2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team

2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
National Champions
NCAA Tournament, College Cup
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. 1
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 1
Record22–5–0 (7–3–0 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home stadiumDorrance Field
Seasons
← 2023
2025 →
2024 ACC women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 3 Duke  ‍†‍‍y 9 – 0 – 1   .950 18 – 3 – 1   .841
No. 2 Wake Forest  ‍‍‍y 7 – 2 – 1   .750 16 – 4 – 4   .750
No. 13 Florida State  ‍‍‡‍y 7 – 2 – 1   .750 15 – 2 – 4   .810
No. 1 North Carolina  ‍‍‍y 7 – 3 – 0   .700 22 – 5 – 0   .815
No. 7 Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍y 6 – 2 – 2   .700 14 – 6 – 3   .674
No. 6 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 5 – 1 – 4   .700 14 – 4 – 4   .727
California  ‍‍‍y 5 – 4 – 1   .550 13 – 6 – 2   .667
No. 4 Stanford  ‍‍‍y 5 – 4 – 1   .550 16 – 5 – 2   .739
Virginia  ‍‍‍y 5 – 5 – 0   .500 13 – 5 – 1   .711
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 4 – 4 – 2   .500 12 – 5 – 2   .684
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 3 – 5 – 2   .400 9 – 6 – 3   .583
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 2 – 5 – 3   .350 7 – 6 – 5   .528
SMU  ‍‍‍ 2 – 6 – 2   .300 6 – 9 – 2   .412
Clemson  ‍‍‍ 2 – 7 – 1   .250 6 – 8 – 3   .441
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍ 1 – 6 – 3   .250 5 – 8 – 4   .412
NC State  ‍‍‍ 1 – 6 – 3   .250 4 – 10 – 4   .333
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 0 – 9 – 1   .050 6 – 10 – 2   .389
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2024 ACC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of December 10, 2024
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll
Source: The ACC

The 2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It is the 48th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels are led by first-year head coach Damon Nahas and play their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Tar Heels were set to be led by Anson Dorrance but he announced his retirement just four days prior to the season beginning on August 11, 2024. Damon Nahas was selected to be the interim head coach.[1]

Previous season

Main article: 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team

The Tar Heels finished the season 13–2–8 and 5–0–5 in ACC play to finish in fourth place. As the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted Pittsburgh in the first round and were upset 1–2 in overtime. They received an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament where they were the third-seed in the BYU Bracket. They defeated Towson in the first round, six-seed Alabama in a second-round rematch, and second-seed Texas Tech in the Round of 16. They then had to travel to Provo, Utah to face one-seed BYU in the Quarterfinals. The Tar Heels raced out to a 3–0 lead in the first twenty minutes of the match, but surrendered four goals, three in the last ten minutes to lose 3–4 to end their season.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Nona Reason 0 GK 5'10" Redshirt Freshman Noblesville, Indiana Transferred to Clemson[2]
Savannah King 3 DF 5'6" Freshman West Hills, California Drafted 2nd overall
in 2024 NWSL Draft
Paige Tolentino 4 DF/MF 5'5" Senior Pinehurst, North Carolina Transferred to NC State
Julia Dorsey 7 DF 5'7" Graduate Student Baltimore, Maryland Graduated; drafted 40th
overall in 2024 NWSL Draft
Emily Moxley 8 DF/MF 5'8" Graduate Student Cary, North Carolina Graduated
Tori DellaPeruta 9 FW 5'8" Sophomore Cumming, Georgia Signed professional contract
with Sampdoria[3]
Samantha Meza 10 MF 5'4" Senior Dallas, Texas Graduated; drafted 17th
overall in 2024 NWSL Draft
Sydney Cheeseman 12 DF 5'6" Sophomore Lafayette, Colorado Transferred to LSU[4]
Isabel Cox 13 FW 5'10" Graduate Student Greensboro, North Carolina Graduated
Kai Hayes 14 MF 5'4" Senior Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Graduated, transferred to Baylor
Avery Patterson 15 MF 5'6" Senior Jacksonville, Florida Graduated; drafted 19th
overall in 2024 NWSL Draft
Melina Rebimbas 16 MF/DF 5'6" Freshman Warren, New Jersey Transferred to Alabama
Emily Colton 19 MF/FW 5'3" Junior Carlsbad, California Transferred to Wake Forest
Ally Sentnor 21 MF/FW 5'3" Redshirt Sophomore Hanson, Massachusetts Drafted 1st overall
in 2024 NWSL Draft
Mia Oliaro 22 FW/MF 5'9" Freshman Chapel Hill, North Carolina Transferred to Duke
Maci Teater 23 MF 5'3" Sophomore St. Louis, Missouri Transferred to Vanderbilt
Talia DellaPeruta 24 MF 5'5" Senior Cumming, Georgia Graduated; Signed professional
contract with Sampdoria[3]
Maycee Bell 25 DF 5'11" Redshirt Senior Wichita, Kansas Graduated; drafted 14th
overall in 2024 NWSL Draft
Kayleigh Herr 30 DF 5'6" Sophomore Cary, North Carolina Transferred to Penn State
Emmie Allen 32 GK 5'11" Redshirt Sophomore High Point, North Carolina Signed with Bay FC[5]
Riley Quinlan 33 MF 5'6" Senior Wake Forest, North Carolina Graduated

