke and UMass

14 – Central Florida and Wisconsin

12 – Florida

Most NCAA Trips Without Winning the Title

26 – Connecticut

23 – William & Mary

21 – Virginia

18 – Stanford

16 – California

15 – Duke and UMass

14 – Texas A&M, UCLA, Central Florida, Clemson, Hartford, Penn State, Wake Forest and Wisconsin

ROAD HAZARD – Texas A&M, which beat North Carolina in the 2006 season opener (2-1/OT, at home), has the chance to become only the fifth team ever to defeat UNC more than once, with the current teams on that short list including Notre Dame (4-9-2), Santa Clara (4-15-0), Connecticut (2-16-0) and Duke (2-39-1) ... during 27 seasons of official NCAA play (1982-2008), North Carolina owns a 267-8-6 home record (.959) playing at Fetzer Field. Texas A&M has the chance to become only the sixth team ever to defeat UNC at Fetzer (in an official NCAA game) ... Notre Dame has beaten UNC three times at Fetzer – in the 1995 NCAA semifinals (1-0), the 2007 NCAA round-of-16 (3-2) and early this season (1-0) – while Duke has edged the homestanding Tar Heels twice (3-2 in 1994, 2-1 in 2005) ... the only other teams to beat UNC at Fetzer: Penn State (3-2, in 1999), Santa Clara (1-0/OT, in the 2004 NCAA round-of-16) and South Carolina (1-0, in the 2007 opener) ... all eight of UNC's home losses have been by one goal.

UNC’s all-time record (651-30-20) includes only 11 opponents that have totaled at least two games vs. the Tar Heels that were not losses (wins or ties) ... Notre Dame is one of those teams and owns the best win pct. from that group (.333: 4-9-2), followed by Santa Clara’s .211 (4-15) ... all other teams (besides ND and SCU) are only 25-647-19 vs. UNC (.050), with ND and SCU accounting for roughly one-fourth of the all-time wins over UNC (8-of-30) ... here’s the list of teams with at least two wins/ties vs. UNC:

Pct. – Team (record vs. UNC)

.333 – Notre Dame (4-9-2)

.211 – Santa Clara (4-15-0)

.118 – George Mason (1-14-2)

.111 – Connecticut (2-16-0)

.111 – Stanford (0-7-2)

.083 – Florida State (1-21-2)

.083 – Central Florida (0-15-3)

.068 – William & Mary (1-20-1)

.060 – Duke (2-39-1)

.049 – N.C. State (1-38-2)

.024 – Virginia (0-39-2)

14 other teams have one win vs. UNC: South Carolina (1-1-0), Harvard (1-1-0), Cortland State (1-1-0), Missouri-St. Louis (1-2-0), Penn State (1-4-0), Miami (1-5-0), UCLA (1-6-0), Florida (1-7-0), UMass (1-7-0), Texas A&M (1-9-0), Wake Forest (1-22-0), Clemson (1-23-0)

Most wins plus ties (non-losses) vs. UNC

6 – Notre Dame (4-9-2)

4 – Santa Clara (4-14-0)

3 – Duke, Florida State, N.C. State, George Mason, UCF

2 – UConn, Stanford, William & Mary, Virginia

Teams with multiple wins vs. UNC

4 – Notre Dame and Santa Clara

2 – UConn and Duke

Texas A&M opened the 2006 season with a 3-2, double-OT win over North Carolina (UNC did not lose again that season, en route to winning the NCAA title) ... the other recent series meetings have included a 2-1 UNC home win early in the 2007 season, a 2006 NCAA quarterfinal (won 3-2 by UNC, at home) and a 1-0, overtime win for UNC in 2003 (played in Houston) ... four UNC wins in the series have come by a one-goal margin.

Five teams have knocked UNC out of the NCAAs prior to the title game ... of those teams, only one has gone on to win the NCAA title (ND in 1995):

Team that have defeated/advanced past North Carolina in the NCAAs (prior to the final game)

1995 – Notre Dame (semifinals) ... beat Portland in final

2002 – Santa Clara (semifinals) ... lost to Portland in final

2004 – Santa Clara (round-of-16) ... lost to Notre Dame in semifinals

2005 – Florida State (quarterfinals/PKs) ... lost to UCLA in semifinals

2007 – Notre Dame (round-of-16) ... lost to Florida State in semifinals

FAIR-WEATHER TEAM? – Friday night's forecast for Florida State's game at Notre Dame (snow showers, low in the mid-20s) would appear to give the Irish a decided advantage ... however, a closer look at the team's rosters reveals the following:

Florida State

8 players from Florida

but ...

