UNC Men's Soccer 2026-2027

[3397char]

Here is a roster assessment of the 2026 Men's Soccer team:

Starters Returning:

1. Sr D/MF Luca Nikolai - 20 starts - 2nd Team All-ACC, TDS 2025 #43 player - 20 Starts, 3 G, 7 A, 55 SH, .055 SH% *Drafted #87 by MLS but is on the 2026 Spring roster; so looks like he did not go pro.
2. Jr F Rygaard Hansen - 20 starts, 3 G, 4 A, 35 SH, .086 SH%
3. Gr D Riley Berge - started last 15 games, 1 G, 0 A, 3 SH, .333 SH%

Other Players Returning:

1. So F/MF Dan Klink - 6 G, 1 A, 20 SH, .300 SH%, all 6 goals (2nd on team) were headers
2. Sr D Max Fisher - 5 starts before season ending injury, 19 additional starts as a So.
3. So MF Charlie Antonelius - 1 start, 12 games, 1 G, 1 A, 6 Sh, 0.167 SH%
4. So F Ryan Dugan - 0 starts, 19 games played, 2 G, 4 A, 7 SH, .286 SH%
5. Jr F Martin Mai - 1 start, 5 games played, season ending injury, 0 G, 0 A, 4 SH, .000 SH%
6. So GK Coleman Catlett - redshirted in 2025 but was well regarded in HS
7. So GK Alejandro Saborio-Perez - redshirted 2024, DNP 2025
8. Fr GK Alan Rutkowski - redshirted in 2025 but was a TDS #91 player out of high School
9. So F Drew Waller - Redshirted 2024, DNP 2026

Incoming transfers for 2026 season:

TDS #1 ranked Transfer Class

Player_Name	National_Ranking	Awards_Notable	Pos	Previous Team	Class	Hometown
Nico Loebus	TDS #7 Freshman	2025 AE Conf ROTY, AE Conf 2nd Team, USC 2nd Team All-Region, 6 Goals, 5 Assists, TDS 2025 #7 Freshman	F	Vermont	So	Homburg, Germany
Nick Lockermann	TDS #20	2025 AE Conf DOTY, 2x USC 1st Team All-Region, NCAA Title, 2023 American East ROTY TDS 2025 #25 college player	D	Vermont	Sr	Nuremberg, Germany
Joschi Schleb	TDS #86	2025 All B1G 2nd Team, 2024 All NEC 1st Team, 20 career goals, TDS #86 college player	MF/F	St Francis, Rutgers	Sr	Freiberg, Germany
Ryan Zellefrow		2025 AE Conf 1st Team, USC 1st Team All-Region, 2024 AE Conf Rookie Team	MF	Vermont	Jr	Berywn, PA
Cristian Milazzo		Pro dev league for 2 years (NC FC signed 2023), US Soccer Development Academy in HS	D	NC FC Academy	Jr	Cary, NC

When in doubt, raid Germany. And Vermont.

I am calling Milazzo a transfer because he comes in as a junior due to college credits already earned. It appears he enrolled at UNC for the spring of last year and worked as a team manager last season?

Incoming Class of 2026:
Top Drawer Soccer top 15 recruiting class, though I have no idea where in the top 15 (pay wall)

