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All-Time Letter Winners

2007 UNC WOMEN’S SOCCER • PAGE 67

AAcquavella, Kristin 1989-91, 1993Allan, Senga 1982-85Altherr, Jenny 1987 (M)Arab, Alex 1981 (M)Averbuch, Yael 2005-06Azzu, Renee 1990

BBall, Elizabeth 1999, 2001-02Ball, Susie 2000-01Ballinger, Anne 1979-80Barnes, Brandy 1987Bates, Tracey 1985-87,1989Baucom, Eva 2006Beatty, Diane 1981-84Bernardi, Bettina 1985-86Bialas, Erin 1995Billings, Chrissy 1980-81Black, Corinne 2002-05Blazo, Stacey 1988-91Bliss, Katherine 1979Blomgren, Leigh 2001-03Boneparth, Caroline 2006Boobas, Jo 1983-86Boone, Laura 1987-90Borgman, Danielle 1998-2001Boyle, Missy 1992, 1994Brallier, Robyn 1995-96Branam, Jenni 1999-2002Brooks, Alison 1992-94Brooks, Katie 2004-06Burns, Amy 1992-93Bush, Susan 1999-2002Byers, Jane 1993-94

CCaldwell, Shanna, 1998Carbery, Rosemary 1979-80Carter, Julie 1988-91Caruso, Ryan, 2004-05 (M)Castelloe, Keath 1984-87Catchings, Toni 1985Chalupny, Lori 2002-05Clary, Nancy 1980-81Cobb, Suzy 1981-84Cohen, Kari 1995 (M)Coley, Paige 1990-93Confer, Robin 1994-97Conlon, Tom 1983 (M)Costa, Johanna 1998-2001Crow, Dawn 1991-94Crowley, Liz 1980-81Current, Molly 1979-81

DDacey, Sarah 1993-96Davenport, Shannon 1991-92Dempsey, Erika 1997-99Denney, Mikki 1993DePlatchett, Kristin 1998-2001Donahue, Tracy 1991-92Dougherty, Meagan 1990-93Duffy, Lisa 1984-87Dunlap, Joan 1983-84

EEames, Jenn 1991-94Egan, Danielle 1991-94Eller. Karli 2003-05Ellis, Julie 1984Ellis, Susan 1980-81, 83-84Engen, Whitney 2006Enos, Stacey 1982-85Esposito, Kelly 2005-06Eubanks, Mary 1989Eveland, Kristi 2006Everton, Erin 1990Everton, Holly 1983

FFair, Lorrie 1996-99Falk, Aubrey 1994-97Felts, Anne 2001-04Fettig, Nel 1994-97Finger, Shelley 1991-94Fletcher, Kendall 2002-05Florance, Meredith 1997-2000Fox, Carolyn 1983Frederick, Betsy 2006Friedman, Nancy 1991-92

GGale, Judy 1981Garrison, Kathy 1979Gaston, Leslie 1999-2002Gayle, Robyn 2004-06Gebauer, Wendy 1985-88Gegg, Gretchen 1986Gervais, Sophie 2001-04Gilbert, Jaime 2004-06Goldberg, Ellen 1979-80Goulson, Amy 1983-84Green, Susie 1991-94Greenberg, Wendy 1981Gregg, Laurie 1981-82Griffin, Tyler 2002Guarnotta, Julie 1986-89Guess, Elizabeth 2003-06

HHackett, Nancy 1998-2000Haines, Kelly 1979Hamm, Mia 1989-90,1992-93Hamilton, Linda 1990Harder, Lynn 1987 (M)Hardman, Brynn 2002-05Harrelson, Lynn 1982Harris, Ariel 2004-06Harris, Ashlyn 2006Hawkins, Ali 2006Hayes, Melissa 2006Heath, Tobin 2006Hegstad, Birthe 1985-88Heinrichs, April 1983-86Henry, Lori 1986-88Higgins, Shannon 1986-89Howard, Donnie 1994-97(M)Huber, Beth 1981-84Hurst, Ginger 1980Huston, Chris 1988-89Hutton, Leslie 1994-95Hyatt, Ava 1986-89

JJacobs, Cassie 1983Jakowich, Jill 1990Jennings, Melissa 1996-97Johnson, Betsy 1982-85Johnson, Marianne 1981-82Johnson, Rye 1994-95Jones, Kasey 1985-86Jordan, Eleanor 1979-81Judd, Kerry 1980

KKalinoski, Pam 1987-89,1991Kamholz, Kalli 1999-2000Karvelsson, Rakel 1995-98Keller, Debbie 1993-96Kelly, Angela 1991-94Kelly, Christine 2005 (M)Kelly, Kathy 1981-84Kinney, Jamie 1999-2000Kirk, Tamara 2004-05 (M)Klas, Ann 1980-81Kluegel, Jena 1998-2001Kovanen, Dori 1981-82,1984-85Kubis, Kristen 2005 (M)

LLancaster, Elizabeth 2003-06Lawler, Helen 1996-99Lehmann, Courtney 1988-90Lewis, Celia 1979Lilly, Kristine 1989-92Lincoln, Amy 1995-96Lippard, Allison 1983Little, Elizabeth 1984 (M)Lockwood, Booie 1987Ludington, Sarah 1988-90Luft, Tina 1984

MMachin, Amy 1981-84Markle, Kevin 1989-91 (M)Marr, Sarah 1980Marslender, Elizabeth1995-96Marslender, Julia 1997-2000Martens, Beth 1987Martin, Scott 1985 (M)Mathis, Allyson 1984-87(M)Maxwell, Jessica 2003-04,2006McAuley, Joy 1980-81 (M)McCartney, Jill 1984-85McDavid, Sherri 1984-86McDermott, Marcia 1983-86McDonald, Raven 1997-2000McDowell, Mary 2001-04McDowell, Rebekah 1996-99McLaughlin, Caroline 1979McNeill, Annie 1985-86Miller, Katharine 1980 (M)Mills, Meg 1980-81Mitchell, Charlotte 1996-99Monroe, Kasey 1992-93Moore, Ashley 2006

Moraca, Mandy 2005-06Morrell, Anne 2001-04Morrison, Mandy 1997-2000Mount, Chaille 1990 (M)Mullinix, Siri 1995-98Munden, Paula 1991Murphy, Leea 2002-05Murphy, Tina 1997-2000

NNelson, Stacey 1984-85Noel, Margie 1988 (M)Nogueira, Casey 2006Noonan, Tracy 1992-95

OO’Dell, Kathleen 1983-86O’Reilly, Heather 2003-06Overgaard, Gretchen1996-97Owen, Lisa 1988-89Ozier, Ellen 1990Ozier, Mary Ann 1989

PParlow, Cindy 1995-98Parsons, Aja 1984Pastiglione, Meghan 1997Patrick, Kim 1999-2000Pediaditakis, Nicole 1980Peoples, Donnie 1987,1989 (M)Perkins, Jennifer 2003-06Phillips, Liz 1980-81Pickering, Emily 1981-84Poore, Louellen 1988-91Proost, Merridee 1987-90Prosser, Anne 1979

RRamsey, Alyssa 2000-03Randolph, Sara 2001-04Rayfield, Janet 1979-82Record, Elizabeth 1990Record, Emily 1990Reddick, Catherine 2000-03Remy, Anne 1998-2001Rice, Emily 1988-90Riggs, Ashley 1992-95Rigley, Donna 1986-88Roberts, Amy 1993-96Roberts, Nicole 1996Roberts, Tiffany 1995-98Rodenbough, Anna 2005-06Royal, Pam 1981-82Rubio, Vanessa 1992,1994-96Rupp, Daniel 1996 (M)

SSamsot, Katie 1986-87Sanchez, Keri 1991-94Sander, Tom 1992-93 (M)Santana, Roz 1991-94Schwoy, Laurie 1996-98,2000Scott, Billy 2004-05 (M)Scott, Synthia 1980-82Scruggs, Emily 1979Serwetnyk, Carrie 1984-87Sharpe, Leonora 1979-80Sheppard, Beth 1995-96,

1998-99Sherow, Anne 1985-88Simmons, Katie 2000-01Slocum, Nancy 1983-85Smith, J. Douglas 1983-86(M)Smith, Jane 2000-02Smith, Julie 2000Smith, Mary 1984Smith, Sterling 2006Soares, Sasha 1989-92Springer, Carolyn 1990-93Steadman, Amy 2003-04Steelman, Amy 1995-96Stoecker, Lindsay 1997-2000Stollmeyer, Suzie 1982Stumpf, Andrea 1980

TTarpley, Lindsay 2002-05Taylor, Lou 1979-80Thomas, Caeri 1990Toll, Vanessa 2005Tomecka, Maggie 2000-03Tooly, Lee 1979Tower, Rita 1989-90, 1992-93Trojak, Sonja 1992-95

UUritus, Meg 1994-95, 1997

VVenturini, Tisha 1991-94Vest, Jane 1990-91

WWalker, Jordan 2000-03Walker, Lori 1989-91Wallace, Diane 1980Washington, Nikki 2006Watley, Carmen 2000-03Werden, Carla 1986-89West, Jill 1991-92 (M)White, Kacey 2002-05Whittier, Amy 1997, 1999,2001Wiegman, Sarina 1989Wilson, Staci 1994-97Winget, Aly 2002-05Winslow, Laura 2001,2003-04Wiren, Tracy 1979-80Wiswesser, Bill 2003-05(M)

