UNC Women’s Lacrosse 2026-27

USA Lacrosse Magazine has been projecting “Too early”. Rankings for the 2026-27 season. The Tar Heels are picked #1.


Here is the UNC portion:

1. NORTH CAROLINA​

2026 record: 19-2 (10-0 ACC)
Last seen: Losing to Northwestern in the national championship game 14-11
Notable departures: Darcy Felter, A; Sam Forrest, D; Sarah Gresham, DS; Caroline Godine, A; Kiley Mottice, M; Brooklyn Walker-Welch, D
Notable additions: Leele Bigelow, M; Sophia Buffardi, M; Kady Duffy, M; Kate Galica, M, (Virginia); Gaelle Jones, D; Ashton Kilfoil, D; Jenna Lundstedt, M/DS (USC); Emma McCarthy, M; Alivian Parmer, M; Cece Powell, A; Alexia Reber, D (from Syracuse); Bailey Redford, G; Elizabeth Smith, M
Initial forecast: North Carolina knows full well that preseason predictions mean little in May (especially ones published in July or August). So, is the cash register coming back after an unexpected runner-up finish? Who knows. But UNC will certainly cash in on the returns of the majority of its scoring, headlined by superstar Chloe Humphrey. The Tar Heels return three of their top five goal scorers in Humphrey (109 goals, 50 assists, 21 caused turnovers, 19 ground balls), Addison Pattillo (63 goals, 14 assists) and Eliza Osburn (32 goals, 18 assists). Two-way midfielder Kate Levy also returns, and the Tar Heels add in Virginia midfielder and draw stud Kate Galica (36 goals, 19 assists, 22 caused turnovers, 32 ground balls, 144 draw controls).
Galica’s draws will be clutch with Sarah Gresham (99 draw controls) gone. Kaleigh Harden (99 draw controls, 23 ground balls, 23 caused turnovers) will also likely play a role in the circle and on defense.
If UNC has any holes, it’s on defense, where the Tar Heels will be sans stalwarts Sam Forrest and Brooklyn Walker-Welch. Walker-Welch missed about half of last season with an injury, so UNC is used to playing and winning without her. The Tar Heels will likely get Ella Traggio back from injury. Traggio started all 22 games during UNC’s championship run in 2025, tallying 34 ground balls and 19 caused turnovers. Defensive-minded midfielder GraceAnn Leonard (23 caused turnovers, 34 ground balls, 24 draw controls) could also be key. Lexi Reber, a defender who suffered two season-ending injuries in two years at Syracuse, has also transferred.
What will come of the goalie match-up between Betty Nelson (7.83 goals against average, 40.0 save percentage) and Lexi Zenk (8.47 goals against average, 46.9% save percentage) also remains to be seen. Both are rising juniors who saw significant minutes last year, with Nelson starting every game.
And we haven’t even discussed UNC’s recruiting class. It’s top-ranked in the land and includes attacker Cece Powell (No. 3 overall recruit per Inside Lacrosse) and midfielder Sophia Buffardi (No. 4), to name just a couple of the four- and five-star players slated to arrive in Chapel Hill this fall.

My take on the 2027 Tar Heels. I will add posts on the other segments of the 2027 UNC Women’s Lacrosse team in the coming week.

2027 UNC WOMEN’S LACROSSE PREVIEW

DEFENDERS

Departures (bolded indicates frontline players)

• Sam Forrest - 2x All-American; ’25 IWLCA Defensive POY (21app/21starts); USA women’s team player
• Brooklyn Walker-Welch - multiple year All-American; member Canadian national team
• Sophie Straka - grad transfer from Yale (17app/10 starts)
• Molly Longfield - 4-year letterman (14app)
• Ella Cabrera - lettered 4-years (8app)

Comments

Departures from the 2026 defense are the most significant team losses. After an injury-riddled first three years, Sam Forrest became one of the best defenders in the country and in UNC history in her last two seasons. She routinely drew the assignment of marking the opposing team’s best attacker. Brooklyn Walker-Welch was a starter for the UNC defense from the outset of her freshman year and was a 3 time AA. She missed 1/3 of the team’s games her senior year, including all games in the NCAA tourney. Yale transfer Sophie Straka’s playing time increased as the ’26 year wore on - by the end of the year, she was starting. (Three year starter Ellie Traggio missed the entire 2026 season due to injury.)