Player_Name	National_Ranking	National_Team	Awards_Accomplishments	Pos	High_School	State	Club_Team	Signed
Jace Donawa		Bermuda Sr Team	Bermuda U-23	F	Northwood School	CT	Black Rock FC	Spring Enrollee
Quinton John		Trin & Tob U-17 Team	MLS NEXT All-Star (top 44 roster), Club player of the month when they MLS U-17 Championship	D		FL	Inter Miami
Jonathan Luna Sabando	TDS #1 MF in TX		ECNL 2024 A-A, DKSC Captain, ECNL U-17 TX 1st Team, TX State POY	MF	Allegiance Academy	TX	DKSC	Spring Enrollee
Jayden Puna	Prep Soccer 39th player in TX	Angola U-17	TX District MVP, TX Pub school 4th team	D	Shadow Creek	TX	Houston Dynamo	Yes
Adrian Sanders		US U-17 camp, US U-16, US U-15	LAFC Player of the Month as CB	D		CA	Los Angeles FC
Marco Simion			Footy Access U-17 1st Team A-A, U-17 MLS XEXT Cup Best Goalkeeper, Club Player of the Month	GK		FL	Inter Miami FC
Etienne Veillard		US U-17 Camp, US U-15 Camp	MLS NEXT All-Star (top 44 roster)	D	Federal Way	WA	Seattle Sounders	Spring Enrollee
Myles Carson	TDS Top 100 "players to watch"		ECNL U-17 TX First Team	D	Allegiance Academy	TX	DKSC	Spring Enrollee

By my count, that is a roster of 25, 3 under the limit of 28. But I am not confident this is accurate/complete, and of course we could still add a late transfer or international player.

Best Guess at a starting Roster:

• Forward - Klink, Hansen*, Loebus*
• Midfield - Nikolai*, Schelb*, Zellefrow*
• Defense - Berge, Lockermann, Fisher, Sanders
• Goalkeeper - Rutkowski*

*Notable play in Spring 2026 Carolina Cup recaps (Donawa & Antonelius also scored in the Cup, but I did not list them above, Mayanja had an assist as well, Carson, Sabando and Veillard also played game 1 at least, but in general I am unsure who all started except Rutkowski who was GK all spring. )

schedule:


UNC Men's Soccer 2025-2026 Thread

 

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Here is the attrition:


Starters Lost:

1. Sr D Dylan Kropp - 2nd Team All-ACC- 1 G, 1 A, 7 SH, .143 SH%) - graduated, 25th pick MLS Real Salt Lake
2. Gr MF/D Jack Sandmeyer - 3rd team All-ACC - 2 G, 2A, 14 SH, .143 SH% - graduated , 18th pick MLS Chicago Fire
3. Gr F/MF Nacho Abeal - 7 G, 9 A, 51 SH, .0137 SH% - led the team in shots and assusts, Graduated,
4. Gr MF/D Andrew Czech - 0 G, 3 A, 17 SH, .000 SH% - Team Captain, Graduated
5. Sr GK Andrew Cordes - 69 Career starts, Sr season: 17 GA, 0.83 GA/Avg, 47 SV, .743 SV%
6. Fr D Immanuel Mathe - ACC All-Freshman Team, 0 G, 0 A, 4SH, .000 SH%- went pro, Whitecaps FC
7. Gr MF Gabriel Bracken Serra - 5 G, 5 A, .217 SH%) - Graduated, San Jose Quakes II
8. Sr D Callum Frogson - 0 G, 1 A, 6 SH, .000 SH% - Graduated, Brooklyn FC

Other Losses:

1. Sr D Parker O'Ferral 1 start, 14 games, season ending injury, 0 G, 0 A, 1 SH, .000 Sh%
2. Fr F Javier Hernandez 1 start, 7 games played, 0 G, 0 A, 1 SH, .000 SH% - went pro Portland Fusion II
3. Sr MF John McDowell - 0 starts, 11 games, 0 G, 0 A, 0 SH, 2 of 2 PKs converted in shootouts transferred to Belmont
4. Sr F Lucas Ross - 0 Starts, 9 Games played, 0 G, 1 A, 10 SH, .000 SH% - Graduated
5. Gr F/MF Yaya Bakayoko 0 starts, 8 games played, 0 G, 0 A, 0 SH - Graduated
6. So MF Luis Vera, 0 starts, 6 games, 0 G, 0 A, 2 SH, .000 SH% - Portal? Pro? (Not on 2026 spring roster)
7. SR MF Maclovio Swett, 1 start, 3 games, 0 G, 0 A, 1 SH, .000 SH% - Portal? Pro? (Not on 2026 spring roster)
8. Fr F Abubaker Mayanja, 0 starts, 6 games, 0 G, 0 A, 3 SH, .000 Sh% - went pro to Red River FC
9. Fr Scott Cheevers was a TDS Top 100 player out of HS, redshirted in 2025, transferred to Wofford.
10. So F/MF Milton Jones - DNP in 2025 - Portal? Pro? (Not on 2026 spring roster)

Needless to say, that is another year of massive turnover on the UNC roster, in keeping with a team that relies heavily on the transfer portal.

Of course this is also the current state of men's D1 soccer, a sport that functions pretty indistinguishably from an international mid-tier development club league.

 

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Future recruiting classes, as they come in:

2027 Recruiting Class:

Player_Name	National_Ranking	National_Team	Awards_Accomplishments	Pos	High_School	State	Club_Team	Signed
Cael Eaton			Prep Soccer #5 player in CA	D/MF	Marin Academy	CA	Sacramento Republic FC
Deven Cadigan			MLS Next Cup Champ, Pro debut with NYRB 2 at 16 yo	MF		NJ	New York Red Bulls,
Jett Harrison		U-15 USYNT ID Camp		MF/D	Allegiance Academy	TX	Philadelphia Union, DKSC prior to that

There is an indication on social media that Harrison graduated already so I would not be surprised if he either enrolls early or sticks with a pro path at Philadelphia Union in lieu of college.

2027 Transfer Portal Class:

• TBD

2028 Recruiting Class:

• TBD

 

[3397char]

UNC Men's Soccer links:

2026 Spring Schedule Results
2025-26 Stats
2026 Spring Roster
Top Drawer Soccer Commitment List

Coaching News:

Samoano's contract is renewed



UNC Alumn Michael Callahan is added to the staff as an AC

Men’s Soccer Adds Michael Callahan To Coaching Staff - University of North Carolina Athletics

A former All-American and captain at UNC, Callahan comes back to Chapel Hill after serving four years as an assistant coach at George Mason.

goheels.com

2025 Recap:

after a 8-4-6 record through the ACC Tournament, UNC finished unranked in the final 2025 United Soccer Coaches Poll

UNC played two games in the NCAA tournament, taking both to penalty shots decisions, UNC beat unseeded North Florida, then lost to #4 Md.

2025 Final RPI Rankings:

Rank	School	Record	Conf	Road	Neutral	Home	Non-Div I	Prev
1	Washington	16-6-2	Big Ten	9-3-1	2-1-0	5-2-1	0-0-0	36
2	Princeton	15-2-2	Ivy League	7-0-1	0-0-0	8-2-1	0-0-0	1
3	NC State	16-3-4	ACC	5-0-1	1-1-0	10-2-3	0-0-0	16
4	Vermont	14-1-5	America East	5-0-3	0-0-0	9-1-2	0-0-0	2
5	Virginia	12-2-5	ACC	3-1-1	1-1-0	8-0-4	0-0-0	3
6	Bryant	17-2-3	America East	9-1-1	0-0-0	8-1-2	0-0-0	6
7	SMU	11-5-4	ACC	3-2-2	2-0-0	6-3-2	0-0-0	4
8	Maryland	13-2-4	Big Ten	4-0-2	0-0-0	9-2-2	0-0-0	7
9	San Diego	13-3-3	WCC	4-2-1	0-0-1	9-1-1	0-0-0	5
10	Portland	13-2-4	WCC	2-1-3	0-0-0	11-1-1	1-0-0	8
11	Georgetown	14-4-4	Big East	3-1-2	2-0-0	9-3-2	0-0-0	9
12	Saint Louis	13-3-8	Atlantic 10	5-2-2	0-1-0	8-0-6	0-0-0	24
13	Hofstra	14-5-1	CAA	8-2-1	0-0-0	6-3-0	0-0-0	27
14	Furman	15-2-5	SoCon	5-0-2	1-1-1	9-1-2	1-0-0	14
15	High Point	14-2-4	Big South	6-2-3	0-0-0	8-0-1	0-0-0	11
16	Akron	13-5-3	Big East	5-1-2	0-1-0	8-3-1	0-0-0	13
17	Stanford	14-4-2	ACC	3-2-1	0-0-0	11-2-1	0-0-0	12
18	Indiana	11-6-1	Big Ten	3-4-0	0-0-0	8-2-1	1-0-0	10
19	UConn	12-5-4	Big East	4-2-2	1-1-0	7-2-2	0-0-0	15
20	Denver	12-7-3	Summit League	2-6-3	0-0-0	10-1-0	0-0-0	23
21	Duke	9-4-6	ACC	2-2-4	0-0-0	7-2-2	1-0-0	31
22	Marshall	12-4-5	Sun Belt	2-3-4	1-0-0	9-1-1	0-0-0	18
23	Kansas City	12-4-5	Summit League	5-4-2	0-0-0	7-0-3	0-0-0	20
24	West Virginia	13-5-3	Sun Belt	5-3-1	0-0-0	8-2-2	0-0-0	21
25	North Carolina	9-5-6	ACC	3-3-3	0-0-0	6-2-3	0-0-0	28

