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2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team


2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer
Atlantic Coast Conference
No. 8
No. 6
13–2–8 (5–0–5 ACC)
Anson Dorrance (47th season)
Damon Nahas (8th season)
Nathan Thackeray (2nd season)
Alexandra Kimball (1st season)
Dorrance Field

The 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 47th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 47th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Tar Heels started off the season as the 2nd ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. They would draw two of their three opening games, one against tenth-ranked Penn State and another against unranked Wisconsin. They would then play four more ranked teams during their non-conference schedule, defeating number 24 USC, number 8 Arkansas and number 10 South Carolina and drawing with number 12 Alabama. They finished their non-conference season 5–0–3 and played seven Power 5 opponents. Their ACC season started with two wins before a draw against number three Florida State. Two more wins were followed by three draws. The Tar Heels finished the season with a dominant 6–1 win against Syracuse and a disappointing draw with last-place Boston College.

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.

The Tar Heels finished the season 20–5–1 and 8–2–0 in ACC play to finish in a tie for first place. As the first seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted rival Duke in the semifinal after receiving a first-round bye and drew 0–0. The Tar Heels won the ensuing penalty shoot-out 7–6 to advance to the final where they lost to Florida State. They received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament where they were the second seed in the Notre Dame Bracket. They defeated Old Dominion in the first round, seven-seed Georgia in the second round, and six-seed BYU in the Round of 16. They then had to travel to Notre Dame to face one-seed Notre Dame. The Tar Heels advanced with a 2–0 win to the College Cup, where they would face Florida State again. The Tar Heels won the rematch of the ACC Tournament Final 3–2 and advanced to the national title game against UCLA. North Carolina lost a tight match 3–2, with UCLA scoring goals in the 80th and 89th minutes to force overtime and scoring the game winner in the 107th minute.

NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownReason for departure
Abby Allen2DF5'9"JuniorAustin, TexasTransferred to Texas
Ruby Grant3MF5'3"SophomoreLondon, EnglandSigned professional contract with Häcken
Rachel Jones10FW/MF5'2"Graduate StudentLawrenceville, GeorgiaGraduated
Lauren Wrigley11MF5'3"SophomoreNewton, New JerseyTransferred to Maryland
Aleigh Gambone16MF/FW5'3"SeniorClifton, VirginiaGraduated
Marz Josephson17GK5'7"SeniorApex, North CarolinaGraduated
Libby Moore20MF5'3"SeniorWilmington, North CarolinaGraduated
Tori Hansen22DF5'10"SeniorRaleigh, North CarolinaGraduated; Drafted 25th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft
Maggie Pierce28MF5'4"SeniorCary, North CarolinaGraduated; signed professional contract with Shelbourne
Emily Murphy35FW5'6"SophomoreWindsor, EnglandTransferred to Wake Forest
Sarah Bayer82FW5'4"Graduate StudentMerrick, New YorkGraduated
Madelyn Galbus98FW5'7"FreshmanWilmington, DelawareTransferred to Syracuse
NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownPrevious school
Alexa Wojnovich44DF/MF5'7"Graduate StudentChapel Hill, North CarolinaVillanova

Source:

NameNationalityHometownClubTDS Rating
Abby GundryGKWake Forest, North CarolinaNorth Carolina Courage
Savannah KingDFWest Hills, CaliforniaSlammers FC HB Koge
Mia OliaroFWChapel Hill, North CarolinaNorth Carolina Courage
Melina RebimbasFWWarren, New JerseyPDA
Evelyn ShoresDFAtlanta, GATophat SC
Ella SmithFWCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte Independence SC
Olivia ThomasFWGrosse Pointe, MichiganMichigan Hawks

As of November 29, 2023

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.NationPlayerNo.Pos.NationPlayer
0GKUSANona Reason
2DFUSAEvelyn Shores
3DFUSASavy King
4DFUSAPaige Tolentino
5FWUSAMaddie Dahlien
6MFUSAEmerson Elgin
7DFUSAJulia Dorsey
8FWUSAEmily Moxley
9FWUSATori DellaPeruta
10MFUSASamantha Meza
11MFUSAMakenna Dominguez
12DFUSASydney Cheesman
13FWUSAIsabel Cox
14MFUSAKai Hayes
15FWUSAAvery Patterson
16MFUSAMelina Rebimbas
18MFUSABella Sember
19MFUSAEmily Colton
20FWUSAOlivia Thomas
21FWUSAAlly Sentnor
22FWUSAMia Oliaro
23MFUSAMaci Teater
24FWUSATalia DellaPeruta
25DFUSAMaycee Bell
26FWUSAKate Faasse
30DFUSAKayleigh Herr
31MFUSAElla Smith
32GKUSAEmmie Allen
33MFUSARiley Quinlan
34DFUSATessa Dellarose
39FWUSAAsha Means
40GKUSAAbby Gundry
44DFUSAAlexa Wojnovich
PositionStaff
Athletic DirectorBubba Cunningham
Head coachAnson Dorrance
Associate head coachDamon Nahas
Assistant CoachNathan Thackeray
Assistant CoachAlexandra Kimball
General ManagerChris Ducar
Director of OperationsTom Sander

