BY SCOTT FRENCH, Senior Editor in Dallas Santa Clara’s 3-2 victories over Virginia and Florida in its past two NCAA playoff matches aren’t the least bit indicative of its mastery of the opponent. They were woefully one-sided clashes — would-be routs consisting largely of one Bronco attack after another — that quickly turned into fierce battles for survival. It’s a road that won’t serve Coach Jerry Smith and his squad well Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. CST; ESPN) when they meet 17-time national champion North Carolina in the NCAA Women’s College Cup soccer final at Southern Methodist University’s Ford Stadium. The Tar Heels, 24-0 and ranked No. 1 since preseason, aren’t likely to become fodder for Aly Wagner and Co.’s dazzling possession game, and the second-ranked Broncos (22-2) can’t afford to surrender any advantage they acquire. Carolina, playing in its 20th national championship game since 1981, is the unfathomable dynasty, and history suggests that Santa Clara, notorious underachievers who had lost seven successive semifinal matches before Friday’s overtime triumph over Florida, will need plenty of luck to overcame the Tar Heels. Smith isn’t buying it. “It’s remarkable [North Carolina] has done what they’ve done,” Smith says, “but this is a new year, and this is maybe the year of us having breakthroughs, getting over hurdles. … And now we’re playing in a championship game, and I think our team is prepared and ready for it, and I don’t think what’s gone on in prior years will have any impact on the [final].” He should hope so: Santa Clara has lost “every which way” possible in the semifinals, Smith reasons, and nearly found another on Friday. A 2-0 advantage dissolved in the final seven minutes of regulation against Florida, and Veronica Zepeda’s strike off the underside of the crossbar was required for the overtime victory. Six days earlier, the Broncos were cruising with a 3-0 lead over a shotless Virginia after an hour, then gave up two goals in 77 minutes. They panicked, they admitted afterwards, but their survival was telling. Past Santa Clara teams, notably the sensational ’99 squad that entered the College Cup with a 23-0 record and promptly lost to Notre Dame, wilted under similar pressure; this group has the grit to pull through. “The real Achilles’ heel of past Santa Clara University teams is not being able to grind it out,” Smith admits. “If we weren’t totally dominating an opponent, and things weren’t going our way, it was going to be tough for us. This team has a different character.” Whether it has enough character to beat Carolina on college women’s soccer’s biggest stage may be determined by how well it endures periods of Tar Heel success. “I think [North Carolina] is going to get a goal,” Smith says. :I’ve always said: In these kind of games, if you want to win, you’ve got to score two goals. … Now there’s been some 1-0 games, but we have a great attacking team and they have a great attacking team, and both teams are very good defensively. I have a theory that a great attack will beat a great defense — so there are going to be goals. “How you deal with that situation is critical. If there’s something that we can really improve upon, it’s what happens after our opponent scores. … That’ll be something we think about and talk about, and we we’ll be better prepared to deal with that when Carolina scores a goal tomorrow against us. … We have to deal with that a little bit better than we did in the last two games.” The teams match up well in terms of talent, although North Carolina possesses better depth — especially up front — and Santa Clara has key players, including Zepeda, Wagner, midfielder Devvyn Hawkins and goalkeeper Alyssa Sobolik, performing with injury. North Carolina hadn’t been at its best in weeks before arriving in Dallas, but it offered an impressive performance in the first hour of a 2-1 victory over Portland