YYates, Julie 2004-06Young, Croft 1991-94 (M)Young, Hilary 2000Young, Mitch 1987-88 (M)

ZZaccagnini, Jennifer 1990-93Zarzar, Katie 2003-05Zeh, Stephanie 1981-82Zeman, Andrea 1985-88

(M)=Manager

Carolina & the U.S. National Team


Since the founding of the U.S. Women’sNational Team in 1985, Carolina players havealways played an integral role in the team’ssuccess down through the years. A total of 46University of North Carolina players haveearned caps playing on the United StatesNational Team since its creation in 1985through games of May 12, 2007.Tar Heels who are current members of the

U.S. full national team pool include YaelAverbuch, Jr., MF; Jenni Branam, ‘02, GK;Lori Chalupny, ‘05, MF; Kendall Fletcher, ‘05,D; Ashlyn Harris, So., GK; Tobin Heath, So.,MF; Kristine Lilly, ‘92, F; Casey Nogueira,So., F; Heather O’Reilly, ‘06, F; CatherineReddick (Whitehill), ‘03, D; Lindsay Tarpley,‘05, F; Kacey White, ‘05, MF.Chalupny, Lilly, O’Reilly, Whitehall and

Tarpley are all on the U.S. Team playing in the2007 World Cup in China in September.The U.S. National Team was coached by

UNC alumna April Heinrichs, ‘86, from 2000-04. Heinrichs retired as the team’s coach afterleading the Americans to the 2004 Olympicgold medal in Athens, Greece, in its mostrecent major competition.One of the top highlights of all the National

Team’s events was the play of the 1999 U.S.World Cup Team which recaptured the worldchampionship with a 5-4 shootout victory overChina in the Rose Bowl on July 10, 1999.Rarely has any athletic team captured theimagination of the American public as did thatteam. Forty percent of the U.S. roster was theproduct of Carolina led by starting forwardsMia Hamm and Cindy Parlow, starting midfield-er Kristine Lilly and starting defender CarlaOverbeck, team captain. Reserve roles wereplayed by midfielders Tisha Venturini andTiffany Roberts, defender Lorrie Fair and goal-keeper Tracy Ducar.Parlow tallied the game-winner as the U.S.

ousted Brazil 2-0 in the semifinals. After bat-tling China to a 0-0 tie through 120 minutes ofplay in the final, the U.S. triumphed 5-4 onpenalty kicks with Tar Heels Overbeck, Lillyand Hamm providing three of the five U.S.goals in the penalty shootout.The most recent National Team triumph

came during the 2004 Olympics in Athens,Greece. That squad was coached byHeinrichs and six Tar Heels played on thesquad, including Hamm, who was competing inher final major international event before retir-ing. Lilly and Parlow continued as veteranmainstays and they were joined by threeyounger generation Tar Heels – Cat Whitehall,Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley. O’Reillyscored the game-winning goal in overtime asthe U.S. beat Germany 2-1 in the semifinalsand then Tarpley scored the opening goal ofthe match as the Americans beat Brazil 2-1 inovertime for the gold medal. Tar Heel playersaccounted for seven of the 12 goals scored bythe U.S. in the 2004 Olympics.Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance was

one of the chief architects of the nationalteam’s amazing success. He began coachingthe team in 1986 and he served in that role foreight years before retiring in 1994 to concen-trate on his work as the Tar Heels’ head coach.During Dorrance’s coaching tenure, he led theU.S. National Team to a record of 65-22-2.In 1991, Dorrance took the U.S. Team to

China to compete in the first-ever Women’sWorld Cup. Nine of the 18 players on theteam were Carolina graduates or active UNCplayers, includingteam captainApril Heinrichs, a1986 alumna ofCarolina. TheAmericans wonthat initial WorldCup, beatingNorway 2-1 in thechampionshipmatch.Although the

U.S. would bedethroned byeventual champi-on Norway fouryears later in the1995 Women’sWorld Cup semi-finals and have tosettle for thebronze medal,the Americanscame back toclaim the 1996Olympic goldmedal inwomen’s soccer.The U.S. defeat-ed Norway insudden deathovertime in thesemifinals andthen downedChina in the goldmedal match 2-1before a capacitycrowd at theUniversity ofGeorgia’sSanford Stadium.That U.S.Olympic teamfeatured sevenactive or formerCarolina players.More recently

the U.S. NationalTeam took homethe silver medalat the 2000Olympic Gamesin Sydney,Australia with sixmore Tar Heelson that team.The NationalTeam won thebronze medal atthe 2003 WorldCup with sixCarolina playerson that squad.Carolina play-

ers dominate theall-time statisticalcharts in appear-ances, goalsscored, assistsand points.

Carolina Players on the U.S. Women’s National Team;(Through May 12, 2007)

Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Caps . . . . .Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . EraYael Averbuch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007Tracey Bates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 . . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . . . . . . 1987-91Danielle Borgman . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . . . 1997-2000Jenni Branam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 2000-06Susan Bush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 . . . . . . . . .3. . . . . . . . . 1998-2000Lori Chalupny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . . . . 2001-07Suzy Cobb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986Robin Confer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . 1996-98Tracy Ducar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1996-99Joan Dunlap-Seivold . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986Danielle Egan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993Stacey Enos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1985-86Lorrie Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 . . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . 1996-2005Meredith Florance . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . . . 1999-2001Wendy Gebauer . . . . . . . . . . . .26 . . . . . . . .10 . . . . . . . . . . 1987-91Gretchen Gegg . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1986-90Lauren Gregg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986Linda Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . 1987-95Mia Hamm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275 . . . . . . .158 . . . . . . . 1987-2004April Heinrichs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 . . . . . . . .37 . . . . . . . . . . 1986-91Lori Henry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . . . . 1985-91Shannon Higgins . . . . . . . . . . . .51 . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . . . . 1987-91Debbie Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 . . . . . . . .18 . . . . . . . . . . 1995-98Jena Kluegel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . . . . 2000-03Kristine Lilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .325 . . . . . . .122 . . . . . . . 1987-2007Marcia McDermott . . . . . . . . . . .7 . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . . . . 1986-88Siri Mullinix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 . . . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . . . 1999-2004Casey Nogueira . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2007Heather O’Reilly . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . .10 . . . . . . . . . . 2002-07Carla Overbeck . . . . . . . . . . . . .168 . . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . 1988-2000Cindy Parlow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158 . . . . . . . .75. . . . . . . . 1996-2004Emily Pickering . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . .2. . . . . . . . . 1985-1992Lou Ellen Poore . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992Alyssa Ramsey . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 2000-01Sara Randolph . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2001Tiffany Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 . . . . . . . .7. . . . . . . . . 1994-2004Keri Sanchez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . .0. . . . . . . . . 1991-2001Laurie Schwoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1997-99Zola Springer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1992-93Amy Steadman . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2001Lindsay Tarpley . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . 2003-07Rita Tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1993-94Tisha Venturini . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 . . . . . . . .44. . . . . . . . 1992-2000Kacey White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2006Cat Whitehill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 . . . . . . . .11. . . . . . . . . . . 2000-07Staci Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 . . . . . . . . .0 . . . . . . . . . . . 1995-96

U.S. National Team All-Time Goal Scorers(Players With 25 or More Goals)

Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pos. . . . . . . . . . . Goals1. Mia Hamm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1582. Kristine Lilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1223. Michelle Akers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1054. Tiffeny Milbrett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005. Cindy Parlow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756. Abby Wambach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717. Shannon MacMillan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608. Carin Gabarra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539. Julie Foudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4510. Tisha Venturini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4411. April Heinrichs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3712. Brandi Chastain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3013. Joy Fawcett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

U.S. National Team All-Time Points Leaders(Players With 80 or more points)

Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Goals . . . . . . .Assists . . . . . . . . Points1. Mia Hamm . . . . . . . . . . . .158 . . . . . . . . . .144 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4602. Kristine Lilly . . . . . . . . . . .122 . . . . . . . . . . .95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3393. Tiffeny Milbrett . . . . . . . . . .100 . . . . . . . . . . .61. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2614. Michelle Akers . . . . . . . . .105 . . . . . . . . . . .37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2475. Cindy Parlow . . . . . . . . . .75 . . . . . . . . . . .31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1816. Shannon MacMillan . . . . .60 . . . . . . . . . . .53. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Abby Wambach . . . . . . . .71 . . . . . . . . . . .31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

8. Carin Gabarra . . . . . . . . . .53 . . . . . . . . . . .49. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1559. Julie Foudy . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 . . . . . . . . . . .49. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14910. Tisha Venturini . . . . . . .44 . . . . . . . . . . .22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11011. Brandi Chastain . . . . . . .30 . . . . . . . . . . .27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8712. April Heinrichs . . . . . . .37 . . . . . . . . . . .10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Figures above are accurate through May 12, 2007.

Tar Heels in bold.