Source:

Source:

DateTime, TVRank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (Attendance) City, State
August 71:00 p.m.No. 2College of CharlestonW 8–1Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 126:00 p.m.No. 2East CarolinaW 2–0Dorrance Field Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 177:00 p.m., BTNNo. 2at No. 10 Penn StateT 0–00–0–1Jeffrey Field (3,102)University Park, Pennsylvania
August 201:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 2CaliforniaW 3–11–0–1Dorrance Field (3,792)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 244:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 3WisconsinT 0–01–0–2Dorrance Field (3,335)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 271:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 3No. 24 USCW 4–02–0–2Dorrance Field (2,869)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
August 317:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 4Gardner–WebbW 5–03–0–2Dorrance Field (2,751)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 32:00 p.m., ACCNNo. 4No. 8т ArkansasW 3–14–0–2Dorrance Field (2,732)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 77:00 p.m., ESPNUNo. 3at No. 10 South CarolinaW 2–15–0–2Stone Stadium (4,550)Columbia, South Carolina
September 107:00 p.m., ESPNUNo. 3at No. 12 AlabamaT 1–15–0–3Alabama Soccer Stadium (1,421)Tuscaloosa, Alabama
September 153:30 p.m., ACCNXNo. 2Virginia TechW 1–06–0–3(1–0–0)Dorrance Field (4,298)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 217:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 1at No. 22 VirginiaW 1–07–0–3(2–0–0)Klöckner Stadium (2,674)Charlottesville, Virginia
September 2412:00 p.m., ESPNUNo. 1No. 3 Florida StateT 3–37–0–4(2–0–1)Dorrance Field (4,079)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
September 307:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 1at NC State RivalryW 4–08–0–4(3–0–1)Dail Soccer Field (3,972)Raleigh, North Carolina
October 57:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 1Miami (FL)W 1–09–0–4(4–0–1)Dorrance Field (2,892)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 84:00 p.m., ACCNNo. 1at No. 22 Duke RivalryT 1–19–0–5(4–0–2)Koskinen Stadium (3,467)Durham, North Carolina
October 137:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 3at Wake ForestT 1–19–0–6(4–0–3)Spry Stadium (1,280)Winston-Salem, North Carolina
October 198:00 p.m., ACCNNo. 3No. 12 Notre DameT 1–19–0–7(4–0–4)Dorrance Field (2,378)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 221:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 3SyracuseW 6–110–0–7(5–0–4)Dorrance Field (4,175)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
October 267:00 p.m., ACCNXNo. 3at Boston CollegeT 1–110–0–8(5–0–5)Newton Campus Soccer Field (1,268)Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
October 298:00 p.m., ACCN(4) No. 3(5) No. 20 Pittsburgh First roundL 1–2 2OT10–1–8Dorrance Field (1,174)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 106:00 p.m., ESPN+(3) No. 13Towson First roundW 3–111–1–8Dorrance Field (1,889)Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 173:30 p.m., ESPN+(3) No. 13vs. (6) No. 24 Alabama Second roundW 1–012–1–8John Walker Soccer Complex (2,346)Lubbock, Texas
November 192:00 p.m., ESPN+(3) No. 13at (2) No. 4 Texas Tech Round of 16W 1–013–1–8John Walker Soccer Complex (2,558)Lubbock, Texas
November 248:00 p.m., ESPN+(3) No. 13at (1) No. 6 BYU QuarterfinalsL 3–413–2–8South Field (3,487)Provo, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.
RecipientAwardDateRef.
Maycee BellPre-season All-ACC TeamAugust 10
Sam Meza
Ally Sentnor
Sam MezaHermann Trophy Preseason WatchlistAugust 17
Savy KingACC Defensive Player of the WeekAugust 22
Sam MezaAugust 29
Savy KingSeptember 5
Avery PattersonACC Offensive Player of the WeekSeptember 12
Maycee BellACC Defensive Player of the WeekSeptember 19
Ally SentnorACC Offensive Player of the WeekSeptember 26
Ally SentnorACC Midfielder of the YearNovember 1
Avery PattersonAll-ACC First Team
Ally Sentnor
Maycee BellAll-ACC Second Team
Savy King
Sam Meza
Savy KingAll-ACC Freshman Team
Evelyn Shores
Ally SentnorUnited Soccer Coaches All-America Third TeamDecember 1
Avery Patterson

North Carolina had six players selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft. The six players tied the NWSL record for number of selections from a single school in a draft. North Carolina also had the first and second overall picks for the second time in school history.

PlayerTeamRoundPick #Position
Ally SentnorUtah Royals11MF
Savy KingBay FC12DF
Maycee BellNJ/NY Gotham FC114DF
Sam MezaSeattle Reign FC217MF
Avery PattersonHouston Dash219FW
Julia DorseyNorth Carolina Courage340DF
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