The UNC women’s soccer team was selected as the preseason favorite to win the ACC, in results revealed by the league on Tuesday.

Last season saw the Tar Heels post a record of 24-2-1 on the way to the ACC title and a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament.

UNC received eight of the 13 first-place votes in the poll, while Florida State checked in at No. 2 and had three first-place votes. Virginia garnered the final two first-place votes and claimed the No. 3 spot in the poll.

Sophomore Maycee Bell, junior Brianna Pinto and senior Emily Fox were each named to the Preseason All-ACC Team — giving the Tar Heels a tie with Florida State for most players selected.

Fox scored two goals and dished out 11 assists on her way to First Team All-ACC status as a defender in 2019, and was named a finalist for the Hermann Trophy.

Bell, also a defender, was the ACC Freshman of the Year last season after leading the team in minutes–including playing all 470 minutes of UNC’s shutout victories.

Pinto has been a First Team All-ACC midfielder in each of her first two years on campus. She led the Tar Heels in points last season with 11 goals and six assists.

Earlier this offseason, the Tar Heels lost a pair of key players when Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy elected to return to England to begin their professional careers. At UNC, Russo scored 28 goals and dished out nine assists in her three years on campus–earning the 2018 ACC Offensive Player of the Year award along the way. Wubben-Moy started as a defender for the Tar Heels in 58 of the 62 games she appeared in, and finished her college career with six goals and 12 assists.

UNC begins the season in Chapel Hill against Wake Forest on Sept. 17.

Photo via Dakota Moyer

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