The U.S. Women’s National Team advanced to its fourth World Cup final with last night’s 2-0 victory over Germany. On that team were six former players from UNC-Chapel Hill, the highest representation of any U.S. college. Four other universities—Pennsylvania State, Stanford, UCLA, and the University of Virginia—each have two players on the U.S. national team.
These former Tar Heels are concentrated in the team’s defensive positions. None of the five forwards attended UNC, but two of the seven midfielders (Heather O’Reilly and Tobin Heath), three of the eight defenders (Lori Chalupny, Whitney Engen, and Meghan Klingenberg), and one of the three goalkeepers (Ashlynn Harris) are former UNC players.
And, if England bests Japan in today’s semifinal match up, there will be 7 former Tar Heels in the final game on Sunday, with Lucy Bronze playing for England.
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