in Friday’s semifinal. Anne Remy finished off a fine sequence for one goal and used a nifty backheel to set up another, Jena Kluegel was unstoppable on the left, and strong team defense quieted star Pilot striker Christine Sinclair and produced clear midfield dominance. Portland rallied for one goal and had chances for a second, missing out on a chance at overtime when referee Msail Tsapos failed to award a deserved penalty kick in the 89th minute. “If the referee says it’s not a penalty, it’s not a penalty,” Portland coach Clive Charles said afterward. “We’re not going to grouse about it.” Neither was Carolina coach Anson Dorrance, who said he hadn’t gotten a good view of the incident — in which goalkeeper Jenni Branam pulled Pilot midfielder Betsy Barr from behind near the goalmouth — but likened it to the “bullets” the Tar Heels have dodged throughout the playoffs. They needed an 82nd-minute goal to complete a second-half comeback against Rutgers in the third round, then needed an 80th-minute goal, off Alyssa Ramsey’s rear end, to dispose of Penn State in the semifinals. The Tar Heels define grit, define survival — en route to the 2000 championship, they overcame nine deficits and needed two late goals in both the semifinals and final. “That,” Dorrance says, “was harrowing.” The battle could come down to several matchups — Wagner vs. Maggie Tomecka and Jordan Walker, Ramsey and Remy vs. Danielle Slaton and Anna Kraus, Kluegel vs. Jessica Ballweg — and, well, luck. “There’s always a little bit of luck [aiding] the winner,” Dorrance says. “Also, the absence of bad luck. Those things will come into play in this environment. “It also comes down to which personalities take over. They have personalities who can take over, we do, and that’s pretty much what these kinds of games come down to.” A look at the matchup: North Carolina (24-0) vs. Santa Clara (22-2) Game time: 3 p.m. CST. Television: ESPN. North Carolina: Atlantic Coast Conference champion, ACC tournament champion. SA ranking: 1. Seeded: 1. Previous AIAW/NCAA final fours: 20 (1981 through 2000). Champions: 17 (1981-82-83-84-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-96-97-99-2000). Runners-up: 2 (1985-98). Coach — Anson Dorrance (23 years, 511-22-11). Key players — F Elizabeth Ball (10-5), D Danielle Borgman (0 goals-7 assists), G Jenni Branam (0.54 GAA, 5.8 shutouts), D Leslie Gaston (3-2), MF Jena Kluegel (8-8), F Anne Morrell (8-8), F Alyssa Ramsey (15-19), MF Sara Randolph (2-4), D Catherine Reddick (3-7), F Anne Remy (11-15), MF Maggie Tomecka (8-4), MF Jordan Walker (3-10). Outlook — The Tar Heels had been struggling, but they gave an impressive performance in the first hour of their semifinal win over Portland and have enough weapons to cause the Broncos’ defense problems. There’s so much depth up top — Alyssa Ramsey has quietly fashioned one of the best seasons in college soccer, and Anne Remy seems unstoppable at the moment, and then there’s Anne Morrell, Elizabeth Ball and Mary McDowell — and left winger Jena Kluegel is without peer. (She was selected to the NSCAA All-America third team — ridiculous.) Defensive midfielder Maggie Tomecka, Dorrance says, has the tools to be a “superstar.” She may be Carolina’s pivotal player, and how well she — with help, certainly — frustrates Aly Wagner could determine the outcome. Catherine Reddick, flanked by Danielle Borgman and Leslie Gaston, is a consummate center back. If they can limit Wagner’s ability to connect with, especially, Veronica Zepeda and Leslie Osborne, UNC will be in good shape. It’s a fact — A win today would give the Tar Heels their fifth perfect season. The others: 1981 (23-0), 1991 (24-0), 1992 (25-0), 1993 (23-0). They also were unbeaten in 1984 (24-0-1), 1986 (24-0-1), 1987 (23-0-1), 1988 (18-0-3), 1989 (24-0-1) and 1997 (27-0-1) Santa Clara: West Coast Conference champion. SA ranking: 2. Seeded: 2. Previous NCAA final fours: 