Incoming transfers

Source:[6]

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Clare Gagne 0 GK 5'10" Graduate Student Orono, Minnesota Brown
Eden Bretzer 14 MF 5'7" Junior Edmonton, Canada Florida Gulf Coast
Olivia Migli 16 MF 5'4" Graduate Student Haymarket, Virginia Duke
Aria Nagai 19 MF 5'3" Graduate Student Herndon, Virginia Princeton
Marisa Shorrock 21 GK 5'8" Graduate Student Westport, Connecticut Yale

Recruiting class

Source:[7]

Name Nationality Hometown Club TDS Rating
Aven Alvarez
DF
 United States New Hill, North Carolina NC Courage [8]
Trinity Armstrong
DF
 United States Dallas, Texas FC Dallas (ECNL) [9]
Bella Gaetino
MF
 United States Dexter, Michigan Michigan Hawks [10]
Hannah Johann
GK
 Germany Bamberg, Germany Eintracht Frankfurt N/A
Caitlin Mara
DF
 United States Cambridge, Massachusetts FC Stars of Massachusetts [11]
Ashley Pennie
MF
 United States Miami, Florida Weston FC [12]
Logan Tongberg
FW
 United States Chevy Chase, Maryland Bethesda SC Academy [13]
Linda Ullmark
MF
 United States Buffalo, New York WNY Flash [14]

Squad

Roster

As of August 15, 2024[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Clare Gagne
1 GK Germany GER Hannah Johann
2 DF United States USA Evelyn Shores
3 DF United States USA Trinity Armstrong
4 DF United States USA Aven Alvarez
5 FW United States USA Maddie Dahlien
6 MF United States USA Emerson Elgin
7 MF United States USA Linda Ullmark
8 MF United States USA Bella Gaetino
11 MF United States USA Makenna Dominguez
13 FW United States USA Kate Faasse
14 MF Canada CAN Eden Bretzer
16 MF United States USA Olivia Migli
17 DF United States USA Caitlin Mara
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF United States USA Bella Sember
19 MF United States USA Aria Nagai
20 MF United States USA Ashley Pennie
21 GK United States USA Marisa Shorrock
22 DF United States USA Avery Look
23 DF United States USA Raegan Williams
25 FW United States USA Logan Tongberg
31 MF United States USA Ella Smith
33 FW United States USA Olivia Thomas
34 DF United States USA Tessa Dellarose
39 FW United States USA Asha Means
40 GK United States USA Abby Gundry
44 DF United States USA Alexa Wojnovich

Team management

Position Staff
Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham
Interim head coach Damon Nahas
Assistant Coach Tracey Leone
Assistant Coach/General Manager Chris Ducar
Director of Operations Tom Sander

Source:[15]

Schedule

Source:[16][17]