2027 DEFENSE

Returning Players (2026 stats unless otherwise indicated)

Ellie Traggio (senior) - three year starter who missed the 2026 season; 2025 stats (34gb/19ct)

• Graceann Leonard (RS-junior) - (21app/13starts)(34gb/23ct/24dc)
• Avery Roberts (senior) - (21app/10starts)(6gb/11ct)
• Charlotte Corkins (junior) - (19app/11starts) (11gb/3ct/9dc)
• Audrey Hurleman (sophomore) (12app/6starts) (4gb/3ct)
• Paige Kelly (senior) (6app/0starts) (3gb) suffered a leg injury in mid-2026 season
• Haley Carver (RS-soph) didn’t record any stats in 2026

Incoming Players

• Lexi Reber - (RS-sophomore) transfer from Syracuse; highly regarded recruit (#14 class of ’24) who has played sparingly her first two seasons (3 app in 2026) due to injury issues; reputed to be very fast
• Gaelle Jones (NJ) - freshman
• Ashton Kilgore (VA) -freshman

Jones and Kilgore are somewhat unique in Carolina recruiting in that they were recruited as defenders; typically UNC converts midfielders to defense; Jones and Kilgore are 4-star recruits who played in the NB Senior All-star game in July.

2027 Defensive Outlook

The graduation of All-Americans Sam Forrest and Brooklyn Walker-Welch leave big shoes to fill; however, Walker-Welch was injury plagued in 2026, missing 7 games, including the entire NCAA tournament. As a result, her contribution to the team was less significant than in prior seasons.

Once she got past serious early-career injuries, Forrest developed into one of UNC’s great defenders (2025 national defender of the year/2026 USA Women’s World Cup team). Straka’s playing time increased as the 2026 season wore on and developed into a solid defensive asset.

Four returning players (Leonard, Roberts, Corkins and Traggio) have had significant playing time and were strong, multi-sport athletes in high school. Corkins is touted as the fastest player on the team. The three incoming players (Reber, Jones, Kilgore) also fit this mold. Of note, Jones was a track sprinter in high school.

The most effective UNC defenses have been those that have an established lineup where coordination and cohesion develop. For whatever reason, the 2026 team didn’t settle on an established lineup and had coordination issues at times. The biggest question facing the 2027 defense is who replaces Forrest as the team’s assigned stopper vs. the opposition’s best scorer.

Pluses for the 2027 defense are: (1) athletic, experienced two-way midfielders who are effective defenders (Kaleigh Harden, Eliza Osburn, Kate Levy), and excellent incoming prospects (Lexi Reber, Gaelle Jones, Ashton Kilgore). Rising sophomore Audrey Hurleman had good moments last season and also could play a role in the defense.

While the defensive candidates have excellent potential and depth, there are likely to be growing pains as the defense develops cohesion and coordination. Historically UNC has fielded a strong defense; with the identified talent and possible midfield player conversions, UNC will be athletic and will improve as the season wears on.

ATTACKERS

Departures (bolded indicates frontline players)
The UNC recruiting class of 2022 was special in several ways. The preceding class had a single 5-star recruit (Sam Forrest); the 2022s had six 5-stars, including five in the top 18 (White #2, Godine #8, Harden #12, Felter #17 and Mottice #18). (White transferred and Harden red-shirted). The class was exemplary student-athletes, leaders and teammates. Collectively, they earned 14 All-ACC Academic teams; Felter, Godine and Mottice were selected to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll (GPA >3.5). They were the constant in UNC‘s recruiting of five successive top-3 (including 4 top 2) classes. When the star-studded class of ‘24 (Pattillo, Levy, Osburn, Corkins, plus ‘23 redshirt Chloe Humphrey) came on-board, the ‘22s had to subordinate their talents to being role players - by all appearances, this was seamless.

I am not an insider, but I am confident that the above depiction of the class of ‘22 recruits is accurate. I offer one scenario. In her sophomore year, Darcy Felter had something of a breakout year (24g/7a). But in the following season (2025), her playing time and stats shrunk significantly (7g/1a). I was curious to see how she would respond in 2026, her senior season. Her response was impeccable - third on the team in goals (34g), assists (19a) and points (53) and a couple of appearances on the ESPN Top-10 plays list.

Returning Players
(CAPS indicate front-line players; 2026 stats unless otherwise indicated)

CHLOE HUMPHREY (RS Junior) (109g/50a)
ADDISON PATTILLO (Junior) (63g/14a)

Julia O’Connor (Senior)(4g/16a)
Eva Ingrilli (RS Junior)(14g/6a)
Reese King (Soph) (10g)
Grace Winkler (Soph) (2g/2a), LEFT
Sophie Stoltz (Soph) (3g), LEFT

[Note on positions: in MY way of thinking, a player who generates only offensive stats is an attacker. And logically, if a player exclusively generates defensive stats, she’s a defender. For my purposes, a midfielder generates both offensive and defensive stats (2-way midfielder). I mention this here because Julia O’Connor is listed as midfielder on the 2025 roster, but her stats say she is an attacker.]