6 players from the Midwest (three from Illinois, one each from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania)

3 players from the Northeast (two from New Jersey, one from Maryland)

3 foreign players (from Canada, Finland and Germany)

2 players from Colorado

Notre Dame

10 from the Midwest (five from Illinois, three from Indiana, two from Missouri and Ohio, one from Kansas and Kentucky)

3 from the Northeast (one each from Connecticut, New Jersey and New York)

but ...

7 players from Texas

3 players from California

FSU Starters (round-of-16 game)

2 from Florida

3 from the Northeast (MD, NJ, NY)

2 from the Midwest (IL, OH)

2 from Colorado

2 foreign players (Finland, Germany)

ND Starters (round-of-16 game)

5 from the Midwest (IL 2, OH 2, IN)

4 from Texas

2 from California

FSU head coach Mark Krikorian also should have plenty of experience preparing a team to play in the cold ... a native of Massachusetts, Krikorian played college soccer in New Hamshire (at St. Anselm), then coached high school and college soccer in the northeast (at Maine, Franklin Pierce and Hartford) ... his Franklin Pierce teams went 93-19-3 and had two undefeated, Division II national-title seasons while he guided Hartford to a 75-30-3 record and four straight Division I NCAA tournaments (including one quarterfinal appearance and two other round-of-16 trips).

CRADLE OF COACHES – The eight quarterfinal teams feature some of the most accomplished coaches in the history of Division I women's soccer (all lists have been updated, through the round-of-16 games):

Coaches who have taken the most teams to the College Cup semifinals

23 – Anson Dorrance (North Carolina)

10 – Jerry Smith (Santa Clara)

7 – Clive Charles (Portland)

7 – Len Tsantiris (Connecticut)

5 – Kalekani Banda (UMass)

5 – Jillian Ellis (UCLA)

5 – Randy Waldrum (Notre Dame)

Coaches who have taken the most teams to the NCAA title game

21 – Anson Dorrance (North Carolina)

4 – Len Tsantiris (Connecicut)

3 – Jillian Ellis (UCLA)

3 – Randy Waldrum (Notre Dame)

Active Division I Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders – Career Win Percentage

(minimum five years as a Division I head coach; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution.)

(1) .940 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) .860 – Garrett Smith (Portland, 2003-08 … 116-16-7, 6 yrs)

(3) .793 – Jillian Ellis (Illinois 1997-98, UCLA 1999-2008 … 213-51-12, 12 yrs)

(4) .786 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(5) .774 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(6) .772 – Mark Krikorian (Franklin Pierce/D-2 1990-95, Hartford 1996-2000, Florida St. '05-'08 … 241-65-17, 19 yrs)

Active Division I Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders – Career Wins

(minimum five years as a Division I head coach; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution.)

(1) 670 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) 463 – Len Tsantiris (Connecticut, 1981-2008 … 463-137-41, 28 yrs)

(3) 342 – Jerry Smith (Santa Clara, 1987-2008 … 342-102-34, 22 yrs)

(4) 330 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(5) 316 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(6) 315 – David Lombardo (Keene State/D-3 1981-87, James Madison 1990-2008 … 315-182-34, 26 yrs)

(7) 313 – Jim Rudy (UCF 1981-87, Massachusetts 1988-2008 … 313-160-28, 28 yrs)

(8) 309 – Chris Petrucelli (Notre Dame 1990-98, Texas 1999-2008 … 309-86-28, 19 yrs)

(9) 308 – John Daly (William & Mary, 1987-2008 ... 308-122-37, 22 yrs)

(10) 292 – Peter Albright (Johnson State/D-3 1981-95, Richmond 1996-2008 … 292-196-41, 28 yrs)

(11) 289 – G. Guerrieri (Hardin-Simmons/D-3 1988-89, Texas A&M 1993-2008 … 289-89-16, 18 yrs)

(12) 287 – Ben Popoola (Park College, Mo. '89-'95, Lambuth/NAIA '96, Appalachian St. 1997-2008 … 287-141-25, 20 yrs)

(13) 274 – Joe Pereira (Methodist/D-3 1984-94, Old Dominion 1995-2008 … 274-175-33, 25 yrs)

(14) 272 – Phil Pincince (Brown, 1977-2008 … 272-204-41, 32 yrs)

(15) 267 – Nancy Feldman (Lake Forest/D-3 '88-'89, Plymouth St./D-3 '90-'94, Boston U. '95-'08 … 267-106-35, 21 yrs)

(16) 262 – Gene Ventriglia (Army, 1986-2008. … 262-164-29, 23 yrs)

(17) 255 – Bill Hempen (Duke 1988-2000, Colorado 2001-08 … 255-156-39, 21 yrs)

(18) 241 – Mark Krikorian (Franklin Pierce/D-2 1990-95, Hartford 1996-2000, Florida St. '05-'07 … 241-65-17, 15 yrs)

All-Time Division I Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders – Career Win Percentage

(min. 10 years as a head coach at an NCAA Division I school; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution.)

