BY SCOTT FRENCH
Senior Editor
in Cary, N.C.

Logic suggests there is no chance North Carolina will fail in its bid to win an 18th national championship — the Tar Heels are that good — but Anson Dorrance refuses to think in those terms.

Dorrance, whose creed mandates enormous respect for every opponent, declares that the nation's No. 1 team will need to play a strong game to knock off unfancied Connecticut in the NCAA Division I championship Sunday (2 p.m. EST, ESPN2) at SAS Stadium.

The Tar Heels (26-0-0) have mowed down everything in their path to reach the title game, but he won't buy into the idea, widely supported by the media and his fellow coaches, that his talent-laden squad will pummel the No. 23 Huskies (15-5-3) no matter what.

Dorrance — asked during Saturday's pre-championship media conference whether he had to do anything special to prevent overconfidence among his players, given that everyone, it seems, believes the Tar Heels can't lose — took the media to task.

''Because you passionately believe that, and some other people ion the room passionately believe that, you, unfortunately, and the rest of your colleagues are motivators for the University of Connecticut,'' Dorrance said. ''So as a result, this game that you think will have a wide margin [of victory for North Carolina], because of you, will now be an extraordinarily tight game. And then, in this bizarre sort of journalistic dance, if it is a tight game, you get to become righteously indignant because it is. And yet you're the friggin' cause why it has become close because you had no respect for them.

''This is all horribly tragic because I have great respect for them, and you are the one who motivated them. But, of course, you have the flip sides when you write your story when the game is close. Journalists are in this wonderful position of causing the havoc, then pointing to someone else for the blame.

''How's that for an answer?''

Connecticut coach Len Tsantiris said he wasn't using majority opinion to fire up his team. ''This is the championship,'' he said. ''That's motivation enough.''

Perhaps it is, and — Dorrance's rant notwithstanding — it seems impossible for the Huskies to capture their first NCAA title and prevent Carolina from claiming its 17th. (The Tar Heels also won one AIAW title, before the NCAA began administrating women's sports.)

Dorrance fields one of the finest college teams ever assembled, one featuring four U.S. national team players (Catherine Reddick, Lindsay Tarpley, Lori Chalupny and Heather O'Reilly), one that has handily beaten the Nos. 2 (UCLA) and 3 (Santa Clara) teams in the nation in its past two matches, one that hasn't allowed a goal in NCAA play, and one that employs such relentless pressure that foes, no matter how strong, struggle to hold possession and create chances.

Connecticut reached the College Cup final four from a weak bracket in which the top two teams, Notre Dame and Virginia, were missing critical players to injuries and lost in second-round upsets. Playoff wins over Boston University, Central Connecticut State, Michigan and Brigham Young — the last two by impressive margins — did little to alter the perception that UConn is a solid if somewhat ordinary team, although those victories were enough to get the Huskies to Cary.

Connecticut was outplayed in much of its semifinal triumph over Florida State, but strong play by goalkeeper Erin Rice and clinical finishing by 20-goal scorer Kristen Graczyk forged a 2-0 decision.

Some people — including top NCAA coaches — are predicting a five- or six-goal victory for North Carolina. A coach of a top college program agreed when presented with the idea that if Carolina is well off its game and Connecticut plays a masterful match, that the likely result is a three-goal Tar Heels victory.

The final could be one of the most entertaining but one-sided matches in College Cup history, dishing up memories of North Carolina's 9-1 rout of Duke in the 1992 final. A good deal of the blame goes to the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee, whose off-kilter seeding of the tournament prevented No. 3 Santa Clara and No. 4 Portland — the past two champions and last year's finalists — an equitable shot at reaching the final four.

Not that it would have mattered. There is one great team in college women's soccer this year; the best of the rest is merely very good. Connecticut, decent but hardly outstanding, is out of its depth.

A look at the matchup:

No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (26-0-0) vs. No. 23 CONNECTICUT (15-5-3)
Sunday, 2 p.m. EST (ESPN2)

North Carolina has one of its finest teams, with scads of talent, solid depth and, importantly, home-field advantage. The Tar Heels should be rested — they've played outside the Raleigh-Durham area just once, at Virginia, since early October — and they come into the final after dominating four NCAA foes by a 26-0 margin. Their scoring margin this season is 107-11, with forward Lindsay Tarpley the primary orchestrator. Tarpley, one of the national-teamers, is the only candidate for National Player of the Year; she's set an NCAA tournament record for assists (with nine) and will claim sole possession of the Division I scoring title with one more point. Fellow U.S. standout Heather O'Reilly has fully recovered from a broken leg and ankle ligament surgery and has scored 11 goals in the past 11 games. Alyssa Ramsey is second nationally to Tarpley in assists. Kacey White and national-teamer Lori Chalupny are the best wing tandem in the college game, and U.S. World Cup starter Catherine Reddick anchors a solid backline but will move up front if goals are needed. This wasn't considered a great UConn team, but it's young and versatile and has found its footing following a Big East tournament defeat to Villanova. Kristen Graczyk (20 goals) and Jessica Gjertsen (13) are the primary offensive weapons, with freshmen Meghan Schnur and Niki Cross, who started the season on the back line, providing ample support. Erin Rice is a solid goalkeeper who controls her area behind a fine backline led by freshman Courtney Sands and defensive midfielder Zahra Jalalian.

