Anson Dorrance doesn’t want history to repeat itself. He wants to remove history from the equation.
The North Carolina women’s soccer team has a chance to add to its record 20 NCAA championships on Sunday at 4 p.m. against Penn State. But the UNC coach said he’s done everything he can to keep those 20 titles from weighing on his players’ minds.
“I don’t want them to dread this streak being broken and that streak and this match and all the other things that are written about them on a regular basis,” Dorrance said. “It drives me nuts, so it must drive them nuts.
“These are collegiate athletes. They aren’t professionals. They do this for fun. There’s no way you’re having fun if you have to live up to this crazy, you know, you’ve got to win a national championship every year, and you can’t lose to this team because they’ve never beaten you before, and you can’t have this happen and you can’t have that.
“I’d like to burn half the newspapers that write stuff about us because the kids are obviously reading this. I’m hoping I’ve never done anything to put that kind of pressure on them, and I hope they never feel it.”
The No. 13 Tar Heels head into Sunday’s match as the underdog for the third straight round. It took them until double overtime to complete the last two upsets.
UNC beat No. 11 Baylor 2-1 in double overtime in the quarterfinals. Then the Tar Heels beat No. 1 Stanford 1-0 in double overtime on Friday when Kealia Ohai took a feed on the right wing from Crystal Dunn and scored off the left post. Now the Tar Heels will face the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions.
Penn State won an overtime game of its own in the semifinals. The Nittany Lions beat No. 7 Florida State 2-1 in one overtime.
After giving up a 1-0 lead with 45 seconds left in regulation, Penn State scored just a minute into overtime. Midfielder Maddy Evans sent a long ball into the box, and midfielder Christine Nairn redirected it perfectly with a one-timer into the corner of the net.
With both North Carolina and Penn State having played draining semifinal matches, the teams both addressed the importance of maintaining their focus during Saturday’s press conferences.
Penn State coach Erica Walsh said any questions about her team’s focus that might have existed earlier in the season have long since been answered.
“I laugh, I smile because I don’t think (my players) are capable of (a letdown) — in fact, I know they’re not capable of it,” Walsh said. “There were moments in the season where I’ve had that question in my mind, but that question has been answered time and time again. Now, in December, I can tell you with great certainty that these guys can handle anything you throw at them.”
And UNC senior goalkeeper Adelaide Gay said she sent a group text message to the team early Saturday afternoon, reminding her teammates to keep their full attention on Penn State after the win against Stanford.
“I don’t think we’ll overlook (Penn State),” Gay said. “I think in a couple of the earlier games, we have overlooked teams and it’s cost us. So I think that we’ll come out ready to play.”
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