2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team

2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
National Champions
NCAA Tournament, College Cup
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches poll	No. 1
TopDrawerSoccer.com	No. 1
Record	22–5–0 (7–3–0 ACC)
Head coach	Damon Nahas (9th season);
Assistant coaches	Chris Ducar (29th season); Tracey Leone (1st season);
Home stadium	Dorrance Field
	Seasons ← 2023 2025 →

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.

2024 ACC women's soccer standings
v t e	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 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

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"	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"	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"	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"	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	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
Aven Alvarez DF	New Hill, North Carolina	NC Courage	^[8]
Trinity Armstrong DF	Dallas, Texas	FC Dallas (ECNL)	^[9]
Bella Gaetino MF	Dexter, Michigan	Michigan Hawks	^[10]
Hannah Johann GK	Bamberg, Germany	Eintracht Frankfurt	N/A
Caitlin Mara DF	Cambridge, Massachusetts	FC Stars of Massachusetts	^[11]
Ashley Pennie MF	Miami, Florida	Weston FC	^[12]
Logan Tongberg FW	Chevy Chase, Maryland	Bethesda SC Academy	^[13]
Linda Ullmark MF	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	USA	Clare Gagne
1	GK	GER	Hannah Johann
2	DF	USA	Evelyn Shores
3	DF	USA	Trinity Armstrong
4	DF	USA	Aven Alvarez
5	FW	USA	Maddie Dahlien
6	MF	USA	Emerson Elgin
7	MF	USA	Linda Ullmark
8	MF	USA	Bella Gaetino
11	MF	USA	Makenna Dominguez
13	FW	USA	Kate Faasse
14	MF	CAN	Eden Bretzer
16	MF	USA	Olivia Migli
17	DF	USA	Caitlin Mara


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	MF	USA	Bella Sember
19	MF	USA	Aria Nagai
20	MF	USA	Ashley Pennie
21	GK	USA	Marisa Shorrock
22	DF	USA	Avery Look
23	DF	USA	Raegan Williams
25	FW	USA	Logan Tongberg
31	MF	USA	Ella Smith
33	FW	USA	Olivia Thomas
34	DF	USA	Tessa Dellarose
39	FW	USA	Asha Means
40	GK	USA	Abby Gundry
44	DF	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	All-ACC First Team
Maddie Dahlien	All-ACC Third Team
Tessa Dellarose	All-ACC Third Team
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

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
United Soccer^[23]	8т	5	5	2	10	8	4	3	2 (2)	4	4	8	Not released					1
TopDrawer Soccer^[24]	13	9	4	2	8	6	2	2	1	6	5	8	9	4	4	2	2	1

References

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

[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.

[Sampdoria-3] 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.

[auto-15] "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.

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