2025 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team

2025 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches  poll	No. 12
TopDrawerSoccer.com	No. 6
Record	2–2–0 (0–0–0 ACC)
Head coach	Damon Nahas (10th overall, 2nd Head Coach season)
Associate head coach	Chris Ducar (30th season)
Assistant coach	Tracey Leone (2nd season)
Home stadium	Dorrance Field
Seasons ←  2024 2026 →

2025 ACC women's soccer standings

v t e	Conf.									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			4	–	0	–	0		1.000
No. 2 Stanford  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			4	–	0	–	0		1.000
No. 17 Virginia  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	0	–	0		1.000
No. 1 Duke  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	0	–	0		1.000
No. 3 Florida State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	0	–	0		1.000
Boston College  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	0	–	1		.833
No. 7т Notre Dame  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	0	–	1		.833
Louisville  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
SMU  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
Syracuse  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
No. 15 Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
No. 10 Wake Forest  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			3	–	1	–	0		.750
California  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	1	–	1		.625
No. 12 North Carolina  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			2	–	2	–	0		.500
Clemson  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			1	–	1	–	1		.500
NC State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0	–	0		–			0	–	3	–	1		.125
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2025 ACC Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of August 24, 2025 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll Source: The ACC

The 2025 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It is the 49th season of the university fielding a program, all of which have been played in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels are led by second-year head coach Damon Nahas and play their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Previous season

Main article: 2024 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team

The Tar Heels finished the regular season 14–4–0 and 7–3–0 in ACC play to finish in fourth place. As the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted fifth seed and twevlth ranked Virginia Tech in the First Round and defeated them 2–0. They faced-off against rival Duke for the third time in the season, and got their first win 2–1 to make the Finals. The Final was a regular season rematch between the Tar Heels and Florida State. The Tar Heels again lost, this time 3–2, to finish as runners up. The Tar Heels received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament where they were the second-seed in the Florida State bracket. They defeated USC Upstate in the First Round, Santa Clara in the Second Round, and sixth-seed Minnesota in the Round of 16. Upsets elsewhere in the bracket saw the Tar Heels host Penn State in the Quarterfinals. The Tar Heels won 2–1 in overtime to advance to the College Cup. Their semifinal match-up was a fourth meeting on the season with Duke. The Tar Heels won this one 3–0, making the record on the season 2–2, with Duke winning both regular season matches, and the Tar Heels winning both postseason matches. They faced off against Wake Forest in the final, and defeated them 1–0 to win their twenty-second national title and first in twelve years. The Tar Heels' final record was 22–5–0.

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Clare Gagne	0	GK	6'0"	Graduate Student	Orono, Minnesota	Graduated; signed professional contract with Kansas City Current [1]
Evelyn Shores	2	MF	5'9"	Sophomore	Atlanta, Georgia	Signed professional contract with Angel City FC [2]
Trinity Armstrong	3	DF	5'6"	Freshman	Frisco, Texas	Signed professional contract with San Diego Wave FC [3]
Maddie Dahlien	5	FW	5'9"	Junior	Edina, Minnesota	Signed professional contract with Seattle Reign FC [4]
Emerson Elgin	6	DF	5'7"	Junior	Franklin Lakes, New Jersey	Graduated; signed professional contract with Gotham FC [5]
Makenna Dominguez	11	MF	5'3"	Senior	Sierra Madre, California	Graduated
Olivia Migli	16	DF	5'4"	Graduate Student	Isle of Palms, South Carolina	Graduated
Bella Sember	18	FW/MF	5'7"	Senior	Centerport, New York	Graduated; signed professional contract with KIF Örebro [6]
Aria Nagai	19	MF	5'3"	Graduate Student	Herndon, Virginia	Graduated; signed professional contract with Utah Royals [7]
Avery Look	22	DF	5'10"	Graduate Student	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Graduated
Asha Means	39	DF/MF	5'7"	Senior	Charlotte, North Carolina	Graduated
Alexa Wojnovich	44	DF/MF	5'7"	Graduate Student	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Liya Brooks	0	GK	5'9"	Sophomore	Eugene, Oregon	Washington State [8]
Ryann Brown	12	DF	5'8"	Graduate Student	Laguna Niguel, California	Princeton [8]
Emilie Maihs	15	GK	6'1"	Sophomore	Bevergern, Germany	Otero College [9]
Shaela Bradley	43	MF	5'5"	Sophomore	La Center, Washington	Rutgers [10]

Recruiting class

Name	Nationality	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
Jennifer Dearie FW		Ponte Vedra, Florida	Jacksonville FC	[11]
Bella Devey MF		Draper, Utah	Utah Avalanche	[12]
Eres Freifeld FW		Los Angeles, California	Slammers FC HB Koge	[13]
Riley Kennedy MF		Raleigh, North Carolina	North Carolina Courage (ECNL)	[14]
Djem Koppelaar DF		Eindhoven, Netherlands	PSV Eindhoven	N/A [15]
Lauren Malsom FW		Marietta, Georgia	FC Prime	[16]
Cameron Maynor DF		Atlanta, Georgia	Concorde Fire SC	[17]
Hope Munson DF		Holladay, Utah	Utah Avalanche	[18]

Squad

Roster

As of August 8, 2025 ^[19]

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   JAM Liya Brooks 1 GK   GER Hannah Johann 2 MF   CAN Eden Bretzer 3 FW   USA Jenny Dearie 4 DF   USA Aven Alvarez 5 DF   NED Djem Koppelaar 6 MF   USA Riley Kennedy 7 MF   USA Linda Ullmark 8 MF   USA Bella Gaetino 9 DF   USA Hope Munson 10 MF   USA Della Devey 11 FW   USA Eres Freifeld 12 DF   USA Ryann Brown 13 FW   USA Kate Faasse