 

[HONKYTONKTARASSOCIATION]

thank u

 

[Jriv23]

Awesome job 3397Char. Thanks for the very insightful information.

 

[3397char]

Schedule is out:



Official site article:

Men’s Soccer Announces 2026 Schedule - University of North Carolina Athletics

The 2026 campaign features 15 regular-season games including nine games at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.

goheels.com

exactly 1 month from the first exhibition!

 

[NYHeel92]

I missed that the soccer / lacrosse facility is now called Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. I have no idea what that sponsor is, but definitely sign of the times!

 

[JCTarHeel]

I missed that the soccer / lacrosse facility is now called Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. I have no idea what that sponsor is, but definitely sign of the times!

Gross.

 

[JOB1937]

From the Ram’s Club weekly update email.

 

[Jriv23]

Does Leadership gift mean they made a donation to the soccer program? If so, then that is great. Go Heels!

 

[unc80]

Loveman has already given a ton of money to UNC soccer.

 

[Redhotchiliheel]

I did not know that Sebastian Berhalter played at Carolina for a minute. I knew his mom and dad did, but I always assumed that he bypassed college entirely.

 

[TAHeel]

I did not know that Sebastian Berhalter played at Carolina for a minute. I knew his mom and dad did, but I always assumed that he bypassed college entirely.

Only team under Carlos to miss the tournament too. Kind of impressive in a way.

 

[JCTarHeel]

I did not know that Sebastian Berhalter played at Carolina for a minute. I knew his mom and dad did, but I always assumed that he bypassed college entirely.

I thought he had gone straight to the pros as well.

Good info.

 

[3397char]

It looks like they named it after their charity; Hard to be too mad at that, even if it is little hard to roll off the tongue.

 

[3397char]

Here are the naming rights costs at Dorrance Field. As you can see, the naming rights for the stadium is already blocked off, so you cant see the price. But My assumption is it was a new gift, well above $3 Million, based on the information here and the others below.


This was a $35.5 Million project completed in 2019-20.


For comparison, here are the Karen Shelton Stadium opportunities:


This stadium only covers one sport instead of four, had a much lower capital expense to start with $15.2 Million), and is on TV and media much less, so probably significantly lower in price.

And the $16.2 Million track facility completed in 2018:


Football:


Tennis:


There is golf too, but much of it is bought out already.


It is possible the soccer and Lacrosse stadium was already paid off and this is new money for the athletic department. But it is more likely there is still debt to service; these projects get greenlit well before they are 100% paid for and it can take years to fully pay off the capital outlay. My guess is that we need these various naming rights to be more fully bought before they are paid off. there is a reason they are still listed on the Rams Club website. But either way, it definitely improves the bottom line and protects these Olympic sports.