Less than a minute into his first ACC Tournament game, Terrapin women’s soccer coach Brian Pensky saw his team fall behind to North Carolina, the No. 1 seed.

Within the first 10 minutes of the game, the Tar Heels scored two more goals to take a commanding 3-0 lead in a game that had just barely started. Even the Athletics Department’s former women’s soccer supervisor told Pensky he thought the online GameTracker was broken.

“Honestly, I didn’t learn a whole lot from that game,” Pensky said. “Any time you play North Carolina you have to be ready from the opening whistle. We can’t let the event be bigger than it is.”

Since that match in 2005, Pensky has not coached another conference tournament match.

Getting on the bus yesterday morning for tonight’s ACC Quarterfinal match against the Tar Heels (14-3-1, 7-3 ACC) in Cary, N.C., Pensky’s players embarked for a trip they had never taken before.

No player on the Terp roster has played in the ACC Tournament.

Pensky’s lone tournament game in 2005 came before the conference expanded for Boston College, the last of three former Big East schools to join the ACC. With the addition of the Eagles, the conference decided to allow only the top eight teams in its postseason tournament.

“It’s so great to end the regular season and keep playing,” defender Brittany Cummins said. “I think it’s going to be good for us, the 30 of us, to experience it together.”

If the No. 16 Terps (12-4-2, 4-4-2) want to accomplish the goal they set at the beginning of the season — to win the ACC Tournament — this may be the year to do it.

The top six seeds of the tournament are all ranked in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25. But Virginia, the No. 7 seed, upset No. 1-seeded Florida State in the regular season, while Duke, the No. 8 seed, tied the Seminoles. Virginia Tech, the No. 4 seed, beat North Carolina and Wake Forest but lost to Duke during the conference schedule.

North Carolina is the highest nationally ranked ACC team at No. 5, but is the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels beat Boston College and Wake Forest but fell to Miami, which didn’t even qualify for the tournament.

“We’re looking to win the championship this year and I believe we have the team to do it,” goalkeeper Mary Casey said. “It is a crazy conference, and I think we have what it takes.”

If the Terps plan to win, they will need to revert back to their six-game unbeaten streak. During the stretch, which lasted from Oct. 4 to Oct. 22, the Terps scored 16 goals. Since then, the Terps scored just once in their last two matches, both home losses.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, the players are excited about going to the ACC Tournament for the first time.

“It’s overwhelming because no one on this team has ever had this chance before,” midfielder Caitlin McDowell said. “It’s really an exciting opportunity for us to finally compete for an ACC Championship.”

eckard@umdbk.com