U.S. Women’s National TeamAll-Time Caps Leaders

Player .............................Caps1. Kristine Lilly, M............3252. Mia Hamm, F ................2753. Julie Foudy, M ...............2724. Joy Fawcett, D ..............2395. Tiffeny Milbrett, F...........2046. Brandi Chastain, D ........1927. Shannon MacMillan, M..1768. Carla Overbeck, D .......1689. Christine Rampone, F ...16210. Briana Scurry, G..........16011. Cindy Parlow, F..........15812. Kate Markgraft, F ........15713. Michelle Akers, M ........15314. Tisha Venturini, M .....13215. Lorrie Fair, D ..............12016. Carin Gabarra, G.........11717. Aly Wagner, M .............11218. Tiffany Roberts, M .....11019. Cat Whitehill, F ..........10820. Abby Wambach, F .........9021. Linda Hamilton, F ........72

Heather Mitts, D.............7223. Lindsey Tarpley, F .......6724. Sara Whalen, D.............6525. Shannon Boxx, M..........64

Thori Bryan, D................64Angela Hucles, M...........64

28. Heather O’Reilly, F ......5929. Amanda Cromwell, M ....5530. Shannon Higgins, M....5131. Debbie Belkin, D ...........5032. April Heinrichs, F.........4733. Debbie Keller, F ...........4634. Siri Mullinix, G .............4535. Hope Solo, G.................4436. Danielle Slaton, D .........4337. Lori Henry, D................42

Megan McCarthy, D .......42Tar Heels in bold. Figuresabove are accurate throughMay 12, 2007.Tar Heels on U.S. World Cup

Rosters1991--Tracey Bates, AnsonDorrance (Coach), WendyGebauer, Lauren Gregg(Coach), Linda Hamilton, MiaHamm, April Heinrichs, LoriHenry, Shannon Higgins,Kristine Lilly, Carla Overbeck;1995--Lauren Gregg (Coach),Linda Hamilton, Mia Hamm,April Heinrichs (Coach), DebbieKeller, Kristine Lilly, CarlaOverbeck, Tiffany Roberts,Tisha Venturini; 1999--TracyDucar, Lorrie Fair, LaurenGregg (Coach), Mia Hamm,Kristine Lilly, Carla Overbeck,Cindy Parlow, Tiffany Roberts,Tisha Venturini. 2003--MiaHamm, April Heinrichs (Coach).Kristine Lilly, Siri Mullinix, BillPalladino (Coach), CindyParlow, Catherine Reddick,Tiffany Roberts; 2005—KristineLilly, Lori Chalupny, CatherineReddick Whitehall, LindseyTarpley, Heather O’Reilly.Tar Heels on Olympic Team

Rosters1996--Lauren Gregg (Coach),Mia Hamm, April Heinrichs(Coach), Kristine Lilly, CarlaOverbeck, Cindy Parlow, TiffanyRoberts, Tisha Venturini, StaciWilson; 2000--Lorrie Fair,Lauren Gregg (Coach), MiaHamm, April Heinrichs (Coach),Kristine Lilly, Siri Mullinix, CarlaOverbeck, Cindy Parlow. 2004--Mia Hamm, April Heinrichs(Coach), Kristine Lilly, HeatherO’Reilly, Cindy Parlow,Catherine Reddick, LindsayTarpley.

1984, 1986 Player of The Year April Heinrichs


Every great story has a beginning.April Heinrichs was the first of the truly great

players in Carolina’s storied women’s soccerhistory. She was also the first true superstar inwomen’s soccer worldwide.Heinrichs was

named a first-teamAll-America for-ward in 1984, 1985and 1986 by theNational SoccerCoachesAssociation ofAmerica. She wasalso a third-teamAll-America in1983.The

IntercollegiateSoccer Association of America named herNational Player of the Year in both 1984 and1986.Heinrichs particularly excelled in postseason

play for the Tar Heels. She was named to theAll-Tournament Team at the 1983, 1984, 1985and 1986 NCAA Tournaments. In 1984, shewas the overall Most Valuable Player of the

NCAA Tournament. In 1985 and 1986, she wasthe Most Valuable Offensive Player of theNCAA Tournament. Heinrichs’ performances inthose tournaments helped the Tar Heels winthe NCAA championship in 1983, 1984 and1986. Carolina was the NCAA runnerup team

in 1985. Her No. 2 uniformwas the first to be retired bythe Carolina women’s soc-cer program.Heinrichs’ greatness is

also evidenced by her placein the Carolina recordbooks. She shares theschool record for assists ina game with five againstWarren Wilson on October29, 1983. She is second inCarolina history in scoringwith 225 points. Her 87goals are third in school his-tory, and she is also tied foreighth in assists with 51.In each of her four sea-

sons Heinrichs led the TarHeels in scoring – in 1983with 47 points, in 1984 with59 points, in 1985 with 50 points and in 1986with 69 points.Soccer America recognized her as the

Player of the Decade for the 1980s.Success continued for Heinrichs even after

her time in Chapel Hil was over. She was a

member of the U.S. Women’s National Teamfrom 1986-91 and had 47 caps, scoring 37goals.After Heinrichs’ playing days, she made a

transition into the coaching arena. In 1996, sheserved as assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic

Team, which won the gold medal in Atlanta,Ga. She was the head coach of the U.S.Women’s National Team from 2000-05, leadingthe team to an 87-17-20 record in five years.Heinrichs coached the team to an Olympicgold medal in 2004 in her last major competi-tion as the squad’s head coach.Her first college coaching position was as

head coach at Princeton University in 1990,where she compiled an 8-6-1 mark.She then moved on to become head coach

at the University of Maryland for five yearsfrom 1991-95, compiling a mark of 56-40-7. In1995, she was named Atlantic CoastConference Coach of the Year after leading theTerrapins to their first ever NCAA Tournamentappearance.After her stint in College Park, she served

four years as the head women’s soccer coachat the University of Virginia. She went 52-27-7there with four NCAA Tournament appear-ances. Heinrichs was named head coach ofthe U.S. National Team in early 2000 and sheretired at the conclusion of the 2004 campaign.She then coached for one year at UC-Irvine in2006 before accepting a post with the UnitedState Olympic Committee in December 2006.Heinrichs served as the captain of the 1991

U.S. Women’s National Team which won thechampionship at the first ever Women’s WorldCup in China.A native of Denver, Colo., she graduated

from the University of North Carolina in 1986.

April Heinrichs’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1983 19/18 73 18 11 471984 24/20 80 23 13 591985 19/18 89 18 14 501986 23/23 128 28 13 69Totals 85/79 370 87 51 225

1988, 1989 Player of the Year Shannon Higgins


Shannon Higgins-Cirovski won two nationalplayer of the year honors during her four yearsat the University of North Carolina. SoccerAmerica honored her with its award in 1988and the Intercollegiate Soccer Association ofAmerica gave her itsaward in 1989. Shealso won the HondaSoccer Award in1989.Higgins played for

the U.S. Women’sNational Team from1987-91 and had atotal of 51 caps. Shewas a member of theUnited States Teamwhich won the 1991Women’s World Cuptitle in China.Her career continued as a coach of the

sport on the collegiate level. She was the headcoach for seven years at George WashingtonUniversity and six more at the University ofMaryland before retiring from coaching follow-ing the 2004 season. Her seven Marylandteams combined to go 62-51-10. Her finalTerrapin squad advanced to the Final 16 of theNCAA Tournament.

Before her time with the Terps, Higginsserved as the head women’s soccer coach atGeorge Washington University in Washington,D.C., where she posted a 69-59-11 record inseven years.Higgins is married to Sasho Cirovski, the

head men’s soccer coach at the University ofMaryland.As a collegian, Higgins rather remarkably

scored the game-winning goal in the 1987,1988 and 1989 NCAA championship games.

She was named a first-team All-America midfield-er by the National SoccerCoaches Association ofAmerica in both 1988 and1989.Higgins was also

named to the first-teamAll-Atlantic CoastConference squad in1987, 1988 and 1989, win-ning the ACC Player of the Year award in1989.The University of North Carolina hon-

ored her with the Patterson Medal in1990 as the outstanding senior student-athlete at the school.Also in 1990, Higgins won the first-

ever Mary Garber Award given by theAtlantic Coast Sports Media Associationto the female athlete of the year in theconference.Higgins had a memorable career in

postseason play for the Tar Heels.She was named to the All-Tournament

Team at the NCAA Tournament in 1987,1988 and 1989. Higgins was theOffensive Most Valuable Player of the1988 NCAA Tournament after she scoredthree goals in Carolina’s 4-1 victory overNC State in the championship game.In each of her four years at Carolina

(1986-89), the women’s soccer team cap-tured the NCAA championship.She also played on Tar Heel teams

which captured ACC championships in1987 and 1989.Her jersey number (No. 3) is one of 14

retired numbers in Carolina women’s soc-cer history.Higgins is ranked 15th in career scor-

ing at Carolina with 129 points and she is19th in goals scored at Carolina with 39.She is tied for eighth in Carolina historywith 51 assists.In 1988, she led the ACC in scoring

with 43 points. For three consecutiveseasons, she led the conference inassists. She had 10 in 1987, 17 in 1988,and 18 in 1989.

