053: Funky Friday Fútbol Figure
Apologies for the alliteration.
Happy Friday. If you’re reading this newsletter and you haven’t subscribed yet, please click the button below:
⚽️ Undefeated despite winning only 78% of its games
North Carolina women’s soccer is 9-0-7 overall and 4-0-4 in ACC play.
The Tar Heels have yet to lose a game this season. The team hasn’t won seven times its taken the pitch, including its last three conference games.
The seven draws, and four in conference play, are both school records.
The NCAA eliminated overtime for regular season games in men’s and women’s soccer ahead of the 2022 season. The rule change results in more draws and fewer minutes played for teams.
When comparing the last three regular seasons, here is the total draw percentages across all Division I teams through women’s soccer games played by October 19 of the calendar year or season1:
| Season | Draw_Pct| Games |
|--------|---------|-------|
| 2021 | 11.3% | 4915 |
| 2022 | 21.2% | 5040 |
| 2023 | 21.8% | 5279 |Out of its seven draws, two have involved no goals by either team. In the matches with goals, Carolina has been the first team to score in four of those five contests.
The Tar Heels have had a lead at some point in all five of those contests too.
Carolina was second in the latest RPI. A higher RPI often translates into a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. A top-four seed in the tournament is important because it earns the team the option to play at home up until the semifinals.
North Carolina’s RPI last season prior to the NCAA Tournament selections was fifth. UNC beat Notre Dame 2-0 in South Bend to advance to the 2022 College Cup.
Right now, the Heels are tied for fourth in the latest ACC standings due to its lack of wins or points. Carolina’s ability to concede goals late is remarkable. The Tar Heels have dropped points from a leading position in all four of its ties in ACC play.
The graphic below is during the Notre Dame match last night that ended in a tie. While Carolina didn’t allow a late goal, it did lead in the first half of this match too.
North Carolina is one of five teams that have clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament that starts on October 29. There are seven teams competing for one final spot in the tournament.
Carolina has more draws (4) in than nine teams have wins in league play.
What a wonky record.
Thanks again for reading this far. I’m trying something different this week writing about a sport that isn’t football because this record is fascinating to me.
As of late, I’m spending less time on the website formerly known as Twitter because it stinks. I still find myself watching sports on Twitter, but I’m trying to use Bluesky too. No clue what I’m doing, but follow along there if you so choose.
There is probably a better way to track these draw percentages. I’ve read that ~47% percent of games that went to overtime still ended in a tie, so the data appears to back that up over the past two seasons. I don’t know the exact regular season cutoff date, so chose October 19 as an arbitrary cutoff.