On the heels of the program’s 23rd national championship in 2024, the UNC women’s soccer team has been voted No. 1 in the first rankings of 2025. The Tar Heels swept all eight first-place votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, which was released Thursday.

UNC sits atop an ACC logjam at the top of the rankings. Just behind the Tar Heels are No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Florida State and No. 4 Duke. Stanford checks in at No. 7, while 2024 national runners-up Wake Forest sit at No. 10. Also representing the ACC are No. 14 Virginia Tech and No. 15 Virginia. For a full look at the poll, click here.

The Tar Heels are coming off a 22-5 season in 2024 and return several key players from that championship-winning side. Reigning Hermann and Honda Sport Award winner Kate Faasse returns to the roster, as does 2024 NCAA College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player Olivia Thomas, who scored the game-winning goal in the national championship match. ACC All-Freshman honorees Linda Ullmark and Bella Gaetino also return.

The 2025 season will be the program’s first with Damon Nahas as the full-time head coach. Nahas coached the 2024 season with an interim tag after the retirement of longtime head coach Anson Dorrance just days before the start of the season.

UNC opens its 2025 season with a pair of exhibition matches at Dorrance Field. UNC-Wilmington visits on August 6 and Wake Forest visits on August 9. The season officially begins when the Tar Heels travel to Tennessee on August 14. For a full look at UNC’s 2025 schedule, click here.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini

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