Column: History sides with women's soccer

It wasn’t a bad question.

I was doing some shopping at Tanger Outlets in Mebane Monday with my parents. We started off toward the stores, and my dad started talking to me about Saturday’s football game.

Being a soccer player himself, he started talking to me about the men’s soccer games from the weekend. Knowing that women’s soccer is my beat this semester, he asked me a question about the women’s team.

“I saw the girls lost on Sunday,” he said. “Man, what’s up with them?”

And it wasn’t a bad question.

After tying top-ranked UCLA in two overtimes Friday and dropping a game to No. 17 Pepperdine Sunday, the North Carolina women’s soccer team fell to 1-2-1.

The Tar Heels have generated only one goal in their first four games. And after handily outshooting Ohio State early in the season, UNC has managed only one shot on goal through its past two games.

After the first four games of the 2013-14 season, the women’s soccer team had already posted 11 goals in the Carolina Nike and Klockner Classic tournaments.

While this has critics selling UNC early, the truth is, this team can be dangerous.

Just ask Coach Anson Dorrance.

“We’re still adjusting to the graduation of some key forwards, and we’ve had to deal with quite a few injuries already,” Dorrance said.

He’s not kidding. Eight starters from last year’s team are no longer playing. Six signed pro contracts, one had to retire due to concussion issues and another is out for the season with an injury.

Even with the massive roster overhaul, the team managed to tie the No. 1 Bruins on Friday, who returned 10 starters from last year’s national championship team.

“We tied the defending champions on their field after traveling cross-country,” Dorrance said. “I felt pretty good about that.”

The squad was even more depleted against a strong Pepperdine team two days later, losing by a single goal.

And although the offense has been suspect so far, Dorrance said the team will be able to ride the defense until it gets healthy again.

“Our defense has been outstanding,” Dorrance said. “The goals we’ve given up are of our own creation, and I think that the things we’ve given up in goal are things that are easily correctable.”

The UNC women’s soccer program is the closest thing to a dynasty that college sports has ever seen — winning 20 of 22 ACC championships and 21 of 31 NCAA championships. The numbers are staggering.

And now my dad and many others are ignoring those numbers, asking if the team will get back on track.

It’s not a bad question.

But let’s let history run its course. It’s generally been pretty good to this team.