While West Virginia has claimed the No. 1 ranking for two months and the nation’s top RPI nearly as long, North Carolina owns the grandest tradition in NCAA women’s soccer.
The Tar Heels (17-3-4) own 21 national championships out of 35 NCAA tournaments and will be seeking another Friday when they face the Mountaineers (21-1-2) at the College Cup final four in San Jose, Calif.
“There’s only one team that does it per year out of 365,” said West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. “Until we’re No. 1 at the end of the year, I won’t even reflect on the numbers.