UI goalie has Tar Heels on her mind

For more on Alexandra Kapicka, read Jeff Huth's Illini Insider

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - When Janet Rayfield leads her Illinois soccer team onto Fetzer Field on Saturday for an NCAA Sweet 16 matchup against North Carolina, the Tar Heels alum won't be the only Illini already familiar with the surroundings.
Starting goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka has traveled to the UNC campus several times before: With her youth soccer club for a Tar Heels team camp. To watch an NCAA tournament match. Even for a recruiting visit.
"It's a gorgeous campus," the Illini junior said this week, "and North Carolina's just a gorgeous state in general."
It's also home to a legendary women's collegiate soccer program. The dynastic Tar Heels are 18-time NCAA champions and the only team to appear in all 27 NCAA tournaments — a streak that 1981 national Player of the Year Rayfield helped start in 1982. During its storied history, North Carolina has produced the likes of multi-year Olympians Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley and others.
"They have so many legends," Kapicka said. "People know the history that comes from there. We all grow up thinking that maybe one day we'll be a Tar Heel."
In fact, that was a possibility for the Arlington Heights native. During the winter of her senior year at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, Kapicka made a recruiting trip to North Carolina and discussed with the coaching staff an opportunity to become a Tar Heel.
Ultimately, she opted for an Illinois program in the midst of building its own history.
"I just eventually decided that I was going to come here so I didn't pursue it fully," Kapicka said.
It's a decision Kapicka says she hasn't thought twice about since. During her collegiate career, Illinois has extended its streak of NCAA tournament appearances to five and on Saturday will be playing in its third Sweet 16 match in five years.
Meanwhile, North Carolina's stranglehold grip on the sport no longer is so ironclad. Since 2004, the Tar Heels have won the NCAA title once.
"Back in the day, it was the only school that people wanted to go to," Kapicka said. "But I think it's starting to change. They haven't won consecutive NCAAs in a while, like they used to. There's a lot of other programs out there, us included, that are very high quality."
That doesn't mean Kapicka's respect for the Tar Heels has slipped an inch. No. 4 North Carolina - the top seed in its bracket - enters Saturday's match 21-1-2 and is favored to reach the College Cup (final four) for the 24th time.
It's a challenge Kapicka is eager to take on.
"It's exciting," she said. "They're playing some great soccer. so it's going to be a great to test ourselves.
"We're definitely the underdog, but to us it doesn't matter. We're just going to go out there and play our game and do what we can do to win this game."
Kapicka has experienced the NCAA tournament atmosphere at 5,025-seat Fetzer Field once before. As a club player with Elgin-based KUFC Premier, she and her teammates were competing in a tournament near Chapel Hill and took the opportunity to attend the Tar Heels' Sweet 16 match in 2005. They were part of a crowd of 4,411 that saw the Tar Heels bury Pepperdine 6-0.
"I remember being in the stadium and seeing the field and thinking, ‘Man, this is an awesome place to play,' " Kapicka said. "So that's what I'm excited about. I'm excited to go back to that stadium and just be  playing in it with a great crowd."

A Sweet (16) deal
What: NCAA tournament round of 16.
Teams: Illinois (12-8-2) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (21-1-2)
When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Fetzer Field, Chapel Hill, N.C.
On the Internet: You can follow the match live via Gametracker at www.fightingillini.com
At stake: The winner will advance to a quarterfinal match, to be held Nov. 28, 29 or 30.
Illini update: Illinois has traveled a tense route to get this far. The Illini's first-round match against Memphis was decided in the second overtime. In the second round, Illinois and host Missouri battled to a 1-1 tie through two overtimes before the Illini prevailed in a penalty-kick showdown. The fact that Illinois remains alive after producing merely two goals in the first two rounds should come as no surprise. A scoring-challenged Illini team has been dependent on its defense all season and that unit has responded with nine shutouts and a 0.71 goals against average. The latter figure ranks 29th in the nation.
About the Tar Heels: The ACC regular-season and tournament champions are where they always end up: in the Sweet 16. Following lopsided victories against Western Carolina (5-0) and Charlotte (4-0) last weekend, North Carolina now is 8-0 all-time in Round of 64 matches and 13-0 in Round of 32 contests. The Tar Heels figure to give Illinois' stingy defense its sternest test yet. North Carolina ranks second in the nation in scoring with 3.38 goals per match. Forward Casey Nogueira fuels this potent Tar Heel attack, The junior ranks seventh nationally in goals per match (0.917) and eighth in points (2.17). Nogueira was TopDrawerSoccer.com pick for Women's College Player of the Season.

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