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UNC Women's Soccer 2026-2027

3397char

3397char

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3397char said:
The games are Sept 5 through 27th. So including prep & Practice I think it is safe to assume any UNC player will be absent from roughly the start of season until around Oct 1st as worst case scenario, assuming USA advances to the finals.

The 2026 schedule is not out yet, but based on last year, we started on Aug 14th with an exhibition followed by 3 regular season games on or before 8-24. It is possible similar games this season might be early enough for world cuppers to play prior to heading to Poland.

Between 8/24 and 10/1 there were 7 more regular season games, including 3 ACC games.

I don't know who we stand to lose; your list I think are all possibilities . But the best guess is the U-20 roster from June friendlies in Spain; I doubt there will be too many changes?

Goalkeepers (2):
Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.),
Evan O'Steen (Seattle Reign FC; Grapevine, Texas)

Defenders (7):
Aven Alvarez (UNC; New Hill, N.C.),
Ella Bard (Louisville; Wadsworth, Ohio),
Lizzie Boamah (Stanford; San Diego, Calif.),
Kiara Gilmore (Wisconsin; Allen, Texas),
Emma Johnson (Penn State; Greenfield, Ind.),
Hope Munson (UNC; Holladay, Utah),
Katie Scott (Kansas City Current; Fairview, Pa.)

Midfielders (5):
Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC; Southlake, Texas),
Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC; Bedford, Texas),
Y-Lan Nguyen (Stanford; Fairfax, Va.),
Nyanya Touray (Florida State; Silver Spring, Md.),
Linda Ullmark (Houston Dash; Buffalo, N.Y.)

Forwards (6):
Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign FC; Red Oak, Texas),
Kimmi Ascanio (San Diego Wave FC; Doral, Fla.),
Melanie Barcenas (San Diego Wave FC; San Diego, Calif.),
Alex Buck (Washington; Medina, Wash.),
Onyeka Gamero (Bay FC; Cerritos, Calif.),
Micayla Johnson (Chicago Stars FC; Troy, Mich.)

USA has to turn in their roster maybe 3 weeks prior to the tourney start. so we may not know for sure until well after UNC camp starts.
Click to expand...

I forgot the U-17 world Cup is also this year... and we have two incoming freshmen who are currently on that team. Stanislaus and Manning:



So in addition to this friendly series in Japan in July,, expect these two to be out for the U-17 WC in Morocco from October 17 to November 8th. That means they will likely miss the last 4 - 6 games of the regular season and perhaps the ACC tourney if a) the USA advances to far in eliminations and b) UNC qualifies and advances in the ACCT.

Ally ACC Women’s Soccer – Nov. 2, 6 & 9, 2025
First Round: Campus Sites
Semifinals and Final: Cary, N.C.
Tournament Format: Six teams (top two teams receive a first-round bye)

NCAAT does not start until late Nov, so all good there.
 
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Jriv23

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Wow, Damon and staff are crushing it on the recruiting front. He and his staff must find a way to play all of the talent that is coming in. There is no excuses on why he should be playing them and the starters should not be logging all of the minutes now. He has too much talent now to help out with the depth, etc. Go Heels!
 
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Anon182318

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So much talent! I believe there was another USYNT commit since the one posted above!

Will players be content sharing playing time or not starting games? Many of these players would be 80-90 min starters at other schools.

It will be an interesting fall!
 
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3397char

3397char

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2028 Recruit #5 is F/MF Dylan Ohm of Agnes Irwin HS in Medina PA
Club: Penn Fusion SA




U-16 USYNT alumnus
She missed the PrepSoccer top 100, probably due to a recent recovery from an ACL injury?
 
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Jriv23

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[B]Anon182318[/B] that is a very good question. If Damon and staff are smart, we have too many great coaches on our campus he can go and ask on how to keep players happy with the minutes. Anson Dorrence, his mentor played a lot of players, I would start by asking him. Then I would go and ask Jenny Levi our women's lacrosse coach, Karen Shelton, Roy Williams, Scott Forbes, etc. ​

 
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Anon182318

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Oh, I know it worked in the past. Anson had his "game changers" and made a big substitution partway through each half. But I imagine a lot of these YNT players are planning to go pro, some probably after a season or two. Players are coming to college a year, even two years early now. If they're not starting regularly and only getting 30 min a game, etc. it will make it harder for them to go pro and get a decent contract.
 