(1) .940 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) .799 – Clive Charles (Portland, 1989-2002 … 226-52-13, 14 yrs)

(3) .793 – Jillian Ellis (Illinois 1997-98, UCLA 1999-2008 … 213-51-12, 12 yrs)

(4) .786 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(5) .774 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(6) .764 – Chris Petrucelli (Notre Dame 1990-98, Texas 1999-2007; 309-86-28, 19 yrs)

(11) .754 – G. Guerrieri (Hardin-Simmons/D-3 1988-89, Texas A&M 1993-2008 … 289-89-16, 18 yrs)

All-Time Division I Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders – Career Wins

(minimum 10 years as a head coach at an NCAA Division I school; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution)

(1) 670 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) 463 – Len Tsantiris (Connecticut, 1981-2008 … 463-137-41, 28 yrs)

(3) 342 – Jerry Smith (Santa Clara, 1987-2008 … 342-102-34, 22 yrs)

(4) 330 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(5) 316 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(6) 315 – David Lombardo (Keene State/D-3 1981-87, James Madison 1990-2008 … 315-182-34, 26 yrs)

(7) 313 – Jim Rudy (UCF 1981-87, Massachusetts 1988-2008 … 313-160-28, 28 yrs)

(8) 309 – Chris Petrucelli (Notre Dame 1990-98, Texas 1999-2008 … 309-86-28, 19 yrs)

(9) 308 – John Daly (William & Mary, 1987-2008 ... 308-122-37, 22 yrs)

(10) 292 – Peter Albright (Johnson State/D-3 1981-95, Richmond 1996-2008 … 292-196-41, 28 yrs)

(11) 289 – G. Guerrieri (Hardin-Simmons/D-3 1988-89, Texas A&M 1993-2008 … 289-89-16, 18 yrs)

All-Time NCAA Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders (All Divisions) – Career Win Percentage

(minimum 10 years as a head coach at an NCAA school; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution.)

(1) .940 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) .894 – Jeff Bailey (Franklin Pierce/D2, 1996-2008 … 250-23-15, 13 yrs)

(3) .877 – Joe Russo (College of N.J./D-3, 1990-2008 … 350-39-24, 19 yrs)

(4) .854 – Brian McManus (UC San Diego/D-2, 1997-2008 … 370-51-30, 22 yrs)

(5) .851 – Luis Reis (Wheaton, Mass./D-3, 1997-2008 … 234-37-10, 12 yrs)

(6) .809 – Joe Mingachos (Western Connecticut/D-3, 1997-2008 … 205-41-19, 12 yrs)

(7) .799 – Clive Charles (Portland, 1989-2002 … 226-52-13, 14 yrs)

(8) .798 – Mike Covone (Barry/D-2, 1984-94 … 140-32-9, 11 yrs)

(9) .794 – Bob Sheehan (Northern Kentucky/D-2, 1997-2008 … 200-47-13, 12 yrs)

(10) .793 – Jillian Ellis (Illinois 1997-98, UCLA 1999-2008 … 213-51-12, 12 yrs)

(11) .789 – Brian Speck (Union, N.Y./D-3, 1995-2008 … 203-47-20, 14 yrs)

(12) .787 – Bob Barnes (Ohio Wesleyan/D-3, 1997-2008 … 184-44-16, 12 yrs)

(13) .786 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(14) .777 – Pete Felske (Wheaton, Ill./D-3; 1988-2008 ... 325-86-20, 21 yrs)

(15) .777 – Chris Malone (Cortland State, 1982-94 … 195-44-34, 13 yrs)

(16) .774 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(17) .773 – Jim Tursi (Portland 1986-88, Willamette/D-3 1993-2007 … 272-70-28, 18 yrs)

(18) .772 – Mark Krikorian (Franklin Pierce/D-2 1990-95, Hartford 1996-2000, Florida St. '05-'08 … 241-65-17, 19 yrs)

italics indicate non-active coaches

(note – Felske's Wheaton squad has advanced to the Division III national semifinals)

All-Time NCAA Women's Soccer Coaching Leaders (All Divisions) – Career Wins

(minimum 10 years as a head coach at an NCAA school; includes all victories as coach at a four-year institution.)

(1) 670 – Anson Dorrance (UNC, 1979-2008 … 670-33-21, 30 yrs)

(2) 463 – Len Tsantiris (Connecticut, 1981-2008 … 463-137-41, 28 yrs)

(3) 397 – Terry Gurnett (Rochester/D-3, 1977-2008 … 397-125-60, 32 yrs)

(4) 389 – Aliceann Wilber (William Smith/D-3, 1980-2008 … 389-114-45, 29 yrs)

(5) 380 – Gabe Mehail (Wheaton, Mass./D-3 1979-82, Merrimack 1984-2008 … 380-160-37)

(6) 370 – Brian McManus (UC San Diego/D-2, 1997-2008 … 370-51-30, 22 yrs)

(7) 350 – Joe Russo (College of N.J./D-3, 1990-2008 … 350-39-24, 19 yrs)

(8) 342 – Jerry Smith (Santa Clara, 1987-2008 … 342-102-34, 22 yrs)

(9) 330 – Becky Burleigh (Berry/NAIA 1989-93, Florida 1995-2008 ... 330-87-27, 19 yrs)

(10) 325 – Pete Felske (Wheaton, Ill./D-3; 1988-2008 ... 325-86-20, 21 yrs)

(11) 320 – Sheila Miech (Wis.-Stevens Point/D-3, 1987-2008 … 320-103-28, 22 yrs)

(12) 316 – Randy Waldrum (Tulsa 1989-94, Baylor 1996-98, Notre Dame 1999-2008 ... 316-79-20, 19 yrs)

(note – Felske's Wheaton squad has advanced to the Division III national semifinals)

DEFENDING CHAMPS ELIMINATED – USC’s penalty-kick advancement in its second-round game at BYU kept the Trojans from the dubious distinction of matching the earliest exit from the NCAAs by a defending champion (the Trojans then lost at UCLA, in the round-of-16) ... in 1999, Florida suffered a 1-0 loss to Hartford in the second round (less than one year after winning the ’98 NCAA title). When looking at the first 25 teams that won the NCAA Division I women’s soccer title ('82-’06), 17 of them have returned to the championship game (12 repeated as champion, five were runner-up), two others made it back to the College Cup semifinals, two lost in the quarterfinals and three were knocked out in the round-of-16 ... Santa Clara is the most recent NCAA champion that returned to the College Cup’s final weekend (as a semifinalist/finalist) in the next season, doing so in 2002 (Portland lost in the ’03 round-of-16, UNC in the ’04 round-of-16, Notre Dame in the ’05 quarters, UP in the ’06 quarters, UNC in the ’07 rd-of-16 and USC in the ’08 round-of-16) ... the last team to repeat as NCAA champion was UNC in 2000 (the defending champ has been knocked out in the round-of-16 each of the past two seasonds).

NCAA Tournament Finishes By Defending Champion

12 repeated as champion (North Carolina in 1983, ’84, '87-’94, ’97 and 2000)

5 were runner-up (UNC in ’85 and ’95, Notre Dame in ’96, UNC in ’98, and Santa Clara in '02)

2 semifinalist losers (George Mason in ’86, Portland in ’01)

2 quarterfinalists (Notre Dame in ’05, Portland in '06)

4 round-of-16 finishers (Portland in ’03, UNC in ’04 and '07, USC in ‘08)

1 round-of-32 finisher (Florida in '99)

(17 defending champs have returned to title game, 19 to the College Cup final weekend, 21 to at least the quarterfinals and 25 of the 26 have made it to at least the round-of-16)

SEEDS OF DISCONTENT – Since 2001, there have been 26 seeded teams that were sent on the road for the first weekend of the NCAAs (the ’01 and ’02 NCAA fields only seeded eight teams, while 16 have been seeded since '03 ... of those 26 teams, four were knocked out in the first round and five more failed to advance past the second round – meaning that roughly one-third of the seeded teams sent on the road were eliminated before the round-of-16 (35%; 9-of-26) ... by comparison, since 2001 there have been 86 seeded teams that opened the NCAAs at home and only 23% of them (20; or one-in-four) have failed to advance to the round-of-16.

Of course, several seeded teams have overcome the challenge of opening on the road and gone on to post multiple wins, most notably four that went on to win the national title that season (Santa Clara in 2001, Portland in ’02 and ’05, and USC in ’07) ... six others ended up losing in the round-of-16, four saw their seasons end in the quarterfinals and one (UCLA, in ’05) suffered its final loss in the College Cup semifinals.

Florida Sate could become the sixth team (in the 64-team era, since '01) to reach the College Cup's final weekend after being a seeded team that opened on the road.

Here are the breakdowns of how seeded first-weekend road teams have fared in the NCAAs (since 2001):

4 national champions (Santa Clara ’01, Portland ’02 and ’05, USC ’07)

1 semifinalist (UCLA ’05)

4 quarterfinalists (Kansas ’03, Washington ’04, Portland ’06 and ’07)

7 round-of-16 (Pepperdine ’02 and ’05, California ’05, Texas ’06, Florida ’06, Illinois ’06, USC ‘08)

5 second round (Duke ’03 and ’05, Oklahoma St. ’06, Wake Forest ’07, Oklahoma State ’08)

4 first round (Colorado ’03, Arizona ’04, BYU ’05, Colorado ’08)

