If Coach Elmar Bolowich wants to lead his squad to a second title, he will do it exactly like he did last year - with leadership, a strong attack and a staunch defense.
"We have great leadership again this year," Bolowich said. "I don't see us being sort of like the headless horseman. We want to achieve the same goal again."
Although not headless, the defense might be a bit lost for the first part of the season after losing seniors Chris Leitch, Danny Jackson and goalkeeper Michael Ueltschey.
Bolowich acknowledged the defense is a weak spot on his team, and he still must decide on a defensive formation and backfield personnel.
That problem is only confounded by an ankle fracture to Grant Porter, which will keep him sidelined for four to six weeks.
"The defense has to settle in," forward Ryan Kniepper said. "They're going to have to get a couple games under their belt."
Stokes, a junior, knows the responsibility to lead the defense falls squarely on him, and it's a role he is prepared to accept, he said.
Last year's reserve goalkeeper Jay Batt is the front-runner to replace Ueltschey, who had 12 shutouts and a .74 goals against average in 2001.
Freshman Ford Williams also will compete for the job, but he will be a step behind Batt.
Williams is in Spain playing with the Under-20 U.S. National Team and will not return to Chapel Hill until the end of preseason.
But Bolowich stopped short of naming a starter, saying the position is "not clearly defined yet."
The offense, which lost only Noz Yamauchi, expects to be even better than last year.
"We played a year together, and we're bringing back everybody," said Kneipper, who led the Tar Heels with 14 goals last season.
The UNC attack, which notched an ACC-leading 66 goals in 2001, returns its top five scorers: Kneipper, David Testo, ACC Freshman of the Year Marcus Storey, Mike Gell and Matt Crawford.
While the offense is poised to put up big numbers again this year, and the defense looks to improve with each game, the Tar Heels know they must be on the same page come tournament time.
"Everybody needs to come together and get to the level we were at last year," Kneipper said. "If that happens, it'll be hard to stop us."
And the Tar Heels don't expect to stop, not until the 90th minute of the championship game in Dallas.
"Now that we've experienced the final four and a national championship," Crawford said. "I think it's tough to expect anything less."
Despite the uncertainty with the defense, Stokes said not winning another national championship would be "selling this team short."
But it will be a much tougher march to the final four this season, because teams will be gunning for the national champs.
"It's going to make us play that much harder," Kneipper said. "We can't look at anybody lightly this year."
Whether or not the Tar Heels can defend their national title is a subject Bolowich approached a bit more diplomatically.
"Once you get into the flow," Bolowich said, "you never know what can happen."
The Tar Heels open the season on Aug. 30 in Chapel Hill against Akron.
The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu
