Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team and helped the team win four consecutive NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top male and female college soccer players.
College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in South Korea and Canada. The institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student athletes are strictly amateur and are not paid. College soccer in the United States is sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the sports regulatory body for major universities, and by the governing bodies for smaller universities and colleges. This sport is played on a rectangular field of the dimensions of about 70 - 75 yards sideline to sideline (width), and 115 - 120 yards goal line to goal line (length).
Bruce Edward Murray is a retired American soccer forward/Mid fielder, who at the time of his retirement was the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. National Team. His standout college career led to his selection by Soccer America Magazine to its College Team of the Century. He then played professionally in both Europe and the United States, including the American Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. Concussion syndrome forced him to retire in 1995, Murray had earned 86 caps, scoring 21 goals, including one at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was also a member of the U.S. national futsal team which placed third at the 1989 FIFA Futsal World Championship. He currently coaches at the Center for Soccer Excellence at The St. James in Springfield, Virginia. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Albert Anson Dorrance IV is an American soccer coach. He is currently the head coach of the women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina. He has one of the most successful coaching records in the history of athletics. Under Dorrance's leadership, the Tar Heels have won 21 of the 31 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships. The Tar Heels' record under Dorrance stood at 809-67-36 over 33 seasons at the end of the 2017 season. He has led his team to a 101-game unbeaten streak and coached 13 different women to a total of 20 National Player of the Year awards. The NCAA has recognized Dorrance as the Women's Soccer Coach of the Year seven times and as the Men's Soccer Coach of the Year in 1987. On March 10, 2008 Dorrance was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS).
Robert Fetzer Field was a sports field located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was the home of the lacrosse and soccer teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The four teams that called Fetzer field their home have a combined total of 26 national championships. The stadium was demolished in 2017 to make way for the new Dorrance Field soccer and lacrosse stadium that was built on the same site.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was chartered in 1789, and in 1795 it became the first state-supported university in the United States. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname "Carolina", especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as North Carolina, UNC, or The Heels. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Tar Heels.
The Soccer America College Team of the Century were chosen by the editors of the American periodical Soccer America to comprise, as one men's and one women's eleven-member side divided each as one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders, and three forwards, the best players of collegiate association football in the United States of the 20th century CE.
Beginning in 1984, Soccer America Magazine began naming a college player of the year. At the time Soccer America was the best source for U.S. soccer, especially collegiate soccer which was rarely covered by the national news services. Consequently, its end of year awards have been recognized as among the most important and are listed by the NCAA in its official awards.
The ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year was an annual award created by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) to recognize the best U.S. college soccer goalkeeper. The ISAA began naming an annual men's Goalkeeper of the Year in 1983. In 1986, the ISAA began naming a women's Goalkeeper of the Year and continued to award this honor for both men and women through the 1995 season, the last year that any player was named. The NCAA recognizes these players in its record books.
Warren Lipka is an American retired soccer goalkeeper who formerly coached the University of Kentucky women's soccer team, and is now the head women's soccer coach at Morehead State University.
Charles (Charlie) Arndt is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who was the 1988 ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year. He spent two seasons in the American Professional Soccer League and is currently the Furman University goalkeeper coach.
The North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I soccer. The team has won 23 of the 27 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, and 21 of the 38 NCAA national championships.
Shannon Danise Higgins-Cirovski is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who earned fifty-one caps with the United States between 1987 and 1991. She was a member of the U.S. team at the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
The 1992 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the 11th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The championship game was played at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina during December 1992.
The 1993 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the 12th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The championship game was played at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina during December 1993.
At the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, United Soccer Coaches selects two Most Outstanding Players: one for the Offensive Most Outstanding Player and the Defensive Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but is often a member of the Championship team.
Megan Maire McCarthy is an American former soccer player who played as a defender, making 42 appearances for the United States women's national team.