UNC Athletic Communications Archives
Sweet streaks
North Carolina soccer
Won nine consecutive NCAA championships.
If there were a record for "most streaks over a given period," UNC would have to hold it. From 1986 to 1994, the Tar Heels ran off a 103-game unbeaten streak, another 92-game unblemished stretch and an 84-game home win streak. Carla Werden, Julie Guarnotta, Shannon Higgins and Ava Hyatt, who played between 1986 and 1990, went their entire collegiate careers without losing a game. Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly, who played from 1988 to 1992, lost once. But success is ultimately measured in championships, which is why the nine straight titles under legendary coach Anson Dorrance (pictured with Hamm) is the real headline-grabber. "The thing about playing for Carolina is you knew the team won the year before, so you'd be like, 'OK, we have to win, too,'" Lilly says. "You didn't want to lose the respect of past players." So the Tar Heels didn't lose, period.