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Jriv23

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This just came in.

UNC Soccer Signee Maddie DiMaria Named Gatorade National Player Of The Year​

DiMaria, who will graduate early and enroll at UNC early next year, is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 2027 class by both Prep Soccer and Top Drawer Soccer. This past season, she scored 67 goals and added 25 assists while leading the Chargers to a 25-0 record and the Missouri Class 4 state championship. Okay folks, Damon and staff are going to have to find a way to keep these recruits happy that are coming in. Hopefully some of these players will be one and done which should help some, but for that one year that they are here he must play them bottom line.
 
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Jriv23

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Man, I hate to see this happen to any athlete in any sport. She appears to be in good spirits which is very good. I am sad but glad at the same time. Sad because she will not be able to play this upcoming season, but glad that we have top level recruits coming in to help absorb the lost on the field. This is where depth on a team comes into play. You can never have to much talent when situations like this arise. Go Heels!
 
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Jriv23

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I agree with you Johnny Yen. The good news for this year team is we have a lot of talent coming in as freshman and transfers coming in to absorb her lost. Go Heels!
 
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Kleizaster

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www.topdrawersoccer.com

DiMaria Wins Second Gatorade POTY Trophy | High School Soccer News

Madeline DiMaria, who two years ago became the first freshman to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, was again announced as the winner of the most prestigious award in high school soccer.
www.topdrawersoccer.com www.topdrawersoccer.com




DiMaria is a special player. Keep in mind she voluntarily decided to forgo pro opportunities to go to college, which is almost unheard in todays's era. She's better than every teenager currently in the NWSL in my humble opinion.

She's been adamant that going to college will better prepare her for the pros even though she could step into a pro team right now and get alot of minutes. That shows a high level of maturity.

Going pro early doesn't guarantee success, regardless of your level of talent.

Claire Hutton, a former UNC commit went pro and has been a huge success. Mel Bercenas, who was a comparable talent to DiMaria coming out of HS, has hit a bit of a wall in the pros. It's becoming clearer that she wasn't ready. Burn out is a real thing. I think Barcenas will be fine. She's still young and will be a great player for years to come but it's something worth thinking about.

I'm curious if the trend will start to reverse and more players will choose college
 
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Anon182318

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Di Maria is a special player for sure. But there are other college players that have had offers from NWSL teams and have chosen to stay in college for now. Really, any "top" YNT player could get a $50K/yr NWSL contract. College offers more if you add full tuition, room/board, NIL, etc. NIL at some schools alone is as much as some NWSL contracts.

Di Maria is the type of player that probably would have earned more than a basic contract AND gotten playing time,though.
 
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3397char

3397char

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2028 Recruit #6 is MF Cali Hejduk of Columbus United Club

ranked the #10 recruit by PrepSoocr
Another USYNT alumnus



Her Father Frankie Hejduk had a long career in the pros and on the USMNT.
 
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3397char

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2028 recruit #8 is Def Madison Kline of Scott Gallagher SC in St Louis! Yet another USYNT alumnus (U-15 & U-16). She is the #5 player in the 2028 class according to Prep Soccer

 
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3397char

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Prep star rankings of UNC's 8 2028 recruits:
  • #5 D Madison Kline (USYNT U-15 & U-16)
  • #8 D/MF Chloe Miller (USYNT U-15)
  • #10 MF Cali Hejduk (USYNT U-15 & U-16)
  • #37 MF Sofia White (USYNT U-16)
  • #58 F/MF Valentina Perrotta (USYNT U-15 & U-16)
  • #UR (injured) F/MF Dylan Ohm (USYNT U-16))
  • #UR F Alysse Williams
  • 2029 reclass: MF Olivia Rubin (US Camp only)
As impressive as the rankings are, 6 women with national team experience is amazing. These rosters change with women coming on and off as available, but they are all around 20 players.
 
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3397char

3397char

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Kleizaster said:
www.topdrawersoccer.com

DiMaria Wins Second Gatorade POTY Trophy | High School Soccer News

Madeline DiMaria, who two years ago became the first freshman to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, was again announced as the winner of the most prestigious award in high school soccer.
www.topdrawersoccer.com www.topdrawersoccer.com




DiMaria is a special player. Keep in mind she voluntarily decided to forgo pro opportunities to go to college, which is almost unheard in todays's era. She's better than every teenager currently in the NWSL in my humble opinion.

