DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 18 Arkansas women’s soccer team will face No. 12 UNC, in its final match of the Duke Nike Classic, on Sunday morning (Sept. 7). The match, which is slated to start at 11 a.m. CT, is the Razorbacks’ second and final match at the Duke Nike Classic and will be streamed through ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
| GAME INFORMATION | ||
|---|---|---|
GAME | No. 18/20 Arkansas (3-1-1) vs. No. 12/14 UNC (2-2-1) | |
DATE/TIME | Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014 | 11 a.m. CT | |
VENUE | Koskinen Stadium (7,000) | Durham, N.C. | |
LIVE STATS | GoDuke.com | |
VIDEO | ESPN3, WatchESPN App | |
TALENT | Ryan Craig (P-B-P), John Roth (Analyst) | |
SERIES | UNC leads 2-0-0 overall | |
SOCIAL | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | |
With a victory or a tie against UNC on Sunday morning, the Razorbacks will avoid the first losing streak of the season and pick up their first win over a ranked opponent this year.
ARKANSAS/UNC SERIES
The Razorbacks and Tar Heels will meet for the third time in program history. North Carolina leads the all-time series 2-0-0, with the last meeting coming on Sept. 18, 1994 when UNC defeated Arkansas 9-0 in Chapel Hill, N.C. In the two meetings between the two programs, UNC has outscored Arkansas 16-1.
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: NO. 12 UNC
- UNC enters this Friday’s game against Penn State with an all-time record of 765-56-30. Head coach Anson Dorrance has coached the Tar Heels in all 851 of their games.
- UNC has now hosted a version of the Carolina Nike Classic, under the current name or the names of other title sponsors, since the initial event in 1980 a total of 24 times.
- Carolina has a 43-3-2 record in its early season tournaments at home. The only losses were to Penn State in 1999, Notre Dame in 2008 and Stanford in 2014 with ties against Stanford in 2010 and Florida in 2012.
- UNC's average record per year in its 35 years of soccer is 21.80 wins per year, 1.54 losses per year and 0.83 ties per year.
- UNC's 1-0 loss at Pepperdine on August 31, 2014 was only the 41st time the Tar Heels have been shut out in their history. Altogether, UNC has played 850 matches since 1979. They have been blanked on the scoreboard in only 4.8 percent of the games they have played in. Carolina has suffered 30 shutout losses in its history. The Tar Heels have also played 11 scoreless ties in their history history.
- With a social media push a week before to the season opener on Friday, Aug. 22, @RazorbackSoccer moved into the Top 25 for Division I women’s soccer Twitter accounts. Arkansas is now No. 23 with 2,910 followers.
- Sunday’s (Aug. 31) win over SFA gave Arkansas a 3-0-1 record for the month of August. The Razorbacks are now 6-0-1 in August over the last two seasons.
- The SFA victory also gave Arkansas its third-straight three-win August, all of which have come under head coach Colby Hale
- Arkansas’ win over SFA kept the Razorbacks unbeaten, after four contests, for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in program history.
- Arkansas is 27-19-3 overall and 4-2-1 as a ranked team in the Hale era.
- The Razorbacks are 3-6-0 vs. Top 25 teams under head coach Colby Hale
- Arkansas’ last victory over a ranked team came on Sept. 27, 2013 with a 3-0 win over No. 14 Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.
- Arkansas is playing its sixth match this season as a ranked team, which is the most consecutive games played as a ranked team in program history.
- Ashleigh Ellenwood’s goal against Stephen F. Austin was the 22nd of her career, which puts her two goals behind Heather Cato (1996-99) for sixth on Arkansas’ all-time goals list.
- The three points against SFA gave Ellenwood 55 for her career, moving her into a sixth-place tie with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) on Arkansas’ all-time points list.
- Arkansas is 8-10-1 on the road in three years under Hale.
- Arkansas’ last victory over a ranked team came on Sept. 27, 2013 with a 3-0 win over No. 14 Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.
- Sunday’s match against No. 12/14 North Carolina marks the first time since Sept. 27 & 29, 2012 that Arkansas has played back-to-back ranked opponents.
Following Sunday’s matchup against No. 12 UNC, the Razorbacks will return to Fayetteville for a three-match homestand. Arkansas will battle Rice on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7:05 p.m., before welcoming Missouri State (Sept. 14) and SEC foe Kentucky (Sept. 19) to Razorback Field.
LAST TIME OUT: VS. No. 19 DUKE (FRIDAY, SEPT. 5)
- Arkansas fell at No. 19 Duke 3-0 and fell to 0-3-0 all-time against the Blue Devils.
- Friday night’s shutout at Duke marked the second straight Friday that Arkansas had been held scoreless.
- The three goals allowed at Duke were the most this season by the Razorbacks and the most allowed since Oct. 25, 2013 when they dropped a 3-1 decision to Auburn.
- The Razorbacks were ranked No. 20 in this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll (Sept. 1) and No. 18 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Poll that was released on Tuesday afternoon (Sept. 2). Arkansas was one of four SEC squads ranked in the two polls (Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina).
