HIGHLANDERS TREK TO CHAPEL HILL FOR NCAA MATCHUP WITH NO. 13 NORTH CAROLINA

Radford Makes Its Second Straight NCAA Tournament Appearance and Third in Five Years

PHOTO GALLERY

Coming off its second straight Big South Championship, Radford heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a first round NCAA matchup against No. 13 North Carolina on Saturday. The Highlanders (14-2-4) and Tar Heels (10-5-2) kick off from historic Fetzer Field at 5:00 p.m.

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A LOOK AT RU: Rachel Conway scored with 34 seconds left in the first half and Che' Brown made six saves as Radford defeated host Winthrop, 1-0, in the 2012 Big South Championship… Second straight title, third in five years and fifth overall… Brown was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Conway, Sydney Golden and Megan Rhodes… RU is on a Big South and school-record 17-match unbeaten streak (13-0-4), tied with No. 4 BYU for the second best active streak in NCAA Div. I… Set a new Big South single-season shutout mark in semifinal win against Longwood… Brown's 13^th clean sheet in championship match set a new league single-season shutout mark, surpassing UNC Asheville's Jill Young (1995)… Ranked third in the NCAA in shutout percentage (.700), fourth in save pct. (.879) and 10^th in GAA (0.57), while Brown ranks sixth in save pct. (.884) and 17^th in GAA (0.56)… RU is currently on six-match shutout streak (612:45)… Recorded 36 cleans sheets last three seasons... Conway leads the Highlanders with seven goals and 16 points… Conway, Sahar Aflaki and Julie Ruh'e each have three game-winning goals… Mary Wiley has dished out a team-best seven assists.

A LOOK AT UNC: The 13^th-ranked Tar Heels enter the tournament following a defeat in the ACC semifinals to Virginia… North Carolina has played in every NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1982 and has won 20 tournament titles… Summer Green and Maria Lubrano top the scoring charts with seven goals apiece, while Amber Brooks and Kealia Ohai have each netted six… Brooks has also dished out six assists with Ranee Premji pacing the squad with eight helpers… In net, Adelaide Gay has started 16 of 17 matches (1064:20) and has recorded a 0.59 GAA with a .781 save percentage… The Tar Heel defense has allowed just 12 goals and 129 shots on the season.

THE SERIES: UNC has won all 14 meetings against Radford between 1981-2002… This is the first head-to-head encounter since the squads met in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, a 6-1 victory for the Tar Heels.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This is Radford's sixth NCAA appearance and second matchup with North Carolina… The Highlanders have faced off against ACC foes five times with the exception of James Madison (L, 0-3) in 1998, Ben Sohrabi's first trip to the postseason… Back-to-back appearances and third in five years… Last two NCAA contests have been at Duke in 2008 (L, 1-5) and 2011 (L, 0-5)… The 1985 squad was the first NCAA participant and it was edged 1-0 by North Carolina State.

UP NEXT: The winner of this contest will face either Illinois or Missouri in the second round.

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