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 GK   GER Emilie Maihs 16 DF   USA Camie Maynor 17 DF   USA Caitlin Mara 18 MF   USA Lauren Malson 20 MF   USA Ashley Pennie 21 GK   USA Marisa Shorrock 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 40 GK   USA Abby Gundry 43 MF   USA Shaela Bradley

Team management

Position	Staff
Athletic Director	Bubba Cunningham
Head coach	Damon Nahas
Assistant Coach/General Manager	Chris Ducar
Assistant Coach	Tracey Bates Leone
Director of Operations	Tom Sander
Assistant Director of Operations	Corey Emerick

Source: ^[19]

Schedule

Source: ^{[20] [21]}

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
August 6 6:00 p.m.	No. 1	UNC Wilmington	None Reported [22]	–	Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, NC
August 9 6:00 p.m.	No. 1	No. 10  Wake Forest	None Reported [23]	–	Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, NC
Non-conference Regular season
August 14* 7:00 p.m.,  SECN	No. 1	at  Tennessee	L  0–2	0–1	Regal Soccer Stadium (1,197) Knoxville, TN
August 17 1:00 p.m.,  ACCNX	No. 1	Siena	W  5–0	1–1–0	Dorrance Field (1,127) Chapel Hill, NC
August 21* 6:30 p.m., SECN+	No. 12	at  Georgia	L  0–2	1–2–0	Turner Soccer Complex (1,802) Athens, GA
August 24* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 12	Rice	W  4–0	2–2–0	Dorrance Field (2,640) Chapel Hill, NC
August 28* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX		UNC Greensboro			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, NC
August 31* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX		Milwaukee			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, NC
September 4* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Alabama			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, NC
September 7* 1:00 p.m.		at  James Madison			Sentara Park Harrisonburg, VA
ACC Regular Season
September 11 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at  Virginia Tech			Thompson Field Blacksburg, VA
September 17 7:00 p.m., ACCN		Florida State			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 24 6:00 p.m., ACCN		at  Notre Dame			Alumni Stadium Notre Dame, IN
October 2 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Boston College			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 5 4:00 p.m., ACCN		Pittsburgh			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 12 1:00 p.m., ACCN		at  Duke Rivalry			Koskinen Stadium Durham, NC
October 17 6:00 p.m., ACCNX		at  SMU			Washburne Stadium Dallas, TX
October 23 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		at  Miami (FL)			Cobb Stadium Coral Gables, FL
October 26 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		Syracuse			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 30 8:00 p.m., ACCN		NC State			Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date	Ref.
Tessa Dellarose	Pre-season All-ACC Team	August 7	[24]
Kate Faasse
Olivia Thomas
Linda Ullmark
Kate Faasse	Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI First Team	August 12	[25]
Tessa Dellarose
Olivia Thomas	Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Second Team
Linda Ullmark
Bella Devey	Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Freshman Team
Tessa Dellarose	Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist	August 14	[26]
Kate Faassee

Rankings

See also: 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = 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 [27]	1 (8)	12											Not released
TopDrawer Soccer [28]	1	6

References

1. "Kansas City Current signs trio of collegiate stars Two U17 World Cup stars and a NCAA National Champion set to join Kansas City". Kansas City Current. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
2. Pelit, Asli (July 10, 2025). "Angel City bets on future, signing Evelyn Shores: 'When we break through, it's going to be spectacular'". The Athletic . Retrieved July 10, 2025.
3. "San Diego Wave FC Signs 17-Year Old Defender Trinity Armstrong from University of North Carolina". San Diego Wave FC. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
4. "Seattle Reign FC Signs UNC Forward Maddie Dahlien". Seattle Reign FC. January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
5. "Gotham FC Signs Betos, Elgin as Injury Replacement Players". Gotham FC. April 12, 2025. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
6. "Amerikanska talangen Bella Sember klar för KIF Örebro" (in Swedish). KIF Örebro DFF. January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
7. "Utah Royals FC Signs Three Players to Short Term Contracts". RSL. March 4, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
8. "2025 Women's Division I Transfer Tracker". TopDrawerSoccer. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
9. "Women's Soccer Adds Top JUCO Goalie Emilie Maihs For 2025". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. April 24, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
10. "Women's Soccer Adds All-Big Ten Freshman Shaela Bradley". goheels.com. University of North Carolina Athletics. June 16, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
11. "Jennifer Dearie". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
12. "Bella Devey". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
13. "Eres Freifeld". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
14. "Riley Kennedy". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
15. "2025 Women's DI International Signees". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
16. "Lauren Malsom". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
17. "Cameron Maynor". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
18. "Hope Munson". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
19. "2025 Women's Soccer Roster". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
20. "2025 Women's Soccer Schedule". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
21. "Women's Soccer Announces 2025 Slate". goheels.com. University of North Carolina. July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
22. @uncwomenssoccer; (August 6, 2025). "Rain or shine, it's always good to be back at Dorrance🤩 And even better when there's a birthday @edenbretzer 🩵 #GoHeels" – via Instagram.
23. @uncwomenssoccer; (August 9, 2025). "Exhibitions complete, regular season 🔜 #GoHeels" – via Instagram.
24. "North Carolina Selected 2025 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
25. "2025 Women's Division I Preseason Awards". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. August 12, 2025. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
26. Wilburn, Sarah (August 14, 2025). "2025 Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced". United Soccer Coaches . Retrieved August 14, 2025.
27. "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
28. "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawerSoccer . TopDrawer Soccer. August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.