Maddie DiMaria, who will join the UNC women’s soccer program as a true freshman this coming fall, has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Player of the Year in Girls’ Soccer. This is the second time DiMaria has won the honor; she also took it home for the 2023-24 season.
Playing at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis, DiMaria led her team to a perfect 25-0 record and a Missouri state championship this past season. She scored 67 goals and dished out 25 assists across Cor Jesu’s 25 games. DiMaria has been named Missouri’s Gatorade Player of the Year in each of her three high school seasons and is ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in her class by multiple outlets. She will graduate from Cor Jesu a year early and enroll at UNC this fall.
DiMaria has extensive international experience. She represented the United States at the U-14, U-15, U-16 and U-17 levels, winning a gold medal with the U-15 team at the 2025 CONCACAF Championships. To commemorate her National Player of the Year win, DiMaria was surprised with a video call from U.S. National Team star Mallory Swanson (who herself won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award in 2014-15).
“The Gatorade Player of the Year program celebrates the next generation of athletes who are shaping the future of sport, and Maddie DiMaria does just that,” said Jennifer Schmit, Senior Director of Brand Marketing for Gatorade. “She embodies greatness on and off the field.”
DiMaria will join a UNC women’s soccer program entering its third season under the leadership of head coach Damon Nahas. Nahas helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2024 national title while still in an interim role. In 2025, Carolina finished 13-6-2 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to TCU in a penalty shootout.
Featured image via Gatorade
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
UNC Soccer: Women Win at Arizona State, Men Draw at CalBoth the UNC men’s and women’s soccer teams were playing out west Sunday. The women used a penalty kick goal to beat Arizona State 1-0 in Tempe, while the men battled to a 2-2 draw against Cal in Berkeley. On the women’s side, the Tar Heels and Sun Devils combined for just seven total shots […]
UNC Women's Soccer Beats Arizona in First Game of Western TripA pair of second half goals from Summer Denigan and Bella Devey helped UNC beat Arizona 2-1 in Tucson Thursday night. Found a way 👏#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/iLokMXQPye — UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) September 4, 2026 The two teams went into halftime tied at 0-0 despite UNC controlling most of the chances. The Tar Heels […]
UNC Women's Soccer Beats Irish Professional Side in Dublin ExhibitionThe UNC women’s soccer team got the Tar Heels’ visit to Dublin, Ireland off on the right foot. Carolina defeated Irish professional side Shelbourne F.C. 3-0 in an exhibition match at Tolka Park Friday. The match was played in conjunction with the football team’s game against TCU in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic […]
UNC Women's Soccer Suffers First Loss of 2026 vs. No. 5 Michigan StateDespite outshooting No. 5 Michigan State 21-7, UNC fell to the Spartans 3-2 Sunday at Dorrance Field. It’s Carolina’s first loss of the 2026 season. The Spartans took the lead midway through the first half on a goal by Kennedy Bell, but UNC’s Summer Denigan answered less than three minutes later to tie the score […]
UNC Women's Soccer Scores Most Goals Since 2019 in Win vs. QuinnipiacUNC’s Bella Devey recorded a hat trick in less than 15 minutes to help the Tar Heels on their way to an 8-0 win against Quinnipiac at Dorrance Field Sunday. The eight goals are Carolina’s most in a single match since 2019. Heels are 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 👏#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/hHYDCWkCjK — UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) August […]
UNC Women's Soccer Beats Fairfield in 2026 Season OpenerSophomore defender Hope Munson bagged the first two goals of her collegiate career in the first half as UNC defeated Fairfield 4-0 at Dorrance Field in the 2026 season opener Thursday night. Game 𝙒𝙊𝙉 😏#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/VWOUvguLeH — UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) August 14, 2026 Munson collected her brace in just over a half […]
UNC Women's Soccer Picked 5th in ACC; Bella Devey Named Preseason All-ACCUNC has been picked to finish fifth in the ACC’s preseason women’s soccer poll, which was released Monday. The Tar Heels were one of five teams to receive at least one first-place vote. Notre Dame sits in first place in the poll with seven of 17 first-place votes, while No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Duke […]
UNC Women's Soccer Releases 2026 Regular Season ScheduleThe UNC women’s soccer program released its schedule for the 2026 regular season Monday, which includes matches across seven states and two countries. Mark your calendars, the 2026 schedule is here 👏 Ticket information coming soon!#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/D0FR4zWhkb — UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) July 20, 2026 UNC begins with a preseason exhibition against South Carolina at […]
UNC Soccer and Lacrosse Venue Christened Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy StadiumDorrance Field, the home venue for the UNC soccer and lacrosse programs, has expanded its name to Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. The expanded name comes in recognition of a gift from Kathleen Welsh and Gary Loveman, parents of two former UNC women’s soccer players. UNC describes Play2Dream as “a private family foundation” founded […]
UNC Women’s Soccer Recruit Maddie DiMaria Named National Player of the YearMaddie DiMaria, who will join the UNC women’s soccer program as a true freshman this coming fall, has been named the 2025-26 Gatorade National Player of the Year in Girls’ Soccer. This is the second time DiMaria has won the honor; she also took it home for the 2023-24 season. Playing at Cor Jesu Academy […]
›
