Sept. 22, 1990 – UConn upsets North Carolina; APSL championship game at Nickerson Field

The UConn Huskies women’s team pulled off a stunning upset in Storrs, Conn., and the Maryland Bays won the APSL title in a soaking rainstorm in Boston.

Sept. 22, 1990 – UConn 3:2 (aet) North Carolina

UConn snapped the Tar Heel women’s team’s 103-match (97-0-6) unbeaten streak (since 1986), its only loss in a seven-season span. The Tar Heels’ streak kicked off with a 4-0 win over UMass in the season-opener on Aug. 30, 1986, continuing through a 1-0 victory over UMass in the 1987 NCAA final in Amherst, Mass. UNC started another streak with a 3-0 win over Brown on Sept. 23, 1990, the first of 101 consecutive matches unbeaten.

The Tar Heels gained revenge on the Huskies with a 6-0 victory in the NCAA final on Nov. 18, 1990. UNC coach Anson Dorrance then guided the U.S., which included Tar Heel stars Mia Hamm and Wilton’s Kristine Lilly, to the 1991 Women’s World Cup title in China.

This was not the first time a Tar Heel streak had been snapped by a New England school. UMass had taken a 2-0 win over UNC to end a 57-game unbeaten streak on Oct. 12, 1985.

Sept. 22, 1990 – Maryland Bays (1:1, 4:3 PKs) SF Blackhawks, APSL final at Nickerson Field (Att.: 4,881)

Former UConn star Scott Cook’s 74^th-minute goal opened the scoring for Maryland in a heavy rainstorm. Jamaican Peter Isaacs equalized in the 83^rd minute. John Abe scored the deciding penalty kick past Mark Dougherty, then Maryland’s Steve Powers saved on Steve Petuskey. The Blackhawks’ roster included Marcelo Balboa, John Doyle and Eric Wynalda, who had played for the U.S. in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, plus Dominic Kinnear, who made his U.S. debut in November 1990.

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