The Philadelphia Independence beat NCAA national champs University of North Carolina 3-0 in a preseason friendly in front of a sell-out crowd of over 1,100 at Downingtown’s United Sports Training Center on Saturday.

Midfielder Lori Lindsey began to dominate play after 20 minutes along with Caroline Seger. Lindsey and Seger are two of nine players on the squad who play for national teams including, USA, Sweden, Canada, Iceland, Japan and England.

The dominant midfield play soon paid off when forward Lyndsey Patterson took a pass into the box to score the first Independence goal at 41 minutes.

Substitute Karina Maruyama made it 2-0 at the 67th minute. Midfielder Joanna Lohman added the third goal three minutes later.

The Independence will have two more warm up games before their season opener on April 11 against Atlanta Beat. The team will face the Washington Freedom on Saturday, March 27, and Penn State on April 1. The final 18 player roster for the 2010 season will also be announced on April 1.