This continues our series of daily articles previewing each men's and women's college conference. All the conference previews can be found here.

Anson Dorrance’s North Carolina Tar Heels did it again last year, winning their 21st national championship and 2nd in a row. The Tar Heels overcame tough opposition to beat Stanford in the final game.

Yet the level of opposition present in the ACC makes winning that a very tough task in itself. UNC didn’t win the regular season title last year, although they have won 19 of 23 regular season crowns in ACC play. North Carolina has also won 20 of 22 postseason ACC tournaments.

The Tar Heels return U.S. youth internationals Amber Brooks, Ali Hawkins and Meghan Klingenberg to the midfield, with Rachel Givan the lone returnee from a stalwart 3-woman back line. Who will score the goals is a worthwhile question with this group, and a host of returnees and newcomers will vie for those roles.

At Boston College, Alison Foley has a very full cupboard of talent, starting with ACC Freshman of the Year Vicki DiMartino, who has a great goal-scoring rate. Kristie Mewis is a standout in midfield, while Brooke Knowlton, Julia Bouchelle and Amy Caldwell provide experience up front.

Jessica Price and Tiffany McCarty make up a dynamic duo of goalscorers for Mark Krikorian at Florida State, while Amanda DaCosta is an excellent midfielder and Toni Pressley returns from international duty to anchor the back line and Erin McNulty is back in goal.

Sinead Farrelly is a player-of-the-year candidate at Virginia for Steve Swanson, with Meghan Lenczyk and Lauren Alwine providing scoring punch up front. Tony da Luz’s Wake Forest Demon Deacons feature defenders Jackie Logue and Caralee Keppler, along with young scoring talent Marisa Park and Katie Stengel to go with midfield workhorse Bianca D’Agostino.

Robbie Church had to say goodbye to stalwarts Elisabeth Redmond and KayAnne Gummersall at Duke, but looks to reload with the likes of goalkeeper Tara Campbell and a talented freshman class. Brian Pensky leads a resurgent program at Maryland, with Jasmyne Spencer and Danielle Hubka among the leading returnees.

At Virginia Tech, Marika Gray leads the forward line with Kelly Conheeney and Jennifer Harvey returning in midfield. Maddy Elder is the leading returning scorer at Clemson, which suffered through a 3-win season last year but welcomes a talented group of freshmen.

Midfielder Kara Blosser will be key to the chances for Steve Springthorpe’s NC State Wolfpack, as they strive for NCAA Tournament play. Down in Miami (FL), Tricia Taliaferro is pursuing that same goal and might get it with the likes of Brittney Steinbruch, Kate Howarth, Ashlee Burt and Brittney Macdonald operating on the field for the Hurricanes.