UNC returns the top 1-2 offensive punch in women’s college lacrosse (C Humphrey and A Pattillo), which is certainly an excellent starting point. But as of right now, (IMO) UNC suffers from the same deficiencies that it suffered from last season — the absence of a feeder/quarterback and the lack of a left-handed attacker. The 2025 champions were a more diversified offense than last season’s team because (1) Ashley Humphrey (90a) was a stellar feeder and (2) Olivia Vergano (39g/14) provided left-handed scoring. As for the QB/feeder role, the apparent game plan in 2026 was for RS Fresh Tess Calabria to fill this role - but she was lost for the season prior to the second game. A left-handed attacker never emerged.

Just because Chloe H. can play any position/role and can do anything doesn’t mean you want her having to do everything. She does everything well, but (IMO) her very best skill is playing without the ball because she is a perpetual motion machine, she catches everything and she places her shots accurately. But she is not able to feed herself. (Her role as feeder in 2026 was considerable; her total of 50 assists was almost twice the next highest total (26) on the team.)

As for left-handed scorers, all four of Carolina’s NCAA women’s lacrosse champions had prominent left-handed scorers - Aly Messenger in 2013 and 2016, Jamie Ortega in 2022 and Vergano in 2025.

Because of the absence of a left-handed attacker, UNC starters last season included only three attackers; the fourth starter in the offensive zone was left-handed midfielder, Kate Levy.

One big plus for the UNC offense is that its midfielders are exceptional offensive players, particularly Levy (30g/15a) and Eliza Osburn (32g/18a).

Typically, the UNC offense plays five attackers and two midfielders. So who will be the three attackers who augment Humphrey and Pattillo?

2027 Attacker Outlook

In addition to the returning players, above, the ‘26 class provides two additional attacker options:

Incoming Players:
Cece Powell (NY) ‘26 #3
Emma McCarthy ‘26 #29

So what are the preferred options for the three remaining attacker positions. Ideally, Tess Calabria will be available to fill the QB/feeder role, but she will be only eight months post-injury when fall ball starts and 12 months post-surgery when the season starts. If she can’t go, perhaps Senior Julia O’Connor (16a) can fill the QB/feeder role; improved finishing (4g) would enhance her chances.

Reese King (10k) emerged late with six goals in the NCAA tourney. I expected to see her earlier, but Darcy Felter’s enhanced production might have reduced King’s opportunity to play more earlier. The 5’10” King is a good finisher, and also has a hard shot from distance. Eva Ingrilli (14g/6a) is a strong finisher around the goal who didn’t play as much as I expected last season. Both of these players will play to combat the zone defenses that UNC will undoubtedly face.

There are three apparent options to compete for the left-handed attacker role discussed earlier. Sophomores Grace Winkler (CT) (2g/2a) and Sophie Stoltz (DC)(3g) weren’t able to crack the regular rotation, but both are highly regarded prospects. Winkler might have an edge here because she diversifies the attack more; 5’10” Stoltz appears to be a similar player to Reese King. The third left-handed option is Freshman Emma McCarthy (NJ), an athletic attacker who received kudos for her play (1g/1a) in the NB Senior Girls’ AA game:
“McCarthy brought relentless energy every shift, making hustle plays, battling for loose balls and providing an emotional spark for the South. She also produced one of the flashiest goals of the day, finishing an impressive behind-the-back shot that showcased her creativity and skill around the cage.”

The final option for attacker is CeCe Powell (NY), the #3 ranked player in the pre-senior season class ranking. Powell had two goals in the NB AA game, earning these kudos:

“Powell's high-level skillset was on full display. A threat to score from anywhere, she attacked with patience and creativity, making her difficult to defend because of her ability to finish in multiple ways.”

Powell‘s athleticism is evidenced by her high school sports — she played lacrosse, soccer and basketball in high school and is the leading career scorer at her high school in all three sports.

CONCLUSION:

Because of concern for filling roles, this preview is probably unduly negative. In actuality, UNC‘s attack has exceptional talent and potential and will be interesting to watch develop in 2027. The team will be high-scoring and could be virtually unstoppable if the talent meshes and the roles are filled.

[After completing this Preseason Preview, I intend to write-up some notes on the incoming freshman class.]

NEXT: THE UNC MIDFIELD