Shannon Higgins’ Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1986 24/19 43 5 5 151987 24/24 75 6 11 231988 21/21 57 13 17 431989 25/25 140 15 18 48Totals 94/89 315 39 51 129

U.S. National Team Captain Carla Overbeck


Carla Werden Overbeck is a proven winner.She is one of only three women in history towin an NCAA title, an Olympic gold medal, aWomen’s World Cup championship and theWomen’s United Soccer Federation’sFounders Cup championship, joining fellow TarHeel stars Tisha Venturini and Mia Hamm inthat category.Overbeck put her stamp on Carolina history

early in her career, winning 1986 FreshmanAll-America honors from Soccer America mag-azine. And while she had an outstandingcareer at Carolina, her level of success for theU.S. National Team in international competitionwas truly remarkable. She took her play andher leadership to another level when suiting upfor the United States.As a member of the U.S. National Team

from 1988-2000, she was the sixth-mostcapped player in the team’s history at the time-of her retirement, appearing in 168 games.Despite having now been retired for sevenyears, she still ranks eighth all-time in NationalTeam caps.Winning has never been foreign to

Overbeck, who played on four University ofNorth Carolina women’s teams from 1986-89that won NCAA championships under hermaiden name Carla Werden. The Tar Heelsdid not lose a single game during her four-yeartenure, compiling a record of 89-0-6 from1986-89. Those teams were a spotless 12-0 inNCAA Tournament play.The National Soccer Coaches Association of

America named her a first-team All-America inboth 1987 and 1988 and a second-team All-America in 1989.

She earned first-team All-Atlantic CoastConference accoladesas a junior in 1988 andagain as a senior in1989.She was named the

Most ValuableDefensive Player of the1988 NCAATournament as the TarHeels defeated arch-rival NC State 4-1 inthe championship

game after having tiedthe Wolfpack twice dur-ing the regular season.Her defensive prowesswas evidenced by herfour appearances onthe NCAA All-Tournament team as aTar Heel defender.Overbeck began

competing internation-ally while she was still

a Tar Heel. She competed on the 1988 UnitedStates Team which won the gold medal at theGoodwill Games in New York.Overbeck was also a member of the 1991

U.S. National Team which won the World Cupin China. She was captain of the 1995 U.S.World Cup squad, which finished third.

In 1996, she was captain of the U.S.National Team which won the gold medal atthe Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga.In 1999, she started 22 games for the U.S.

National Team, playing 1,764 minutes as sheco-captained the United States Team that wonthe World Cup championship. She convertedon the first penalty kick in the United States’victory over China in the World Cup champi-onship match. The U.S. won the penalty kickshootout 5-4 after battling the Chinese to ascoreless tie after 120 minutes of regulationtime and overtime.Overbeck is now in her 17th year as an

assistant coach at Duke University. She alsoplayed for the Carolina Courage in the WUSA,leading the team to the Founder’s Cup crownin 2002. She was a charter member in thefounding of the pro league.She graduated from the University of North

Carolina in 1990 with a Bachelor of Artsdegree in psychology.

Overbeck is a native of Dallas, Texas, whereshe attended Richardson High School.Her husband, Greg Overbeck, co-owns sev-

eral restaurants in the Triangle, includingSquid’s, 411 West and Spanky’s in Chapel Hill.They have a 10-year-old son, Jackson, and afour-year-old daughter, Carson. They live inCarrboro, N.C.

Carla Overbeck’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1986 25/25 17 1 2 41987 24/24 4 2 0 41988 20/20 10 3 2 81989 25/25 38 5 3 13Totals 94/94 69 11 7 29

1990, 1991 Player of the Year Kristine Lilly


Kristine Lilly’s long tenure on the U.S.National Team has earned her the distinction ofbeing one of the most durable, most versatileand exceedingly outstanding players inwomen’s soccer history.As of May 12, 2007, Lillyhad 325 caps with theU.S. National, 50 morethan Mia Hamm’s 275which rank second.Lilly will play in her fifth

World Cup in China inSeptember 2007. As ofMay 12, 2007, she wasthe second-leading scorerin National Team history ingoals with 122 and pointswith 339, ranking onlybehind her former TarHeel teammate Hamm inthose two areas.Lilly was twice named

National Player of theYear while at Carolina,winning the award in 1990and 1991. Soccer America

honored her in 1990 and 1991, while theMissouri Athletic Club, the Honda SoccerAward, the Hermann Trophy and theIntercollegiate Soccer Association of Americaall gave her their awards in 1991.In 1993, she earned the Patterson Medal,

given to the most outstanding senior athlete atthe University of North Carolina.She was the Atlantic Coast Conference

Player of the Year in 1991 while winning theACC Tournament’s Most Valuable Playeraward in 1990.Soccer America named her the National

Freshman of the Year in 1989.In postseason play, Lilly was named the

Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the 1989and 1990 NCAA Tournaments. She scored 10goals and had seven assists for 27 points innine career NCAA Tournament matches. TheTar Heels won national championships in allfour of her years at Carolina (1989-92).UNC compiled a record of 93-1-2 during

Lilly’s tenure at Chapel Hill.She is fifth in school history in scoring with

197 points, fourth in UNC history in goals with78 and tied for 17th in assists with 41.In 1990, Lilly was second in the nation in

scoring with 20 goals and 12 assists for 52points.When it comes to experience in international

competition, Lilly has no equal. She has partic-ipated in over 90 percent of thegames the U.S. women’s teamhas ever played. That gives hermore international matches thanany other player – man or woman– in the history of the U.S.National Team.Her career international assist

total of 95, point total of 339 andgoal total of 122 all rank secondonly to Mia Hamm in U.S. NationalTeam history as of May 12, 2007.The U.S. Soccer Federation

named Lilly its Player of the Yearin 1993.Lilly was a member of the U.S.

National Team, which won theGold Medal at the 1996 Olympicsin Atlanta, Ga. and the 2004Olympics in Athens, Greece.She also helped the U.S. win

the 1999 World Cup just as shehad in 1991.Lilly scoredtwo goals andhad oneassist duringthe 1999competition.She convert-ed a key

penalty kick in the final against China as wellas clearing a sure Chinese goal off the goallinein the overtime period.Her jersey number 15 was retired by the

University of North Carolina. She received herdegree from Carolina in Radio, Television &Motion Pictures.Lilly played for the Boston Breakers in the

WUSA for three seasons.

Kristine Lilly’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1989 25/24 142 20 6 461990 22/22 125 20 12 521991 19/19 91 15 4 341992 25/25 79 23 19 65Totals 91/90 437 78 41 197

1992, 1993 Player of the Year Mia Hamm


No one would argue against the fact MiaHamm has attained the status of being recog-nized as the the world’s most talented andequally famous women’s soccer player in thehistory of the game.FIFA named her the Women’s World Player

of the Year in 2001 and 2002, the first twoyears in which the world’s governing body hadbestowed the award on a woman.Her fame has expanded well off the pitch.

People Magazine named her one of the 50Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997.Several corporations have contracted with herfor major endorsements. Among them areGatorade, Pepsi-Cola and Pert shampoo.Nike named the largest building at its world

headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., after her in

1999.She was one of the key players and stars

of the U.S. team which won the title at the1999 World Cup, an event which propelled thepopularity of women’s soccer in the UnitedStates to previously unheard of heights.Hamm converted a key penalty kick in theUnited States’ double overtime victory overChina in the championship game.Hamm was the 1994 recipient of the Honda

Broderick Cup given to the Most OutstandingFemale Athlete in all of collegesports. She is the only TarHeel athlete to ever win theaward. She also received the1994 Patterson Medal as theoutstanding senior athlete atthe University of NorthCarolina.The Atlantic Coast

Conference honored Hammwith the 1993 and 1994 MaryGarber Awards as the ACC’sFemale Athlete of the Year. She also won theACC Player of the Year award three times andwas a three-time unanimous first-team All-America selection.Hamm helped lead the Tar Heels to the

NCAA championship in 1989, 1990, 1992 and1993. She was the unanimous choice asNational Player of the Year in 1992 and 1993.Hamm also won the NCAA Tournament MVPawards for offense in both 1992 and 1993. In1989 and 1992, she was the MVP of the ACCTournament.A lethal weapon for the Tar Heels on

offense, Hamm led the nation in scoring in1990, 1992 and 1993, setting the NCAA

single-season record for scoring with 97

points in 1992. Hamm also holds the UNCrecord for single-season assists with 33 in1992. She scored 32 goals in 1992, the sec-ond-highest single season total in UNC histo-ry.Before retiring from soccer at the conclu-

sion of the 2004 season, Hamm had been amember of the U.S. National Team since 1987and she started for the U.S. when it won itsfirst-ever World Cup title, played in China in1991. She was 15 years old when she first

played for the team, making her the youngestwoman ever to play for the National Team.She ended 2004 as the world’s all-time

leading scorer with 158 goals and 144 assistsfor 460 points. Amazingly, her assist totalalone would rank her as the ninth highest

scorer in U.S. women’s soccer history.Her 158 international goals are the most of

all-time, man or woman. She went out on ahigh by winning her second Olympic goldmedal in Athens, Greece in 2004.UNC’s highest honorary society, the Order

of the Golden Fleece, inducted her into itsranks in 1993.In 1999, Hamm established the Mia Hamm

Foundation to raise funds and awareness forbone marrow transplant patients and familiesand to provide more opportunities for younggirls in athletics.She received her degree in political sci-

ence. She is married to Nomar Garciaparra,All-Star infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mia Hamm’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1989 23/18 113 21 4 461990 22/22 108 24 19 671992 25/21 117 32 33 971993 22/22 97 26 16 68Totals 92/83 435 103 72 278

1994 Player of the Year Tisha Venturini


Tisha Venturini wonchampionships at everylevel of her highly suc-cessful playing career.She is one of only threewomen in history to winan NCAA title, anOlympic gold medal, aWomen’s World Cupchampionship and theWUSA’s Founders Cupchampionship. The oth-ers were also Tar Heels— Mia Hamm and CarlaOverbeckHer career at the

University of NorthCarolina got off to a faststart by winning SoccerAmerica’s NationalFreshman of the Yearaccolade in 1991 tocomplement her AtlanticCoast Conference Freshman of the Yearaward. That season she led both the ACC andthe NCAA in scoring with 21 goals and 16assists for 58 points.Venturini would go on to be the unanimous

selection as the 1994 National Player of theYear after leading Carolina to a fourth straightnational championship. She was a recipient ofthe Hermann Trophy that year and was alsonamed Player of the Year by the MissouriAthletic Club, the Honda Soccer Award, theIntercollegiate Soccer Association of America,Soccer America, Soccer News and CollegeSports.She was the recipient of the 1995 Patterson

Medal given to the most outstanding seniorathlete at the University of North Carolina.In 1995, she also won the Mary Garber

Award as the Most Outstanding Female Athletein the ACC. She was the ACC Player of theYear in 1994 and was also named first-teamAll-ACC and first-team All-South four times inher career.

