The Virginia women’s soccer team has certainly been tested in the non-conference schedule so far this season; a 1-1 tie to Auburn and a 2-1 victory on a go-ahead goal in the 87th minute against Dartmouth testify to that. In Virginia’s upcoming conference schedule, however, these types of tests will become the rule rather than the exception.
As a microcosm of the elite status of the ACC, consider Miami. According to the 2008 preseason coaches’ poll, the Miami women’s soccer team was ranked seventh in the ACC. What is staggering, though, is according to Soccer Buzz Magazine’s Sept. 8 poll, Miami was ranked 28th nationally. With its conference schedule just around the corner, Miami has managed to defeat seven of the eight teams it has played, shutting out six and out-scoring its non-conference opponents 16-2.
So, was it lack of respect for Miami that led to such a low ranking in the ACC prior to the start of the season? Likely not. While Miami is already laying the groundwork for a great season, no teams ranked ahead of them in the ACC have shown any glaring weaknesses. Miami’s low ranking is more indicative of how high the level of competition is in the conference.
“Year in year out it’s the elite conference,” North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance said.
The ACC, however, seems to be more than just an elite conference; it could be the best. Of the 12 schools that make up the ACC, 11 have women’s soccer programs. In non-conference play so far this season, these 11 teams have already accumulated 60 wins in just 77 games — outscoring their opponents by a whopping 205-56. Seven ACC women’s soccer players were named pre-season All-Americans, and eight were named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Watch List.
“I feel pretty confident [the ACC] is the best conference in the country,” Maryland coach Brian Pensky said. “With what [the ACC coaches] are doing around the league, consistently we have three or four or five teams that are top 10 in the country. Recruiting classes, from year to year, we have two or three in the top 5 in the country.”
Many conferences in the country have extremely good teams like the ACC. What makes the level of play in the ACC so challenging, however, is its depth.
“I think what makes the ACC even more special is that from top to bottom there aren’t big gaps,” Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said. “Where in many of the other conferences some of their top teams are very good, but on the bottom end there is big separation between the top and the bottom. I don’t think we have that in the ACC.”
Even the team at the very bottom of the ACC table, Maryland, is 3-3-1. With six teams ranked in the top 25 nationally, players and coaches across the conference agreed that Maryland or any other team at the bottom of the ACC standings presents a challenge.
“There’s no day off,” Pensky said. “All the coaches feel like the ‘bottom of the league’ — the Marylands, the Virginia Techs, the N.C. States, the Miamis, the Clemsons — are all getting better and better every year to where you can’t go to Maryland or go to N.C. State on a weekend and think, ‘Let’s get out of here with a three- or four-nothing win.’ You know it’s a battle.”
Last season, eight of the Terrapins’ nine losses came against ACC teams, and five came from goals scored in the last two minutes of regulation or in overtime. It may seem a disadvantage for teams in the ACC to be forced to play such a demanding schedule year after year; however, most coaches and even players see an upside.
“It’s a tremendous positive to be able to play the teams that we play over the course of the regular season,” Virginia coach Steve Swanson said. “It’s a great training round, so to speak, for the postseason.”
What is interesting about the ACC is the cause of its superiority in the sport of women’s soccer. The success of sports programs on the collegiate and national level usually stems from monetary support. It seems, on the other hand, that in the ACC other factors are the driving force.
“In the Big 12 [Conference] and the [Southeastern Conference], the schools are throwing a lot of money into women’s soccer that, quite honestly, isn’t being put into women’s soccer in our conference,” Pensky said.
Yet, there is no doubt the best soccer players still want to play in the ACC.
“Being in the ACC was a big draw [for my going to Virginia],” Virginia freshman Lauren Alwine said.
One of the big factors that seems to influence recruiting for the ACC is not just the quality of the soccer, but the quality of the education the conference schools have to offer.
“The schools in the conference are very attractive schools,” Dorrance said. “As a result, we attract a lion’s share of the elite youth players.”
All 12 of the ACC’s schools are ranked in the top 105 colleges by U.S. News and World Report.
“Right here in Virginia, UNC, Duke and Wake Forest and Boston College — those are all outstanding educations that these women can leave school with in four years with just a total package of personal experience and athletic experience and obviously an outstanding degree,” Pensky said.
The coaching in ACC women’s soccer also certainly rivals the best in country and perpetuates conference success. At North Carolina, Dorrance is in a category of his own. He has a career record of 648-32-19 and has led the Tar Heels to 18 NCAA titles; between 1982 and 2000, only three championships were not won by UNC. Since 2000, North Carolina has added two more championships to its decorated history, making it the foundation upon which the ACC’s tradition of success has been built.
“In a lot of ways I think you need to give Anson credit,” Pensky said. “I think Anson has been kind of the father of women’s college soccer ... It all needs a beginning, and I think that beginning starts with North Carolina.”
Historically speaking, North Carolina’s dominance in the sport of women’s soccer is unquestioned. In recent history, however, the parity within the ACC has increased.
“Virginia’s been good, and N.C. State had its share of runs back in the early ‘90s competing against North Carolina,” Pensky said. “But I think the beginning has to start with Anson, and then I think after that the coaches in this league.”
While ACC dominance is still very much the theme of collegiate women’s soccer, rapid growth of the sport around the country threatens. With the introduction of Title IX and the wealth of opportunities it has opened up for women in athletics, other conferences seem to be picking up the slack.
“I think entire conferences have been established because of Title IX,” Dorrance said. “I think the SEC jumped into women’s soccer because of a lawsuit that was brought against one of the schools in the conference. I think out of fear of further litigation the SEC was born. There is no question that Title IX has benefited all of us in women’s athletics.”
Following North Carolina’s NCAA championship in 2000, the national trophy has fallen out of the hands of the ACC five of the last seven years.
“In my experience — I’ve been in the Ivy League, I’ve been in the Pac 10 — I’ve seen a lot of the conferences, and I’ve seen a lot of them develop over the year,” Swanson said. “I think there is no question that the parity between the conferences is much more even now than it has ever been.”
The world of women’s collegiate soccer is changing. Every year it becomes more and more competitive — not just within the ACC, but within the entire NCAA. The ACC, however, continues to strive to maintain its superiority in the sport. This weekend marks the last weekend of non-conference play before ACC teams meet for the first time this season and get a chance to truly test their months of preparation and training. So get ready for some dog fights. If you want to see women’s soccer played at its finest, look no further than the ACC.
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