The 1986

NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

was the fifth annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

women's collegiate soccer. The championship game was played again at

George Mason Stadium George Mason Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Fairfax, Virginia on the campus of George Mason University. It serves as the home to George Mason's soccer and lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a ...

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

during December 1986.

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

defeated

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

in the final, 2–0, to win their fourth national title. Coached by

Anson Dorrance Albert Anson Dorrance IV (born April 9, 1951) is a retired American soccer coach (sport), coach. He was the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer, women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Uni ...

, the Tar Heels finished the season 23–0–1. This was the first of North Carolina's record nine consecutive national titles (1986–1994). The most outstanding player was

April Heinrichs April Dawn Heinrichs (born February 27, 1964) is an American former soccer player and coach. She was among the first players on the United States women's national soccer team, and was captain of the United States team which won the first ever ...

from North Carolina. An All-Tournament team, consisting of five players, was also named. Henrichs was also the tournament's leading scorer (4 goals).

Qualification

With the inaugural edition of the

NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament is an annual event organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champions of women's collegiate soccer among its Division III members in the United States ...

being held in 1986, the tournament eligibility was narrowed to just Division I and Division II women's soccer programs (a Division II

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

was not added until 1988). Nonetheless, the tournament field decreased from the previous year, downsizing from 14 to 12 teams.

Bracket

All tournament team

, North Carolina (Most outstanding player) * Angela Berry, George Mason * Betsy Drambour, George Mason *

Lisa Gmitter Lisa Joan Pittaro (; born May 22, 1965) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward, making twelve appearances for the United States women's national team. Career Raised in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Gmitter-P ...

, George Mason * Kim Maslin, George Mason

References

{{1986–87 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA Division I Tournament NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

Women's sports in Virginia

Qualification

Bracket

All tournament team

See also

References