Just because perennial powerhouse North Carolina comes to Ludwig Field Sunday doesn’t mean the Terrapin women’s soccer team is looking ahead.

Coach Brian Pensky said the Terps, who will face No. 11-ranked Wake Forest today, have spent very little time thinking about Sunday’s game; they have watched some film and nothing more.

It’s been slightly different from the past times the Terps have played the Tar Heels.

In the past, the Terps (2-5-2, 0-0-1 ACC) used motivation from former coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski whenever they played North Carolina. Higgins-Cirovski graduated from North Carolina in 1990 after leading the Tar Heels to four NCAA titles as a player. In her four years there, the Tar Heels did not lose once.

So whenever the Terps squared off against the Tar Heels, it wasn’t very hard to get pumped up for a game.

This year, even though Higgins-Cirovski isn’t coaching anymore, the Terps say they will have the same motivation when playing North Carolina (10-0, 2-0).

“They’re still who they are,” senior forward Kimmy Francis said. “They’re still the best team in the country and we know that going into the game.”

North Carolina leads the all time series, 25-0-1, and has outscored the Terps 112-3. Last year, the Terps at least made the Tar Heels sweat, losing to them twice in double overtime.

But throughout the past week of practice the Terps have focused their attention on tonight’s game against Wake Forest, instead of the top-ranked Tar Heels.

“That’s a game that we feel like we will compete in and have a very good chance of winning,” coach Brian Pensky said about tonight. “We’ll talk about Carolina come Saturday morning. You can’t deny the reality of Carolina coming in here on Sunday, yet at the same time you have to take one game at a time and focus on Wake Forest. Our focus right now is on Wake Forest.”

When asked just about Sunday’s game against the Tar Heels, goalie Nikki Resnick didn’t hesitate to talk about tonight’s game first.

Several other players also echoed Pensky’s strict game-by-game approach.

“It’s a little bit different because Brian takes it game by game,” senior defender Danielle Malagari said. “Shannon [knew] what to expect when we played [North Carolina] because she played in their system for four years. So he’s taking it game by game and Saturday is when our focal point is going to be on [North Carolina].”

When Wake Forest steps onto Ludwig Field tonight, many Terp followers may be looking ahead to a day involving powder blue. But the same certainly cannot be said for the team itself.

Contact reporter Andrew Zuckerman at zuckermandbk@gmail.com.