Venturini was ather absolute best inthe postseason. Shewas named the ACCTournament’s MostValuable Player in1991, 1993 and1994, and, in eachof her four seasons,she made the NCAAAll-Tournament Team.A versatile player, she won the

Most Outstanding Defensive Player ofthe 1991 NCAA Tournament accoladeand the Most Outstanding OffensivePlayer of the 1994 NCAA Tournamentaward.In 14 NCAA Tournament games,

she had seven goals and added nineassists for 23 points.Venturini established a reputation

as a clutch player, scoring three goalsagainst Duke in the 1994 ACC

Tournament championship game and twogoals against Notre Dame in the 1994 NCAAtitle game. In those two title-deciding games inthe 1994 her performances were at anotherlevel of play. Duke had between the Tar Heels

in the regularseason andNotre Damehad tied theHeels.In each of

her four sea-sons atCarolina, theTar Heels

won the NCAA championshipand those four squads compileda stunning cumulative record of97-1-1.She is sixth all-time in UNC

history with 69 goals and tiedfor eighth all-time in assists with51. She tied for seventh inpoints wih 189. Her 10 goalsand four assists gave her 24points in nine ACC Tournamentgames – good enough for theall-time leading career scoringrecord until Tar Heel forwardRobin Confer shattered thatrecord in the 1997 tournament.Venturini also went on to suc-

cess in international play for the

U.S. National Team.She started at center midfield for the U.S.

National Team in the 1995 Women’s WorldCup, and tied for the U.S. team lead in scoringfor that World Cup squad with three goals.In the 1996 Olympics, she helped the U.S.

capture the goldmedal in Athens,Ga. She was alsoa member of the1999 U.S. WorldCup championshipteam. Venturiniscored two goalsversus NorthKorea in the lastround of pool play.Overall, she had

132 caps for theNational Team,scoring 44 goals.She played for

the San JoseCyber Rays in theWUSA for threeyears, capturing atitle in 2001.

Tisha Venturini’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1991 24/24 88 21 16 581992 25/25 81 14 18 461993 19/17 55 13 4 301994 27/27 118 21 13 55Totals 95/93 342 69 51 189

1995, 1996 Player of the Year Debbie Keller


University o fNorth Carolinahead coach AnsonDorrance calledDebbie Keller pos-sibly the finestleader he hasseen in his quarterplus century ofcoaching atCarolina.In 1995, she

was named Co-National Player ofthe Year by SoccerDigest, and, in1996, she wasnamed NationalPlayer of the Yearby Soccer Americaand Soccer Buzz.Keller received

the PattersonMedal, given to themost outstandingsenior athlete atthe University ofNorth Carolina, in1997.UNC won the

NCAA champi-onship with Kelleras a member ofthe team in 1993, 1994 and 1996. She co-cap-tained the 1996 team and played all 210 min-utes of the NCAA semifinals and championshipgame that year. In the championship game,she scored the game-winning goal at the110:56 mark. After the tournament, she wasnamed its Most Valuable Offensive Player.In 1996, she was a first-team All-America

selection by Soccer America, Soccer News andSoccer Buzz. In 1995, she was a first-team All-

America honoreeby the NationalSoccer CoachesAssociation ofAmerica andSoccer News. In1994 and 1996, shewas a second-teamAll-America selec-tion by the NSCAA.Keller was a

finalist for the pres-tigious HondaSoccer Award in1996.With 102 games

played, she was theformer NCAAcareer record hold-er in that categoryuntil it was broken ayear later by fellowTar Heel Robin

Confer who played in 107 matches. Kellerranks sixth in UNC history in career points with191, eighth in career goals with 67 and fifth incareer assists with 57.Over the course of her career, she scored 16

game-winning goals.The Atlantic Coast Conference tabbed her as

a first-team All-ACC selection in 1994 and1995. She was also the Most Valuable Playerof the 1995 ACC Tournament.

The Tar Heels won four ACCChampionships while Kellerplayed at UNC.In 1996, she was a finalist for

both the HermannTrophy and theMissouri AthleticClub SportsFoundation Playerof the Year Award.Sports

Illustrated fea-tured her in itsFaces in theCrowd section ofa December issuein 1996.She scored all

three goals for theEast Team in the1997 UmbroSelect Senior All-Star Game in FortLauderdale, Fla.The East teamdefeated the WestTeam 3-0.Soccer Buzz

gave her itsNational

Sportsmanship Award in 1996.From 1995-98, Keller earned 46 caps with

the U.S. National Team which ranks her 33rdall-time in tha category in statistics throughMay 12, 2007.

Debbie Keller’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1993 23/18 51 11 12 341994 27/27 93 15 15 451995 26/25 76 23 15 611996 26/26 80 18 15 51Totals 102/96 300 67 57 191

1997 Player of the Year Robin Confer


One of the most gifted women’s soccerplayers in NCAA history, Robin Confer had anuncanny ability to find the goal throughout herTar Heel career. She was a pure finisher andthat was reflected both in her career scoringstatistics and the number of game-winninggoals she tallied in her college days.She is ranked fourth in Carolina history in

total points with 209 and is the fifth best goal-scorer in school history with 77 tallies. Her 55assists are good enough for the sixth most inTar Heel women’s soccer lore.In 1997, she had 62 points – a total tying

her for 10th most points in a season inCarolina history. Also in that season, she had

22 assists,eighth most in asingle season.In 1995, her 18assists record-ed that seasonare tied for the12th most in asingle cam-paign inCarolina women’s soccer lore.As a senior, she was named

the National Player of the Yearby Soccer Buzz Internet maga-zine and Soccer News magazine.Confer was also a finalist for the1997 Hermann Trophy and asemifinalist for the 1997 MissouriAthletic Club Sports FoundationPlayer of the Year award.Confer established an NCAA

record for games played in acareer with 107 appearancesfrom 1994-97, breaking DebbieKeller’s old NCAA record of 102set the year before. Confer nevermissed a game in her career atCarolina. She shares theCarolina record for most gamesplayed and most games started

in a season with 28 in 1997.An inspired performance in the 1997 NCAA

Tournament led to her being named the MostValuable Offensive Player of that competition.She scored a goal late in the second half to liftUNC to a 2-1 NCAA semifinal win over SantaClara. Two days later, she scored the insur-ance goal in the waning minutes in the TarHeels’ 2-0 victory over Connecticut in thechampionship game.In 1997, Soccer America, Soccer News,

Soccer Buzz and Soccer Times all named hera first-team All-America selection. She wasnamed a second-team All-America by the

National Soccer Coaches Association ofAmerica in 1997. In 1996, she was named sec-ond-team All-America by Soccer Buzz andSoccer News. In 1995, she was a SoccerNews second-team All-America. As a freshmanin 1994, she was named a third-team All-America by Soccer News.Confer was named first-team All-Atlantic

Coast Conference in 1995 and 1997 and sec-ond-team All-ACC in 1994 and 1996. She wasthe ACC Tournament’s MVP in 1996. The TarHeels won four ACC championships and threeNCAA championships (1994, 1996 and 1997)during her stint at Chapel Hill. She has morecareer points in ACC Tournament games thanany other player in history with 31 and moregoals with 13.

Her 27 game-winning goals arethe most in UNChistory. Confernetted 11 game-winners in 1995,the most in a sin-gle season.Soccer Buzz

named her the1997 SoutheastRegion OffensivePlayer of the Year,and Soccer Newsnamed her the1997 SoutheastRegion Player ofthe Year.After a stint as

an assistantcoach to PatrickBaker at FloridaState University,

Confer is currently on Baker’s staff at theUniversity of Georgia.