North Carolina
Probable starters (3-4-3): G — Aly Winget, Soph. (0.45 GAA, 1 assist); D — Carmen Watley, Sr. (0-0); Catherine Reddick, Sr. (6-5); Kendall Fletcher, Soph. (4-6); M — Maggie Tomecka, Sr. (6-8); Kacey White, Soph. (6-16); Jordan Walker, Sr. (1-3); Lori Chalupny, Soph. (10-11); F — Heather O'Reilly, Fr. (14-10); Lindsay Tarpley, Soph. (21-25); Alyssa Ramsey, Sr. (9-24).
Coach: Anson Dorrance (25th year, 558-25-15). Assistants — Bill Palladino and Chris Ducar.
Atlantic Coast Conference: 7-0-0 (champion); tournament — beat North Carolina State (quarterfinals), Duke (semifinals) and Florida State (final).
NCAA Tournament: Seeded 1st; beat High Point (8-0), UNC Greensboro (5-0), Purdue (7-0), Santa Clara (3-0) and UCLA (3-0).
Results vs. NCAA Tournament qualifiers (20-0-0): Washington (2-1, OT), Nebraska (6-0), Texas (1-0, 2OT), Texas A&M (1-0, OT), UCLA (5-2 and 3-0), Navy (1-0), Villanova (3-0), Duke (4-0 and 6-1), Maryland (4-0), Wake Forest (6-0), Clemson (6-1), Virginia (3-1), Florida State (1-0 and 3-2), High Point (8-0), UNC Greensboro (5-0), Purdue (7-0) and Santa Clara (3-0)

Connecticut
Probable starters (4-3-3): G — Erin Rice, Sr. (0.85 GAA, 1 assist); D — Niki Cross, Fr. (3 goals-2 assists); Courtney Sands, Fr. (0-0); Alisse Kosloski, Soph. (0-1); Karlyn Miselis, Soph. (0-0); M — Zahra Jalalian, Jr. (1-0); Meghan Schnur, Fr. (5-9); Kristi Lefebvre, Soph. (2-3); F — Jessica Gjertsen, Jr. (13-10); Brittany Barakat, Soph. (5-0); Kristen Graczyk, Jr. (20-12).
Coach: Len Tsantiris (23rd year, 398-102-26). Assistants — Sarah Barnes, Carey Dorn.
Big East Conference: 5-1-0 (Northeast Division champion); tournament — lost to Villanova (quarterfinals).
NCAA Tournament: Unseeded; beat Boston University (1-0), Central Connecticut State (3-2, 2 OT), Michigan (5-0), Brigham Young (3-1) and Florida State (2-0).
Results vs. NCAA Tournament qualifiers (8-3-2): Wake Forest (0-0, 2OT), Central Connecticut State (4-1 and 3-2, 2OT), Washington (1-1, 2OT), Portland (3-2, OT), West Virginia (0-1), Boston College (2-1, OT), Notre Dame (0-2), Villanova (0-1), Boston University (1-0), Michigan (5-0), Brigham Young (3-1) and Florida State (2-0).

Comparisons NC Conn
Record 26-0-0 15-5-3
GF-GA 107-11 54-19
Goals avg. 4.1-0.4 2.2-0.8
Shutouts 18 10
Shots F-A 601-166 467-264
SOG F-A 283-84 197-117
Shots avg. 23.1-6.4 20.3-11.5
GK saves 73 105
GK save pct. 86.9 84.0
Corner kicks 203 119
Penalties 2-3 1-2
Fouls 230 242
Yellow cards 5 2
Red cards 0 0

Common opponents
Florida State: UNC wins 1-0 (Oct. 31) and 3-2 (Nov. 9); UConn wins 2-0 (Dec. 5)
Villanova: UNC wins 3-0 (Sept. 28); UConn loses 0-1 (Nov. 2)
Wake Forest: UNC wins 6-0 (Oct. 14); UConn ties 0-0 2OT (Aug. 29)
Washington: UNC wins 2-1 OT (Aug. 31); UConn ties 1-1 2OT (Sept. 13)

Prediction: North Carolina 5 Connecticut 0