The defending national champions opened the 2026 season in style Friday afternoon, as No. 1 UNC led wire-to-wire in a 19-11 win at No. 19 James Madison.

Reigning national player of the year Chloe Humphrey picked up right where she left off in 2025, scoring UNC’s first goal of the year just 70 seconds into the game to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead. Humphrey would rack up seven points with three goals and four assists by the time the game ended. Addison Pattillo and Kaleigh Harden each also finished with hat tricks, but they were both outdone by Darcy Felter, who scored five goals for the second time in her career.

Felter, Harden and Pattillo all scored in the first quarter, which ended with UNC leading 5-1. The Tar Heels scored three unanswered goals to end the second quarter, then four more to begin the third to push their lead to 16-5, capped off by two more goals from Felter. A 5-0 run from James Madison cut that deficit to 16-10, but Harden scored two goals as part of a 3-0 spurt by the Tar Heels to quell any hopes of a comeback.

UNC’s win is its 23rd in a row, and the 2026 season is the second in a row in which the Tar Heels have opened with a win against the Dukes. Up next, UNC will make an early start to ACC play when it visits No. 11 Syracuse Friday, Feb. 13 at 2:30 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Ryan Hunt

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