7 (1989-90-92-96-97-98-99). Coach — Jerry Smith (15 years, 241-60-15). Key players — D Jessica Ballweg (4 goals-5 assists), F Kristi Candau (8-3), MF Kerry Cathcart (3-4), MF Devvyn Hawkins (4-2), F Bree Horvath (5-1), D Anna Kraus (0-0), F-MF Leslie Osborne (13-16), D Danielle Slaton (2-11), F Taline Tahmassian (8-5), MF Aly Wagner (16-20), F Veronica Zepeda (11-7). Outlook — The Broncos need an outstanding game from its defense, another superb showing from playmaker Aly Wagner and perhaps a little more magic from forward Veronica Zepeda. The back line is solid, with Danielle Slaton and Anna Kraus in the middle, but goalkeeper Alyssa Sobolik (playing with a torn posterior cruciate ligament in her left knee) and left back Lana Bowen need better performances than they provided against Florida. Wagner is, no matter what the Hermann and MAC committees say, the country’s premier player, and if she can shake the Tar Heels’ heavy attention and connect with Zepeda, fellow midfielder Kerry Cathcart and forward-midfielder Leslie Osborne, Santa Clara’s attack will be difficult to stop. Zepeda is the wild card, a dynamic striker and one of the best dribblers in the nation, but her playing time is severely hampered by shin splints. They didn’t stop her from scoring twice against Florida in the semifinals — netting the OT winner after icing her shins during the second half — and she’ll be vital against Carolina’s outstanding back line. Key will be how well defensive midfielder Devvyn Hawkins deals with a knee banged up against Florida and whether freshman right back can slow down Carolina winger Jena Kluegel. It’s a fact — A Santa Clara victory would bring Santa Clara County its third national soccer championship of 2001, with the Broncos joining the Bay Area CyberRays (WUSA) and San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) with a trophy. A fourth is possible: Stanford is playing in next weekend’s NCAA Men’s College Cup in Columbus, Ohio. Prediction — Carolina always seems to pull the close one out, and Santa Clara historically doesn’t do so. This is a different Santa Clara, one capable of winning tight, gritty games, and the semifinal victory over Florida — in OT after surrendering a two-goal lead — is telling evidence. Carolina has more attacking depth, and its defense is the Broncos’ equal, but they have nobody to match Aly Wagner, and unless they can shut her off — something nobody’s been able to do this fall — it will be tough to beat Santa Clara. UNC coach Anson Dorrance called Portland a “team of destiny.” He was wrong: Santa Clara better fits the description. Santa Clara 3 North Carolina 2. SEMIFINAL SUMMARIES Friday’s results North Carolina 2 Portland 1. Goals: Remy (Ramsey, Morrell) 15, Ball (Remy, Randolph) 59; Casagrande 70. Santa Clara 3 Florida 2 (OT). Goals: Zepeda (Wagner) 42, Osborne (Wagner) 77, Zepeda (Ballweg) 94; Frimpong (Wambach) 84, Johnston (Hamel) 87. ROAD TO THE COLLEGE CUP (NCAA Playoffs) North Carolina d. UNC Greensboro, 3-0 (goals by Remy 19, Tomecka 21, McDowell 80. d. Duke, 2-0 (Walker 27, Tomecka 35). d. Rutgers, 2-1 (Morrell 64, Walker 82). d. Penn State, 2-1 (Randolph 6, Ramsey 80). Santa Clara d. Evansville, 3-0 (goals by Candau 59, Tahmassian 67, Candau 89). d. Syracuse, 4-1 (Osborne 47, Wagner pen. 59, Hawkins 64, Candau 73). d. Dartmouth, 2-0 (Wagner pen. 9, Ballweg 58). d. Virginia, 3-2 (Slaton 21, Zepeda 40, Wagner 54). PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS NCAA 2000 — North Carolina 1999 — North Carolina 1998 — Florida 1997 — North Carolina 1996 — North Carolina 1995 — Notre Dame 1994 — North Carolina 1993 — North Carolina 1992 — North Carolina 1991 — North Carolina 1990 — North Carolina 1989 — North Carolina 1988 — North Carolina 1987 — North Carolina 1986 — North Carolina 1985 — George Mason 1984 — North Carolina 1983 — North Carolina 1982 — North Carolina AIAW 1981 — North Carolina 1980 — Cortland State