Robin Confer’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1994 27/16 65 18 5 411995 26/25 106 19 18 561996 26/26 88 20 10 501997 28/28 96 20 22 62Totals 107/95 355 77 55 209

1995 Player of the Year Staci Wilson


Small in stature, but big in heart, defenderStaci Wilson was impossible to intimidate onthe pitch. She was tenacious in her desire towin. She is remembered as one of the tough-est defenders in the history of both Carolinaand NCAA women’s soccer. Wilson alwaysmade the difficult tackle and pursued everyloose ball with ferocious intensity.Wilson was also

respected as a topoffensive threatfrom her backfieldposition and shewas always suc-cessful at jumpstarting the TarHeel attack fromthe back.She helped the

Tar Heels win fourAtlantic CoastConference cham-pionships from1994 through 1997and three NCAAchampionships in 1994, 1996 and 1997.In 1995, she was the Co-National Player of

the Year as named by Soccer Digest.In her first season at UNC, she was named

the National Freshman Player of the Year bySoccer America magazine in 1994.As a senior in 1997, she was named a first-

team All-America by Soccer America, SoccerBuzz and Soccer Times and a second-teamAll-America by Soccer News and the NationalSoccer Coaches Association ofAmerica/Umbro. In her junior season in 1996,she was a coaches’ association first team All-America and was named a second-team All-America by Soccer Buzz and a third-team All-America by Soccer News. Her 1995 campaignearned her a first-team All-America selectionby the national soccer coaches association,Soccer America and Soccer News. As a fresh-

man in 1994, she was a first-teamSoccer News All-America.Wilson was a first-team All-

Atlantic Coast Conference defenderfrom 1994-1996 and made the sec-ond-team All-ACC Team in 1997.She was named to the All-ACCTournament Team in 1994, 1995and 1997 as Carolina won champi-onships each of those seasons.She also earned honors as a

member of the NCAA’s All-Tournament Team atthe 1994, 1995 and 1997 tournaments.The U.S. Olympic Team tapped her as a

reserve for the 1996 gold medal team inAtlanta, Ga.She played for the U.S. National Team in

1995 and 1996 and earned 14 caps, whilestarting six games.In the Women’s United Soccer Association,

she was a starting defender for the CarolinaCourage, winning a Founder’s Cup title in2002.Playing high school and club soccer in

Northern Virginia, she was one of the top-ranked players in the United States’ highschool ranks when she was recruited by theTar Heels in 1993-94.

Staci Wilson’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1994 25/22 12 1 1 31995 26/25 22 4 3 111996 23/21 13 3 3 91997 28/28 20 3 5 11Totals 102/96 67 11 12 34

1996, 1997, 1998 Player of the Year Cindy Parlow


Dynamic forward Cindy Parlow was theyoungest player to ever win both a women’sWorld Cup title and an Olympic gold medal.She is the fifth-leading goal scorer in the histo-ry of the U.S. Women’s National Team despitehaving played on the team for only nine years(1996-2004). She totaled 181 points in hercareer and also ranks fifth all-time in goals with75 as of May 12, 2007.As a standout player at the University of

North Carolina, Parlow was named NationalPlayer of the Year three different years by mul-tiple organizations, earning top honors in 1996,1997 and 1998.Parlow had an immediate impact for the Tar

Heels as a freshman in 1995. Soccer Newsand Soccer America both named her NationalFreshman Player of the Year and, along withthe National Soccer Coaches Association ofAmerica/Umbro, they also picked her as a first-team All-America. Parlow also garnered first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and ACCRookie of the Year honors. She scored 19goals and had 13 assists for 51 points in 26games during her inaugural year wearingCarolina Blue & White.As a sophomore, Soccer News magazine

named her National Player of the Year. Shewas also a finalist for the Hermann Trophy andthe Missouri Athletic Club Player of the YearAward. She was again chosen as a first-teamAll-America by Soccer News, Soccer America,the NSCAA/Umbro and Soccer Buzz as wellas being named first-team All-ACC. She had41 points on 15 goals and 11 assists in 25games.As a junior, Parlow won the Hermann

Trophy and National Player of the Year honorsfrom the Missouri Athletic Club SportsFoundation and Soccer Times magazine.

She was North Carolina’sleading scorer with 44 points,netting 13 goals and notching18 assists while playing in 26games.In the 1997 NCAA

Tournament championshipgame, Parlow scored thegame-winning goal in a 2-0victory over Connecticut.With four assists againstWake Forest in a first-round win, she set theNCAA Tournament record for assists in a sin-gle game, a record broken in 2005 by UNC’sKacey White.Soccer News, Soccer America, Soccer

Buzz, Soccer Times and NSCAA/Umbro allselected her as a first-team All-America. Shewas also selected as first-team All-ACC andthe MVP of the ACC Tournament in 1997.In her senior campaign, Parlow was hon-

ored with the Mary Garber Award as Female-Athlete-of-the-Year in the ACC.She tallied 21 goals and had 11 assists for

a total of 53 points. She led North Carolina ingames played and games started with 26,shots with 107, goals with 21, points with 53and game-winning goals with seven.Several organizations honored her as the

nation’s best player in 1998. She won theHermann Trophy and was named NationalPlayer of the Year by the Missouri Athletic ClubFoundation, Soccer News and College SoccerWeekly Online.She was named a first-team All-America by

the NSCAA/Umbro, Soccer America, SoccerNews, ESPN.com/Soccer Times, Soccer Buzzand College Soccer Weekly Online. The ACCnamed Parlow its Player of the Year and alsoselected her as a first-team all-conferenceplayer.She scored 189 points in her UNC career.

That equals the seventh highest total in NorthCarolina women’s soccer history. She scored68 goals, which ranks as the seventh highesttotal in North Carolina history. Her 53 assists

are also the seventh highest total in school his-tory. Her 101 games started equal the schoolrecord. She finished her career with 12 game-winning goals.In her four seasons at UNC, the Tar Heels

went 102-3-1. Teams she played on won theACC regular season championships four yearsin a row from 1995 to 1998, NCAA champi-onships in 1996 and 1997 and ACCTournament championships four years from1995 through 1998. She was part of a teamthat was the NCAA semifinalist in 1995 andNCAA runnerup in 1998.Parlow was a starter for the 1999 U.S.

World Cup Women’s Soccer Team which wonthe gold medal. She played with the U.SNational Team from 1996-2004 and has cap-tured two Olympic gold medals and one WorldCup title.She also played for the U.S. squad which

won the gold medal at the 1998 GoodwillGames in New York City.Parlow had 158 caps with the U.S. National

team from 1996-2004, scoring 75 goals.Parlow played for the Atlanta Beat in theWUSA for three seasons from 2001-03.

Cindy Parlow’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS1995 26/25 98 19 13 511996 25/24 71 15 11 411997 26/26 100 13 18 441998 26/26 107 21 11 53Totals 103/101 376 68 53 189

1999 Player of the Year Lorrie Fair


While at Carolina, Lorrie Fair was one of thenation’s top defenders. Entering her senioryear, she was a preseason All-America selec-tion by Soccer Buzz, Soccer America andCollege Soccer Weekly Online. She fulfilledthat promise by going on to win NationalPlayer of the Year honors following the TarHeels’ 1999 NCAA championship season.Fair was a four-year letter winner at Carolina

beginning her career as a midfielder and finish-ing up her last three yearsas a standout defender.Fair already had exten-

sive experience with theU.S. National Team beforeshe excelled as a memberof the U.S.’s 1999 WorldCup championship team.She had trained and playedwith the National Team dur-ing the Victory Tour pre-sented by Nike in 1997.She was also selected forthe Under-21 Women’sNational Team, whichplayed in the Nordic Cup inDenmark in 1997. In 1998,she was again on theUnder-21 roster for theNordic Cup in Holland.After a solid freshman

year, Fair was one of thenation’s most improved players in 1997 andshe followed that year of growth with brilliantjunior and senior seasons.After graduating from Carolina, Fair was one

of the founding members of the WUSA as anall-star player for the Philadelphia Charge.Her twin sister, Ronnie, played at Stanford

and was also on the 1997 and 1998 U.S.women’s Under-21 national team rosters withLorrie.Fair’s freshman season at Carolina was

impressive. Soccer News named her asecond-team All-America and a fresh-man All-America, while SoccerAmerica named her to its freshman All-America Team. Soccer Buzz namedher a first-team Freshman All-Americaand a Southeast Region All-Freshmanselection. In the postseason, sheearned All-Atlantic Coast ConferenceTournament, All-NCAA Tournamentand All-NCAA Final Four honors.Her sophomore season saw her start all 28

games for the Tar Heels, scoring eight goalsand notching seven assists for a total of 23points. She scored goals or had assists in 15different games but never had a two-goal ortwo-assist effort.Against California and Duke, she recorded

game-winning goals. In the national semifinalvictory against Santa Clara, she tied the gamewith an early second-half goal.She was a semifinalist for the Missouri

Athletic Club Player of the Year Award and wasnamed first-team All-America by Soccer News,second-team All-America by Soccer Times andthird-team All-America by Soccer Buzz. SoccerNews also named her to its sophomore All-America team.In the 1997 NCAA Tournament, she was an

all-tournament selection and she was also a1997 first-team All-ACC selection.As a junior in 1998, Fair was again a semifi-

nalist for the Missouri Athletic Club’s Player ofthe Year Award. ESPN.com/Soccer Timesnamed her the National Defender of the Year.The National Soccer Coaches Association ofAmerica/Umbro, Soccer America, SoccerNews, ESPN.com/Soccer Times, Soccer Buzzand College Soccer Weekly Online all selectedFair as a first-team All-America.

