The UNC Men's Soccer Coach Envisions a 2-Semester Season. Could it Work?

UNC men’s soccer head coach Carlos Somoano recently told 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about one of his pipe dreams: a plan to move college soccer from a one-semester to a two-semester schedule, spreading out the schedule across the fall and spring.

Somoano called the proposal a “passion project,” one which has been on his mind for more than a decade.

“I could go into a thousand variables as to why that makes sense,” he said. “But I think the easiest thing to do is look at any soccer player in Europe, South America. That’s how everybody does it. We’re a little bit of an outlier in college athletics.”

The major soccer leagues in Europe, such as the English Premier League, play what amounts to a year-round schedule. Premier League winners Arsenal opened their campaign Aug. 17 and didn’t play their final of 38 league matches until May 24, a span of more than nine months. That doesn’t include other competitions domestic tournaments like the FA Cup or breaks for international competition.

Last season, UNC played 20 matches between Aug. 21 and Nov. 23. National champions Washington began their season Aug. 21 and won the title Dec. 15, cramming 24 matches into a span of less than four months.

“These are lifestyle sports,” Somoano said. “Everybody’s doing it year-round in terms of training. When you’re trying to cram 20 contests into 10 to 12 weeks, it’s not ideal.”

Somoano’s dream appeared to be inching toward reality in May when the NCAA’s men’s soccer oversight committee adopted legislation to officially split the season across the fall and the spring, beginning in the fall of 2027. Under the legislation, men’s teams would be allowed to play up to 18 matches between late August and the Saturday before Thanksgiving, then up to 10 more from mid-February until the start of the NCAA Tournament in the spring. Women’s soccer would remain a fall-only sport.

However, in June the Division 1 Cabinet remanded the proposal despite student-athletes “broadly” supporting the change. In a statement, the Cabinet noted the change was “opposed by 20 Division 1 conferences that raised concerns about the duration of the season and the lack of clarity about related rules,” as well as a number of other issues. The Cabinet asked the committee to “revisit” the proposal and provide additional information.

Should the proposal indeed become reality, it could put UNC in a difficult position. Currently, the Tar Heel men’s and women’s soccer teams and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams share one facility: Dorrance Field. The playing surface is repainted between semesters to switch between soccer and lacrosse. A spring semester in which the facility hosts men’s soccer matches as well as men’s and women’s lacrosse games could prove to be too burdensome for the natural grass playing surface.

Somoano remained hopeful his dream would become reality.

“If we’re able to get that across the line,” he said, “I think it’s gonna be one of the most significant impacts for a male soccer player in maybe the history of college athletics.”

The 2026 UNC men’s soccer season begins Thursday, Aug. 20 at Georgetown. The home opener at Dorrance Field is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. against VCU.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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The UNC Men’s Soccer Coach Envisions a 2-Semester Season. Could it Work?

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