Date
Time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
August 4
7:00 p.m. 		No. 8т DC Power FC W 5–1  –
 Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
August 10
1:00 p.m. 		No. 8т Davidson W 3–0  –
 Dorrance Field
Chapel Hill, NC
Non-conference Regular season
August 15
9:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 8т at Denver W 2–1  1–0–0
 CIBER Field (1,127)
Denver, CO
August 18
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		No. 8т at Colorado W 3–2  2–0–0
 Prentup Field (1,876)
Boulder, CO
August 22
5:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 5 No. 16 Georgia W 4–3  3–0–0
 Dorrance Field (3,219)
Chapel Hill, NC
August 25
12:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 5 Arizona W 2–0  4–0–0
 Dorrance Field (2,073)
Chapel Hill, NC
August 29
4:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 5 North Dakota W 3–0  5–0–0
 Dorrance Field (3,097)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 1
1:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 5 Seton Hall W 2–0  6–0–0
 Dorrance Field (1,203)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 5
7:00 p.m., ACCN 		No. 2 at Duke
Rivalry 		L 0–1  6–1–0
 Koskinen Stadium (2,257)
Durham, NC
September 8
1:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 2 Columbia W 2–0  7–1–0
 Dorrance Field (2,653)
Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Regular Season
September 12
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 10 Wake Forest W 1–0  8–1–0
(1–0–0) 		Dorrance Field (2,942)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 19
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 8 at Pittsburgh W 1–0  9–1–0
(2–0–0) 		Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,490)
Pittsburgh, PA
September 22
1:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 8 at Syracuse W 1–0  10–1–0
(3–0–0) 		SU Soccer Stadium (857)
Syracuse, NY
September 27
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 2 No. 19 Virginia W 3–2  11–1–0
(4–0–0) 		Dorrance Field (2,979)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 3
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 3 Louisville W 5–0  12–1–0
(5–0–0) 		Dorrance Field (2,012)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 10
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 2 at No. 17 California W 1–0  13–1–0
(6–0–0) 		Edwards Stadium (688)
Berkeley, CA
October 13
4:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 2 at No. 7 Stanford L 0–1  13–2–0
(6–1–0) 		Cagan Stadium (2,087)
Stanford, CA
October 17
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 4 Clemson W 6–0  14–2–0
(7–1–0) 		Dorrance Field (2,237)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 25
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 4 at No. 17 Florida State L 2–4  14–3–0
(7–2–0) 		Seminole Soccer Complex (1,684)
Tallahassee, FL
October 31
7:00 p.m., ACCNX 		No. 8 No. 1 Duke
Rivalry 		L 2–3  14–4–0
(7–3–0) 		Dorrance Field (3,127)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
ACC Tournament
November 3
6:00 p.m., ACCN 		(4) No. 8 (5) No. 12 Virginia Tech
First Round 		W 2–0  15–4–0
 Dorrance Field (1,347)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 7
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		(4) No. 8 vs. (1) No. 1 Duke
Semifinals, Rivalry 		W 2–1  16–4–0
 WakeMed Soccer Park (1,492)
Cary, NC
November 10
12:00 p.m., ESPNU 		(4) No. 8 vs. (3) No. 6 Florida State
Final 		L 2–3  16–5–0
 WakeMed Soccer Park (2,905)
Cary, NC
NCAA Tournament
November 15
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(2) No. 8 USC Upstate
First Round 		W 8–0  17–5–0
 Dorrance Field (1,273)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 22
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(2) No. 8 No. 11 Santa Clara
Second Round 		W 1–0  18–5–0
 Dorrance Field (1,893)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 24
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(2) No. 8 (6) Minnesota
Round of 16 		W 3–0  19–5–0
 Dorrance Field (1,903)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 29
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(2) No. 8 (4) No. 22 Penn State
Quarterfinals 		W 2–1 OT 20–5–0
 Dorrance Field (2,879)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
December 6
7:30 p.m., ESPNU 		(2) No. 8 (1) No. 1 Duke
Semifinals, Rivalry 		W 3–0  21–5–0
 WakeMed Soccer Park (10,333)
Cary, NC
December 9
7:00 p.m., ESPNU 		(2) No. 8 (2) No. 3 Wake Forest
Final 		W 1–0  22–5–0
 WakeMed Soccer Park (9,475)
Cary, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date Ref.
Olivia Thomas ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week – Week 2 August 27 [18]
Trinity Armstrong ACC Defensive Player of the Week – Week 6 September 24 [19]
Linda Ullmark ACC Offensive Player of the Week – Week 7 October 1 [20]
Trinity Armstrong All-ACC First Team November 6 [21]
Kate Faasse
Maddie Dahlien All-ACC Third Team
Tessa Dellarose
Trinity Armstrong ACC All-Freshman Team
Bella Gaetino
Linda Ullmark
Kate Faasse All-ACC Tournament Team November 10 [22]
Trinity Armstrong
Maddie Dahlien
Linda Ullmark

Rankings

See also: 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
United Soccer[23]8т552108432 (2)448Not released1
TopDrawer Soccer[24]1394286221658944221

References

  1. ^ "Anson Dorrance retires as North Carolina women's soccer coach". espn.com. Associated Press. August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "USYNT roster pool goalkeeper Nona Reason transfers to Clemson from UNC". soccerwire.com. SoccerWire. February 20, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Clark, Travis (February 26, 2024). "Tracking Pro Signings, Early Departures". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "UNC Transfer Sydney Cheesman Joins LSU Soccer". lsusports.net. Louisiana State University Athletics. December 22, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "Bay FC announces roster ahead of inaugural NWSL season". Bay FC. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  6. ^ "Women's Soccer Announces Roster Additions For 2024". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. July 23, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  7. ^ "Women's Soccer Inks Seven In Class Of 2024". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. November 10, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Aven Alvarez". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "Trinity Armstrong". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  10. ^ "Bella Gaetino". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "Caitlin Mara". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  12. ^ "Ashley Pennie". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  13. ^ "Logan Tongberg". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Linda Ullmark". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "2024 Women's Soccer Roster". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  16. ^ "2024 Women's Soccer Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "Women's Soccer Announces 2024 Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "ACC Announces Weekly Women's Soccer Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  19. ^ "Wake's Colton, UNC's Armstrong Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 24, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  20. ^ "ACC Announces Weekly Women's Soccer Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  21. ^ "2024 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  22. ^ "Florida State Wins 2024 Ally ACC Women's Soccer Championship". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 10, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  23. ^ "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  24. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawerSoccer. TopDrawer Soccer. December 10, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.