Soccer Buzz honored Fair asthe Southeast Region DefensivePlayer of the Year.She was also a first-team All-

ACC selection. Against WakeForest, she scored two of her fivegoals on the season and againstSan Francisco she had threeassists. In the ACC Tournamentfinal, she scored a goal versusClemson.Despite an injury-plagued sea-

son her senior year, Fair still cap-tured the Honda Soccer Award,given to the top player in collegesoccer. She also garnered the1999 ACC Player of the Yearaward. For the third consecutiveyear she earned a spot on thefirst-team All-ACC squad.She was a consensus first-

team All-America selection, earn-ing honors from the NSCAA,

College Soccer Online, Soccer Times, SoccerBuzz and Soccer America.Fair played on her third NCAA championship

team at Carolina and was named defensiveMVP in the NCAA College Cup.Fair spent time on the injury list but still

played in 22 matches, spending some time atforward during her recovery and moving backto the defense for the stretch run of the sea-son.In 2002, Fair played in 18 contests and

started 10 times for the U.S. Women’s NationalTeam. She earned her 100th cap againstScotland on September 8, 2002. As one of theteam’s brightest, youngest stars, she was aconsistent starter for the team from 2000-02.In the 1999 World Cup, Fair played 69 minutesin four games as the U.S. captured the cham-pionship.She made 11 appearances for the National

Team in 1998, including three starts. Overthose 11 games she played 502 minutes.Fair’s first international goal came against NewZealand before a crowd of 46,037 at Robert F.Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C. on May30, 1998. At the 1998 Goodwill Games in NewYork City, Fair helped the U.S. team to win agold medal.Fair ended her career with the National

Team in 2005. She logged 120 caps with theNational Team.

Lorrie Fair’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Sh G A PtsGWG1996 24/12 14 0 4 4 01997 28/28 25 8 7 23 21998 26/26 40 5 16 26 01999 22/20 45 8 10 26 3Totals 100/86 124 21 37 79 5

2000 Player of the Year Meredith Florance


A four-year letter winner for the Tar Heels,Meredith Florance started as a sophomore,junior and senior at Carolina and in her senioryear she copped National Player of the Yearhonors. She finished her career in 2000 rankedin a tie for 10th place in career goals at theUniversity with 59.Florance was arguably one of the top high

school players coming out of the prep ranks in1997 from her hometown of Dallas, Texas.

Among her great skills, Florance possessedincredible speed, explosive power, strengthand intimidation. Moreover, she was a beautifulstriker of the ball.As a freshman, she played in all 28 games

for the Tar Heels, including starts againstFlorida and against SMU in her hometown ofDallas.She scored 10 goals and had four assists

for 24 points, notching a hat trick in her first-ever home game at Fetzer Field againstTennessee. She also had two goals against St.

Mary’s and two assists versus NCState.In NCAA Tournament games against

Wake Forest and Florida, she had onegoal and one assist. Soccer Buzznamed her a third-team Freshman All-America and to the All-SoutheastRegion Freshman Team.Starting in all 26 games for UNC as

a sophomore, Florance scored 10goals and had 11 assists for 31 points. Thatranked her as the fourth-highest scorer on theteam in 1998. Versus San Francisco, Marylandand Portland, she netted game-winning goals.The dramatic goal against Portland came inthe 150th minute of a quadruple overtimeNCAA semifinal. She had two-assist effortsagainst Hartford and against Duke in the ACCTournament quarterfinals.Soccer Buzz named her to its third-team All-

Southeast Region squad. She also made theAll-Tournament Team at the 1998 NCAACollege Cup.Her junior season was tremendous, both for

the Tar Heels as a team and for Florance indi-vidually. College Soccer Online named her anhonorable mention All-America and SoccerBuzz named her second-team All-SoutheastRegion.She was named to the NCAA All-

Tournament Team after scoring the game-win-ning goal against Notre Dame in the title game.She was also named second-team All-ACC. Atthe Notre Dame Key Bank Classic, she wasnamed to the All-Tournament team.She started all 24 games for the Tar Heels

that season, scoring 13 goals and serving upnine assists for 35 points. Two of those goalswere game-winners, and, ironically, both cameagainst Notre Dame. She had two goals in asecond-half comeback win against Duke.

As a senior, Florance firmly established her-self as one of the best players in the country.She finished fourth in the nation and first in

the ACC in goals scored with 26, matching thesixth-highest total in a season for a Tar Heel.She also led the conference in scoring with 60points.Soccer Times named her the National

Player of theYear and shealso received theHonda Award asthe top player inthe nation.Florance

scored fivegame-winninggoals, and, in theNCAA champi-onship game,she netted a goalthat tied thegame againstUCLA in the final15 minutes ofplay. UNCeventually wenton to win 2-1,claiming its 17thnational champi-onship. In thethird round of theNCAA Tournament, she scored the game-win-ner against Virginia and in the quarterfinalmatch against Connecticut, she scored the firsttwo goals of the game in a 3-0 win.Florance was a consensus first-team All-

America, a first-team All-ACC selection, theMost Valuable Offensive Player of the NCAACollege Cup, the Most Valuable Player of theACC Tournament and the Southeast RegionOffensive Player of the Year. Over the courseof the season, she was named the MVP of fourdifferent tournaments.In international experience, she played for

the 1997 U.S. Under-21 team in the NordicCup that competed in Denmark. She againcompeted with the under-21 team in 1999 atthe World Championships in Iceland.

Meredith Florance’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Sh G A PtsGWG1997 28/2 55 10 4 24 01998 26/26 78 10 11 31 31999 25/24 104 13 9 35 22000 24/23 111 26 8 60 5Totals 103/75 348 59 32 150 10

2003 Player of the Year Catherine Reddick


Catherine Reddick did not earn her firststarting assignment in a University of NorthCarolina uniform until the final game of herfreshman year which happened to be theNCAA championship contest against the UCLABruins in 2000. Reddick’s performance in thatgame was certainly a sign of things to come.Not only did Reddick score the game-winning

goal in the final 10 minutes of play, she wasalso named the Most Valuable DefensivePlayer of the NCAA College Cup as a fresh-man first-time starter.A few months later, Carolina alumna April

Heinrichs, then the head coach of the U.S.Women’s National Team, tapped Reddick forher first National Team cap. Almost from thestart, Reddick found herself in the NationalTeam starting lineup on defense as she hasgone on to earn 108 caps through matches ofMay, 12, 2007, scoring 11 goals. In theprocess, Reddick earned starting spots for theU.S. in the 2003 World Cup where theAmericans took third place as well as on the2004 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Teamsquad. She is a member of the 2007 U.S.Women’s World Cup team which will seek toreclaim the championship in China inSeptember.As Reddick matured into a star of the U.S.

National Team, she continued her playing daysat Carolina and despite missing much of herjunior and senior years because of herNational Team commitments, Reddick devel-oped into one of the top collegiate defenders inhistory. She culminated her career by beingnamed the National Player of the Year follow-ing the 2003 season as she won the HondaSoccer Award as well as the Missouri AthleticClub’s Hermann Trophy. She was also one of

the five finalists for the 2004 HondaBroderick Cup as the outstanding colle-giate female athlete in America duringthe 2003-04 school year.After being named a first-team fresh-

man All-America in 2000, Reddick wenton to become one of Carolina’s mostdecorated players in history during herfinal three years. She was a consen-sus first-team All-America in 2001,

2002 and 2003 as one of the top defenders inthe college game. In each of those years, shealso was named first-team All-Atlantic CoastConference.As a senior, Reddick was limited to playing

in only 13 matches because of her commit-ments while competing in the World Cup. Shemade the most of the opportunity to play forthe Tar Heels, however, as she scored sixgoals and had five assists for 17 points. Shescored the game-winning goal in the 2003Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament cham-pionship game as the Tar Heels turned backFlorida State 3-2. For the second time in hercareer Reddick was named the Most ValuableDefensive Player in the NCAA College Cup asshe helped the Tar Heels outscore their sixNCAA tourney opponents by a stunning 32-0margin while anchoring a defense that barelylet opponents shoot much less score.Reddick received first-team All-America

accolades following her senior season fromSoccer Buzz, Soccer Times, Soccer PostMagazine, College Sports Television, SoccerAmerica and the National Soccer CoachesAssociation of America. As a junior, she wasnamed first-team All-America by Soccer Buzz,Soccer America and the NSCAA while as asophomore she earned first-team All-Americaby Soccer Buzz and Soccer America and wastapped for the second team by the NSCAA.Prior to winning two National Player of the

Year awards in 2003, Reddick was a finalist fornational awards in 2002 given by Soccer Buzz,the Honda Soccer Award and the MissouriAthletic Club Hermann Trophy.Possessing what most likely was the

strongest leg in the history of the women’s col-lege game, Reddick appeared in 77 games for

the Tar Heels in her career and scored 20goals while passing for 22 assists. It was notunusual for her to shoot with accuracy on thegoal from near midfield.She led the Tar Heels to ACC Tournament

championships in each of her four years atCarolina from 2000 through 2003. She playedon NCAA championship teams at Carolina in2000 and 2003.A native of Birmingham, Ala., Reddick was

named a 1999 and 2000 Parade high schoolAll-America in soccer coming out of BriarwoodChristian School.After getting married she now plays for the

U.S. National Team at Cat Whitehill.

