On the strength of four straight wins to start the season, including a victory against former No. 1 Notre Dame, the North Carolina women’s soccer team has been sitting comfortably as the country’s top-ranked program for nearly two weeks now.
But while the team has certainly looked like a well-oiled machine thus far, coach Anson Dorrance and his team are not opposed to some fine-tuning.
At the Duke Nike Classic in Durham this weekend, the Tar Heels will have their final chance at a tune-up before conference play starts Sept. 16. The team will spar with UNC-Greensboro (1-3) today followed by a matchup against Texas A&M (4-3) on Sunday.
While the Tar Heels haven’t played the Spartans since 2009, the Aggies are a familiar UNC opponent. The teams have crossed paths in each of the last five seasons, with UNC ending up on the winning end four out of the five times.
But even with recent history on their side, the Tar Heels aren’t taking the Aggies lightly.
“We know they’re going to come out tough,” Wood said. “A&M gave us a run for our money last year and the year before that. They’re always a good team, so they’re going to be competitive.”
In the past week, the Tar Heels have been experimenting with their defensive alignment, and they could potentially unveil a new formation this weekend.
“We normally play 3-4-3, but we’re trying something different,” Wood said. “We’re going to have four defenders in the backline now instead of three … Anson really likes it because the French women played it in the World Cup, and they really put the U.S. under a lot of pressure.”
North Carolina has been hard at work in practice perfecting its rhythm, Dorrance said, and he called the team’s practice before Sunday’s 3-0 win against Ohio State one of the best the team has ever had.