1 is TBA (Florida State, current quarterfinalist)

Seeded Teams Sent on the Road for First Weekend (1-16 seeds from ’03-’08; 1-8 seeds for ’01-’02)

(seeds were 1-8 in 2001-02 and 1-16 in '03-’04, while the '05-’08 NCAAs have featured four #1 seeds, four #2, four #3, four #4)

(Seed, Team ... site, first-weekend results ... finished)

2008 (2-of-4 advanced)

(2 seed/5-8) Florida State ... at Auburn, advanced ... current quarterfinalist

(4 seed/13-16) Colorado ... at Minnesota, lost to South Dakota State (1st round)

(4 seed/13-16) USC ... at BYU, advanced ... lost to UCLA (round-of-16)

(4 seed/13-16) Oklahoma St. ... at Rutgers, elim. By Rutgers (PKs; 2nd round)

2007 (2-of-3 advanced)

(2 seed/5-8) Portland ... at Denver, advanced ... lost to UCLA (quarterfinals)

(2 seed /5-8) USC ... at Missouri, advanced ... won national title

(4 seed/13-16) Wake Forest ... at Boston College, lost to Connecticut (2nd round)

2006 (4-of-5 advanced)

(1 seed/1-4) Texas ... at Connecticut, advanced ... lost to Portland (round-of-16)

(1 seed/1-4) Portland ... at Utah, advanced ... lost to UCLA (quarterfinals)

(3 seed/9-12) Florida ... at Marquette, advanced .. .lost at UCLA (round-of-16)

(3 seed/9-12) Illinois ... at St. Louis, advanced ... lost at Florida St. (round-of-16)

(4 seed/13-16) Oklahoma St. ... at Clemson, elim. by Clemson (PKs; 2nd round)

2005 (4-of-6 advanced)

(1 seed/1-4) Portland ... at Nebraska, advanced ... won national title

(2 seed/5-8) Florida State ... at Florida, advanced ... lost to UCLA (semifinals)

(3 seed/9-12) California ... at Texas, advanced ... lost at Florida St. (round-of-16)

(3 seed/9-12) Duke ... at Yale, lost to Yale (2nd round)

(4 seed/13-16) Pepperdine ... at Vanderbilt, advanced ... lost at North Carolina (rd-of-16)

(4 seed/13-16) BYU ... at Utah, elim. by Weber St. (PKs; 1st round)

2004 (1-of-2 advanced)

(13 seed) Arizona ... at Connecticut, lost to Colgate (1st round)

(15 seed) Washington ... at Auburn, advanced ... lost at Princeton (quarterfinals)

2003 (1-of-3 advanced)

(10 seed) Colorado ... at Utah, lost to BYU (1st round)

(12 seed) Duke ... at Texas A&M, lost to A&M (2nd round)

(13 seed) Kansas ... at Missouri, advanced ... lost at UCLA (quarterfinals)

2002 (2-of-2 advanced)

(3 seed) Pepperdine ... at Marquette, advanced ... lost to Michigan (round-of-16)

(8 seed) Portland ... at BYU, advanced ... won national title

2001 (advanced)

(2 seed) Santa Clara ... at Illinois, advanced ... won national title

Other Seeded Teams That Have Failed To Reach The NCAA Round of 16 (played at home first weekend)

2008

(3 seed/9-12) – Wake Forest ... second-round loss to James Madison, 0-1

(4 seed/13-16) – Missouri ... second-round elim. by Illinois, 1-1 (PKs)

2007

(2 seed/5-8) – Purdue ... second-round elim. by Indiana, 0-0 (PKs)

(2 seed/5-8) – Texas A&M ... second-round loss to Texas, 2-3

(3 seed/9-12) – Georgia ... second-round loss to Duke, 0-1

2006

(1 seed/1-4) – Santa Clara ... first-round loss to California, 0-1

(3 seed/9-12) – Wake Forest ... second-round loss to Virginia, 0-2

(3 seed/9-12) – Rutgers ... second-round elim.by Boston College, 0-0 (PKs)

2005

(3 seed/9-12) – Connecticut ... first-round loss to Boston Univ., 0-1

2004

(2 seed) – Penn State ... second-round loss to Maryland, 0-1

(3 seed) – Virginia ... second-round loss to Duke, 0-3

(8 seed) – Kansas ... second-round loss to Nebraska, 1-2 (OT)

(9 seed) – Texas A&M ... second-round loss to Illinois, 1-2

(10 seed) – Florida ... first-round loss to Central Florida, 2-3

2003

(2 seed) – Notre Dame ... second-round loss to Michigan, 0-1

(7 seed) – Virginia ... second-round eliminated by Villanova, 0-0 (PKs)

(15 seed) – Boston College ... first-round loss to Central Conn., 0-1

(16 seed) – Illinois ... first-round loss to William & Mary, 0-2

2002

(5 seed) – West Virginia ... second-round loss to Virginia, 0-1

2001

(7 seed) – Notre Dame ... second-round loss to Cincinnati, 2-3

Top-16 seeds that have failed to reach the NCAA round-of-16 (since 2001; 8 seeds until 2003, then 16)

1-4 seeds – 4 teams (Notre Dame in ’03, Penn State and Virginia in ’04, Santa Clara in ’06)

5-8 seeds – 6 teams (Notre Dame in ’01, West Virginia in ’02, Virginia in ’03, Kansas in ’04, Purdue and Texas A&M in ’07)

9-12 seeds – 9 teams (Colorado and Duke in ’03, Florida and Texas A&M in ’04, UConn and Duke in ’05, Rutgers and Wake Forest in ’06, Georgia in ’07, Wake Forest in ‘08)

13-16 seeds – 7 teams (Boston College and Illinois in ’03, Arizona in ’04, BYU in ’05, Oklahoma State in ’06, Wake Forest in ’07, Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma State in ‘08)

Top-8 seeds that have failed to reach the NCAA round-of-8/quarterfinals (36%, 23 of 64, since 2001)

1-4 seeds – 9 teams (Pepperdine in ’02, Notre Dame in ’03, Penn State and Virginia in ’04, Texas and Santa Clara in ’06, UNC, Stanford and Penn State in '07)

5-8 seeds –14 teams (Notre Dame, Stanford and UConn in ’01, West Virginia and UCLA in ’02, West Virginia, Virginia and Portland in ’03, UNC and Kansas in ’04, Purdue and Texas A&M in ’07, Florida and Virginia in ‘08)

(the above list includes Virginia three times and four teams twice: ND, UNC, WVU and Stanford)

Top-4 seeds that have failed to reach the College Cup semifinals (54%, 15 of 28, since 2001)

2001 – Florida

2002 – Connecticut, Pepperdine and Stanford

2003 – Florida and Notre Dame

2004 – North Carolina, Penn State and Virginia

2005 – North Carolina

2006 – Texas and Santa Clara

2007 – North Carolina, Penn State and Stanford

2008 – all four #1 still are alive

(the above list includes UNC three times and three teams twice: Florida, Stanford and PSU)

Annual chart for matching seed (top-16 reach round-of-16; top-8 reach quarters; top-4 reach semifinals)

Year – Round of 16 ... Quarterfinals (8) ... Semifinals (4)

2008 – 12 … 6 (all four #1 still alive)

2007 – 12 ... 3 ... 1 (UCLA)

2006 – 12 ... 6 ... 2 (Notre Dame, UNC)

2005 – 13 ... 8 ... 3 (Portland, Penn State, UCLA)

2004 – 10 ... 4 ...1 (Notre Dame)

2003 – 10 ... 4 ... 2 (UNC, UCLA)

2002 – 7 (of 8) ... 5 ... 1 (UNC)

2001 – 7 (of 8) ... 5 ... 3 (UNC, Santa Clara, Portland)

Avg. – 11.5 in round-of-16 ('03-'08) ... 5.1 in quarterfinals (‘01–’08) ... 1.9 in semifinals ('01–’07)

Seeds of College Cup Final Weekend Participants (semifinalists; since 2001)

Seeds 1-4: 13 (still alive in 2008: North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford and UCLA)

Seeds 5-8: 8 (still alive in 2008: Florida State and Portland)

Seeds 9-12: 2 (still alive in 2008: Duke and Texas A&M)

Seeds 13-16: 3

Others: 2*

* Notes: Penn State reached the semifinals in 2002 but was not seeded (there were only eight seeds in ’02) … in 2003, UConn made it all the way to the NCAA title game but did not face a top-16 seed until beating 11th seed Florida State in the semifinals (three seeded teams – #15 Boston College, #2 Notre Dame and #7 Virginia, plus Villanova, which beat UVa – all were upset in the round before they would have faced UConn).

TARPLEY’S NCAA TOURNAMENT ASSIST RECORD IN JEOPARDY – Notre Dame's Kerri Hanks has climbed within one assist of tying former North Carolina standout and current U.S. national teamer Lindsay Tarpley for the most career assists in NCAA Tournament play ... Hanks has totaled 18 career assists in the NCAAs (plus 10 goals) while Tarpley had 19 assists in NCAA games, spanning the 2002-05 seasons ... most of Tarpley’s NCAA Tournament assists came in her sophomore season (2003), when she racked up 11 assists in six games to establish another record that will be tough to beat.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS HONORED– The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) recently announced its annual Academic All-Americans for Division I women's soccer, with seven of those honorees being members of teams in the quarterfinals … the elite 11-player first team Academic All-America squad includes three players from teams still alive in the NCAAs: North Carolina senior midfielder Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.) and junior defender Kristi Eveland (Southlake, Texas), plus Notre Dame senior forward Brittany Bock (Naperville, Ill.) … Averbuch, who carries a 3.71 cumulative GPA as a psychology major, was named the Academic All-American of the Year … Eveland (business administration major) owns a 3.82 cumulative GPA while Bock is a marketing major with a 3.37 cumulative GPA.