She's been adamant that going to college will better prepare her for the pros even though she could step into a pro team right now and get alot of minutes. That shows a high level of maturity.

Going pro early doesn't guarantee success, regardless of your level of talent.

Claire Hutton, a former UNC commit went pro and has been a huge success. Mel Bercenas, who was a comparable talent to DiMaria coming out of HS, has hit a bit of a wall in the pros. It's becoming clearer that she wasn't ready. Burn out is a real thing. I think Barcenas will be fine. She's still young and will be a great player for years to come but it's something worth thinking about.

I'm curious if the trend will start to reverse and more players will choose college
Click to expand...
Maddie DiMaria just won an ESPY award?!?

Gatorade Female High School Player of the Year.

(This is across all sports)





correction: not an actual ESPY Award, just the venue where they present the Gatorade award.
 
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3397char

3397char

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Imcoming freshman Maggie Currie is out for the season with a torn ACL. Wishimg her a speedy and complete recovery.

 
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Lucretius

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3397char said:
Maddie DiMaria just won an ESPY award?!?

Gatorade Female High School Player of the Year.

(This is across all sports)



Click to expand...

On her Gatorade Player of the Year profile, in the Academics section, it says she will graduate early and enroll at Carolina in the fall. Is this accurate?
 
3397char

3397char

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Lucretius said:
On her Gatorade Player of the Year profile, in the Academics section, it says she will graduate early and enroll at Carolina in the fall. Is this accurate?
Click to expand...
Yes. She and Amari Manning are both 2027 recruits who reclassified and are enrolling early. You can see the entire recruiting class in the first post of this thread.
 
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Lucretius

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3397char said:
Yes. She and Amari Manning are both 2027 recruits who reclassified and are enrolling early. You can see the entire recruiting class in the first post of this thread.
Click to expand...
Thanks 3397. You should take her out of 2027 recruits and add her to 2026 incoming recruits in the OP on page 1 as you have done with Manning. That is what confused me and why I asked. This is fantastic. Can she play the 9?
 
3397char

3397char

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Lucretius said:
Thanks 3397. You should take her out of 2027 recruits and add her to 2026 incoming recruits in the OP on page 1 as you have done with Manning. That is what confused me and why I asked. This is fantastic. Can she play the 9?
Click to expand...
My mistake; I conflated Maggie Currie with Maddie DiMaria. I was not aware Maddie DiMaria was enrolling early, but with the two women confirmed our for the season it is very possible we just recently created the room under the roster limit and this is thus a pretty recent development?

She does not yet appear on the 2026 roster (some of the incoming freshmen are already listed). However:

Here is the press release you reference:

And @SpencerHaskell corroborates in this story:
www.on3.com

UNC Soccer Signee Maddie DiMaria Named Gatorade National Player Of The Year

St. Louis, Mo. native Maddie DiMaria is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the 2027 class and tallied 67 goals with 25 assists this past season.
www.on3.com www.on3.com

So yeah, it looks like she will enroll early! I will get the OP changed. Good find.

I believe at HS, Club and USYNT levels she played primarily at the 9 with a good amount of work at left wing as well. She is not all that tall, so I think her actual role will be more timing runs and receiving centering crosses from the wing similar to Kate Fassee as opposed to a physically dominating, back to the goal, turn and shoot like Olivia Thomas.

Given the identified hole at center striker, my uninformed guess is that she will start there from day one.

She ends her HS career with 142 goals, 65 assists over 3 seasons. 😮
 
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Bricks

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JohnnyYen said:
Seems like we should see a schedule (and tickets) shortly.
Click to expand...
I know we've been slow to release the schedule the past few years, but it feels like it's later than usual this season. We're 16 days out from our first scrimmage.
 
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JohnnyYen

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Bricks said:
I know we've been slow to release the schedule the past few years, but it feels like it's later than usual this season. We're 16 days out from our first scrimmage.
Click to expand...
Interesting - it says they'll be available on Wednesday. Remember, last year they only offered single game tickets. So we had to move around a bit during the season, which was annoying. It seems to say that they're back to offering season tickets again, which is great.
 
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