- Arkansas was also ranked No. 4 in this week’s NSCAA NCAA Division I - South Poll, behind Texas A&M, Florida and South Carolina.
- Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I - South Poll
Senior TYLER ALLEN received Honorable Mention for the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week after helping lead the Razorbacks to a 1-0-1 record last week.
- Allen’s four points (one goal, two assists) in the 4-2 win over SFA, tied her with sophomore Alexandria Fischer (2 goals vs. Utah State) for the most points in a single-game this season.
- Allen now has 20 points in her career (3 goals, 14 assists).
- Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week
The Razorbacks have an 8-10-1 road record and a 3-2-1 neutral site record under head coach Colby Hale.
#SCTop10
In Arkansas’ 2-1 exhibition win over Creighton on Aug. 14, Tyler Allen’s 40-yard free kick goal in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner. After a Creighton foul, Allen stepped up for a Razorback free kick and delivered a perfectly struck ball 40-yards down field that landed in left-hand side of the goal to break a 1-1 deadlock. Allen’s goal helped Arkansas pick up a victory in a contest they statistically dominated.
Her incredible goal came in at No. 6 on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night.
THE 2014 EDITION OF @RAZORBACKSOCCER
The Razorbacks are coming off a record-setting 2013 season that saw the team collect the most regular season wins in school history (15) and the programs first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Arkansas will look to improve on those achievements this year as they enter one of the most anticipated seasons in program history.
Arkansas returns 20 players that accounted for 102 of the team’s 136 points from a team that went 15-8-1 and 5-6 in Southeastern Conference play. Of the 12 different players that scored a goal last year, eight return to make up 82 percent (36-of-44) of the goals.
TOP 100 UPPERCLASSMEN
Junior Ashleigh Ellenwood was named among Top Drawer Soccer's women's National Top 100 Upperclassmen. Ellenwood clocked in at the No. 54 spot.
The Michigan City, Ind., native enters her junior season on the heels of an All-SEC second team choice. Ellenwood led the Razorbacks with 35 points on team-highs of 14 goals and 7 assists a year ago to help Arkansas win a program-best 15 games. Over the 24-game season, Ellenwood registered a point in 14 of those contests, highlighted by six game-winning goals, which set a new program single-season record.
DUO NAMED TO THE COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON TEAM
Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood and defender Kaylyn Cooper were named to the College Sports Madness SEC Soccer Preseason All-Conference Teams.
Ellenwood, who earned All-SEC second team honors last season, was named to the first-team preseason all-conference squad. Cooper, an anchor of the Arkansas backline that registered five shutouts last season, earned a spot on the second team.
NATIONAL PRESEASON POLLS
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 23 in the 2014 TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll that was announced on Monday, Aug. 11. The Razorbacks were one of four SEC squads ranked in the Top 25 along with No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida and No. 9 South Carolina.
Arkansas, one of seven SEC programs to at least receive votes in the NSCAA preseason top 25 poll, will face four opponents ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll in No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 12 Duke. The Gators and the Aggies will both battle the Razorbacks at Razorback Field this season.
PRESEASON SEC POLL
With 20 letterwinners, including eight starters, returning from last year’s NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad, the Arkansas women’s soccer team was tabbed eighth in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced by the league office on Monday, Aug. 11.
SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll (First Place Votes)
1. Florida (8) – 164 points
2. Texas A&M (6) – 162 points
3. South Carolina – 136 points
4. Kentucky – 129 points
5. Tennessee – 125 points
6. LSU – 99 points
7. Georgia – 84 points
8. Arkansas – 77 points
9. Ole Miss – 71 points
9. Missouri – 71 points
11. Auburn – 66 points
12. Alabama – 51 points
13. Vanderbilt – 25 points
14. Mississippi State - 14 points
LOVE FROM TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM
In TopDrawerSoccer.com’s SEC preseason preview, the outlet highlighted Arkansas.
Here’s what they had to say about head coach Colby Hale and his Razorbacks:
“It was a breakout campaign for head coach Colby Hale and the Razorbacks, winning the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament game, advancing all the way to the third round before bowing out to Duke on penalty kicks. Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood, whose play in 2013 helped her earn a call-up to a U.S. U23 WNT camp, looks to lead the program’s encore, as they continue to climb the regular season conference standings. In all, eight of the team’s starters from last year’s squad are back, including Jeriann Okoro, Tyler Allen and Claire Kelley.”
U-23 US NATIONAL TEAM CAMP
Ashleigh Ellenwood got an early jump on her preparation for the 2014 campaign when she participated in the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Domestic Training Camp from July 15-22 in Seattle, Wash.
A total of 24 players that were either current collegiate athletes or just played their senior season last fall made up the roster that will be led by head coach Steve Swanson over the seven days.
2013 #RAZORFACT TO REMEMBER
Arkansas’ record-setting 2013 started in style, as it opened with seven straight wins to find its way into the top 25 for the first time in program history. Over the opening seven games of last year, the Razorbacks out-scored their opponents 15-5 while coming away three overtime victories.
For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.