The second team Academic All-Americans from teams in the quarterfinals include UNC senior goalkeeper Anna Rodenbough (3.85, computer science/info. Tech.; Greensboro, N.C.), ND senior left back Elise Weber (3.73, political science; Elk Grove, Ill.) and Stanford senior defender Allison Falk (3.75, American Studies; Danville, Calif.) ... Stanford sophomore goalkeeper Kira Maker was named a third team Academic All-American (3.92; undeclared major; Potomac. Md.).

The Academic All-America honorees included 16 other players from teams that qualified for the NCAAs … Charlotte senior forward Nikki Labuda (3.95; mathemamatical finance; Climax, N.Y.) was a first-teamer while fellow 49er Hailey Beam (jr., M; Cornelius, N.C.) was a second-team selection (3.87, finance) … Army had two mechanical engineering majors named to the exclusive first team: junior defender Elizabeth Betterbed (4.23; Fox Island, Wash.) and senior midfielder Sarah Goss (4.06; Lancaster, Pa.) … the other two first-teamers whose teams played in the NCAAs were South Carolina junior defender Blake Mattern (4.00, business administration/international business; Simpsonville, S.C.) and Fairfield senior midfielder Ahna Johnson (3.95, physics/information systems; Hampden, Conn.).

Nationally-seeded Oklahoma State featured three senior Academic All-Americans: second-team midfielder Yolando Odenyo (3.73, family relations/child development; Uppsala, Sweden), third-team defender Jessica Jarrell (3.78, nutritional science; Highland Village, Texas) and third-team midfielder Jamie Markaverich (3.95, zoology/pre-medicine; The Woodlands, Texas) … the second-team honorees included four other players from NCAA Tournament teams: Texas junior defender Emily Anderson (4.00, accounting; Austin, Texas), Auburn senior defender Jenn Johnson (4.00, psychology; Logansville, Ga.), Denver senior forward Taryn Hemmings (3.67, marketing; Greeley, Colo.) and South Dakota State senior forward Erin Kasmarik (3.91, psychology/athletic training; Coon Rapids, Minn.) … finally, three more seniors were third-team picks and played for 2008 NCAA Tournament teams: William & Mary defender Abigail Lauer (3.89, biology; Oak Hill, Va.), Penn State midfielder Zoe Bouchelle (3.88, economics; Cockeysville, Md.) and Evansville forward Kayla Lambert (3.56, management; Las Vegas).

The 34 total individuals named to the Academic All-America team included 11 others, from teams that failed to advance to the NCAAs … Coastal Carolina grad-student forward Ashleigh Gunning (3.89, communications; Baton Rouge, La.) was a second-team selection while her teammate, senior midfielder Emily McColl (3.99, biology; Wellington, New Zealand) was named to the third team … the remaining first-teamers (all seniors) were Navy goalkeeper Lizzie Barnes (3.85, computer science/info. tech.; New Orleans), Cal State Fullerton defender Jenae Gibbons (3.92, marketing; San Diego) and Loyola (Md.) forward Theresa Ferraina (4.00, business administration/finance; Long Branch, N.J.) … the two rounding out the second-team honorees were Saint Louis senior defender Lauren Olson (3.95, comm; Plano, Texas) and Dayton senior midfielder Amanda Gallow (3.95, pre-physical therapy; West Chester, Ohio) and … finally, the other four members of the third team were: Western Kentucky junior defender Rachel Friedman (4.00, physical education/exercise science; Swansea, Ill.), Brown senior forward Lindsay Cunningham (3.83, commerce/organization and entrepreneurship; Cumberland, R.I.), Loyola-Chicago junior forward Cynthia Morote-Ariza (3.45, psychology; Chicago) and Rice junior forward Erin Scott (4.00, psychology; Richardson, Texas).

Seven of the honorees previously had been named Academic All-Americans for the 2007 season … Averbuch, Rodenbough, Goss, Johnson and Gunning all were second team Academic All-Americans in 2007, while Bock and Ginnens were third-teamers in '07.

UNC and Oklahoma State led the way in the 2008 honors, each with three players among the 34 Academic All-Americans, while five other teams (Notre Dame, Stanford, Army, Charlotte and Coastal Carolina) had two each … seven conferences had players honored from multiple schools within their leagues: Atlantic-10 (Charlotte, Dayton), Big 12 (Oklahoma State, Texas), Metro (Fairfield, Loyola-Md.), Missouri Valley (Evansville, Saint Louis), Patriot (Army, Navy), Southeastern (Auburn, South Carolina) and Sunbelt (Denver, Western Kentucky).

NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAM STREAKS – Two of the longest NCAA Tournament appearance streaks in the history of Division I women’s soccer ended this season, as Connecticut failed to make the field for the first time ever (ending a 26-year streak that dated back to 1982) while Santa Clara missed the tournament for the first time in two decades (1989-2007) … North Carolina, which has qualified for all 27 NCAAs, is the only team ever to have a longer NCAA appearance streak that UConn or SCU … Notre Dame now owns the second-longest active streak, with 16 straight trips to the NCAAs (1993-2008) … Clemson saw its 14-year NCAA streak end in 2008 while Nebraska is absent for a third straight year (after 10 consecutive NCAA trips).

Active Streaks of Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances

27 – North Carolina (1982-2008)

16 – Notre Dame (1993-2008)

15 – Virginia (1994-2008)

14 – Texas A&M (1995-2008)

14 – Penn State (1995-2008)

13 – Wake Forest (1996-2008)

12 – UCLA (1997-2008)

11 – Stanford (1998-2008)

9 – Florida State (2000-08)

9 – Portland (2000-08)

9 – West Virginia (2000-08)

8 – Tennessee (2001-08)

8 – Texas (2001-08)

6 – Boston College (2003-08)

6 – Colorado (2003-08)

6 – Duke (2003-08)

6 – Florida (2003-08)

6 – Illinois (2003-08)

Noteworthy NCAA appearance streaks that ended in 2008 …

26 – Connecticut (1982-2007)

19 – Santa Clara (1989-2007)

14 – Clemson (1994-2007)

Other NCAA Tournament appearance streaks (6-plus)…

13 – William & Mary (1992-2004)

10 – Nebraska (1996-2005)

8 – Colorado College (1984-91)

8 – Umass (1982-89)

8 – Michigan (1997-2004)

8 – N.C. State (1985-92)

7 – BYU (1997-2003)

7 – UMass (1991-97)

7 – William & Mary (1984-90)

6 – Duke (1992-97)

6 – Harvard (1996-2001)

6 – Princeton (1999-2004)

6 – SMU (2001-06)

(note: there have been 13 double-digit NCAA appearance streaks)

All-Time NCAA Tournament Appearances (teams in italics were not in the 2008 NCAA field)

27 – North Carolina (1982-2008)

26 – Connecticut (1982-2007)

23 – William & Mary (1984-90, 1992-2004, ’06-‘08)

21 – Virginia (1987-92, 1994-2008)

19 – Santa Clara (1989-2007)

18 – Stanford (1990-96, 1998-2008)

16 – Notre Dame (1993-2008), Portland (1992-98, 2000-08) and California (1983-84, ’86-‘88, ’93, 1998-2002, ’04-‘08)

15 – Duke (1992-97, 1999-2001, ‘03-‘08) and UMass (1982-89 ,’91-’97)

14 – Clemson (1994-2007), Penn St. (1995-2008), Texas A&M (1995-2008) and Wisconsin (1985-88, ’91, ’93-’96, ’98, 2000, ’02, ’04, ’05)

13 – Central Florida (1982-84, ‘87-‘88, ‘91, ‘98-‘99, 2001-04, ‘07-‘08), Hartford (1989-92, ’94-’95, 1997-2002, ’06), UCLA (1995, 1997-2008) and Wake Forest (1996-2008)

12 – Boston College (1982-85, ‘99, 2001, ‘03-‘08), Florida (1996-2001, ‘03-‘07) and SMU (1990, ’92, ’93, ’95, ’97, 2001-06)

11 – BYU (1997-2003, ‘05-‘08), George Mason (1982-89, ’93, ’94, ’96, ’97), Harvard (1982-84, ‘94-‘96, 2001-04, ‘08) and N.C. State (1985-92 , ’94-’96)

10 – Dartmouth (1993-94, ’96, 1998-2003, ’05), Nebraska (1996-2005) and USC (1998-2003, ‘05-‘08)

Active streaks of reaching NCAA round-of-32 (includes some seasons with field of fewer than 32 teams)

27 – North Carolina (1982-2008)

16 – Notre Dame (1993-2008)

15 – Virginia (1994-2008)

14 – Texas A&M (1995-2008)

12 – UCLA (1997-2008)

9 – Portland (2000-08)

6 – Duke (2003-08)

5 – Illinois (2004-08)

4 – Florida State and USC (2005-08)

Active streaks of reaching the NCAA round-of-16

27 – North Carolina (1982- )

10 – UCLA (1999- )

9 – Portland (2000- )

5 – Notre Dame (2004- )

4 – Florida State, Stanford and Florida (2005- )