Catherine Reddick’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Sh G A PtsGWG2000 24/1 44 5 5 15 12001 23/23 35 3 7 13 12002 17/15 26 6 5 17 12003 13/12 35 6 5 17 2Totals 77/51 140 20 22 62 5

The 2003 National Player of the Year asnamed by five organizations, forward LindsayTarpley had her No. 25 jersey number retiredby the University of North Carolina in February2006 after a star-studded career. Despitebeing injured for half of her junior year and forthe start of her senior year, she finished withsome of the most impressive career statistics

in UNC history.In 87 games, Tarpley finished her time at

UNC with 59 goals, 59 assists and 177 points.She ranks 10th in career points in Tar Heel his-tory, is tied for 10th in career goals withMeredith Florance and Heather O’Reilly and isthird in career assists behind only Mia Hammand Alyssa Ramsey.In 2003, Tarpley led NCAA Division I in scor-

ing with 73 points, the fourth most points in aseason in UNC history. She had 23 goals thatseason, equaling the 10th most in a season inTar Heel lore, and her 27 assists that year arethe third most in a single campaign. She ledthe nation that year in total points and inassists per game.Tarpley ended her career with several

school records and an NCAA record to hercredit based in large measure on her brilliantplay in NCAA Tournament games. She holdsUNC career records in NCAA games for goalswith 16, assists with 19 and points with 51.The 19 assists are also the NCAA record inthat category. In 2003, she set UNC schoolrecords for assists in a single NCAATournament with 11 and points with 19.She shares the school’s NCAA Tournament

records for goals in a game and points in agame. She scored three goals in an NCAAgame three times and twice had seven pointsin a match. She also shares the ACC

Tournament record for assists in a gamewith three.Her career high for goals in a game

came on October 14, 2003 when shescored four in a 6-0 victory over WakeForest.Tarpley’s banner year was 2003 when

she led Carolina to a 27-0 record andshe was a unaimous choice for first-team All-America honors, being named

by every organization with a team. That sea-son she also earned a quintet of national play-er of the year accolades, winning honors fromSoccer America, Soccer Buzz, Soccer Times,Soccer Post and Sports Illustrated on Campus.In 2003, she became the first player since

Mia Hamm in 1993 to be named the ACCPlayer of the Year and the MVP of the ACCTournament while also leading the ACC inscoring.Tarpley also was brilliant as a freshman in

2002, being named national freshman of theyear by both Soccer Buzz and SoccerAmerica. That year she was named the ACCRookie of the Year and earned the first of twofirst-team All-ACC accolades. Most impres-sively, Tarpley won the prestigious award asthe U.S. Soccer Chevrolet Young FemaleAthlete of the Year.Tarpley has played as a member of the U.S.

National Team since 2003 where starts at theattacking center midfield position. In 67 capsshe has scored 15 goals through May 12,2007. No goal was bigger than the 25-yardstrike which found the lower left corner of thenet to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the 2004Olympic gold medal match in Athens, Greece.The U.S. would go on to win the gold medal 2-1 on a golden goal. Speaking of golden goals,Tarpley also had one of the biggest of those inU.S. soccer history. FIFA sponsored the first-ever U19 world championship in 2002 inCanada with Tarpley earning the captain’s rolefor the U.S. squad. In sudden death overtime

in the championship match, Tarpley pouncedon her own rebound to give the U.S. the cham-pionship 1-0 in an exciting victory over the hostCanadian side.A native of Kalamazoo, Mich., Tarpley grad-

uated from Portage Central High School in

2002 ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the nationthat year by Soccer America. A two-timeParade All-America, she was named thenational high school player of the year byParade Magazine in 2002.Tarpley graduated from UNC in 2006 with a

degree in communications. As a senior shewas an ESPN The Magazine Third-TeamAcademic All-America.

Lindsay Tarpley’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Sh G A PtsGWG2002 25/21 105 16 15 47 52003 27/26 130 23 27 73 52004 14/11 47 5 4 14 02005 21/21 100 15 13 43 2Totals 87/79 382 59 59 177 12


2003 Player of the Year Lindsay Tarpley

2006 Player of the Year Heather O’Reilly


HeatherO’Reilly’s road towinning NationalPlayer of the Yearhonors in 2006was almostderailed beforeshe ever donned aNorth Carolina uni-form. O’Reilly wasthe top-rankedrecruit in the highschool class of2003 and she wasalready playingwith the U.S.National Team asa high school senior in 2002 while attendingEast Brunswick (N.J.) High School.O’Reilly was the surprise player in the

National Team training camp in 2003, earning10 caps as the team prepared to play thatsummer in the World Cup which was to beheld on American soil. There was a strongbelief at the time that the high school seniorhad a good chance to knock a more experi-enced player off the World Cup roster. But onJune 14, 2003, just 74 seconds into a friendlyagainst Ireland in Salt Lake City, O’Reilly suf-fered a broken left fibula and her dream ofmaking the World Cup team was dashed.Now dealing with the injury, O’Reilly enrolled

at Carolina that August as planned but now inthe midst of rehabbing from a broken leg.Amazingly she was cleared to play 10 daysbefore the Tar Heels’ season opener that yearand took the field for the first time in UNC’sthird game of the season. And thus started thecollege career of a dynamic forward who wouldlead the Tar Heels to two NCAA champi-onships and three ACC championships while inthe midst of her time at Carolina scoring one ofthe most important goals in Olympic women’ssoccer history, sparking the U.S. to theOlympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens.O’Reilly finished tied for 10th in career goals

at UNC with 59, 11th incareer points with 167 and12th in career assists with49. Her career wascapped in 2006 when shewas named the nationalplayer of the year bySoccer America while alsoclaiming the prestigiousHonda Soccer Award.She was also namedESPN The Magazine’s National Academic All-America of the Year for women’s soccer, was afinalist for the prestigious Honda Broderick Cupand was the runnerup for the Mary GarberAward as the ACC’s outstanding female ath-lete.O’Reilly was at her absolute best in leading

Carolina to NCAA Championships in 2003 and2006, both years being named the offensiveMVP of the College Cup. She was the unani-mous choice as national freshman player ofthe year in 2003 and then a consensus first-team All-America in her final three seasons.She was a finalist for multiple national player ofthe year honors in both 2004 and 2005 beforebreaking through to win two of the four majorawards in 2006 and finishing only one pointbehind the winner for the Missouri AthleticClub’s Hermann Trophy.O’Reilly led the Tar Heels in scoring three

straight years from 2004-06 and she was thethird-leading scorer on the 2003 team thatwent 27-0. She had 15 goals, 14 assists and44 points in NCAA Tournament games, secondin Carolina history to Lindsay Tarpley in allthree categories.As she was rehabbing from the broken leg

in 2003, O’Reilly entered the ACC Tournamenthaving scored only five goals in the 16 regular-season games in which she played. But shehad three goals in the ACC Tournament andthen exploded in the NCAA Tournament withan 18-point performance on eight goals andtwo assists. Those eight goals are the most inUNC history in a single NCAA Tournament.In the summer of 2004 O’Reilly played with

the U.S. National Team in Greece in the hopesof winning an Olympic gold medal. With theU.S. and Germany tied 1-1 in overtime of thesemifinal game, O’Reilly blistered the back ofthe net off a Mia Hamm assist to catapult theAmericans into the gold medal match, whilealso avenging the U.S. loss to Germanyin the 2003 World Cup semifinals. A fewdays later the college sophomore pos-sessed an Olympic gold medal after theU.S. beat Brazil in overtime in the finalmatch.O’Reilly returned to Chapel Hill and

led the Tar Heels in scoring with 37points but Carolina fell in penalty kicks inthe ACC Tournament final and then wasupset in the NCAA round of 16 by SantaClara. In 2005, O’Reilly again led the TarHeels in scoring with 47 points and shewas named the ACC Offensive Player ofthe Year while leading Carolina to anACC Tournament championship. But apenalty kick setback against FloridaState in the NCAA quarterfinals deniedCarolina a College Cup appearance forthe second straight year.O’Reilly returned as the captain of

UNC’s 2006 team and as a senior shewas determined to go out a winner. AfterCarolina dropped its opener at TexasA&M, she led the Heels to 27 straightwins and the national title. She was the

offensive MVP of the College Cup after scoringfour goals and adding six assists in NCAA play.She scored the insurance goal in the NCAAsemifinal win over UCLA, scored the first goalof the NCAA final against Notre Dame andthen assisted on the eventual game-winningtally against the Fighting Irish.Following her senior year she won the

NCAA’s prestigious Today’s Top VIII Award. NoTar Heel student-athlete had won the awardsince 1984 and it was the crowning jewel ofher college career. The award is the highestannually bestowed by the NCAA for athleticprowess, academic achievement and commu-nity service.This fall she will be a key part of the

American effort to return to the winner’s circleat the World Cup in China. Don’t bet againsther and the Americans. O’Reilly determinationto win was the bedrock of her career atCarolina and drove the Heels to success.

Heather O’Reilly’s Career StatisticsYear GP/GS Shots G A PTS2003 25/20 46 16 11 432004 21/21 71 13 11 372005 24/24 81 18 11 472006 27/27 75 12 16 40Totals 97/92 273 59 49 167

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