UNC Women's Soccer Preview - New Team, Same Goals

Following the program’s 23rd national championship last season, North Carolina women’s soccer enters its 2025 campaign ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll for the first time since 2013. 

At the helm will be Damon Nahas in his first year as the official head coach, after leading the Tar Heels to a 22-5 record and national championship under the title of interim head coach following Anson Dorrance’s sudden retirement. To aid Nahas in UNC’s title defense will be 15 returning players — five from the previous starting XI — including national player of the year Kate Faasse, who led the country in scoring with 20 goals last season.

When asked this week by Inside Carolina’s Tommy Ashley and Joey Powell if anyone on UNC’s roster could make the meteoric leap Faasse made from her sophomore to junior seasons, Nahas responded with confidence. 

“We’ll have players, new players, some players that are returning from last year, that will have the opportunity to do that,” Nahas said on the Inside Carolina preview show.  “Our freshman class is a really talented one, and I have no doubt that one of those [players], if not more, is going to put on a show for you guys to be entertained and hopefully be in a situation that Kate was in.”  

Along with Faasse, UNC returns many other significant contributors, totaling 71.9 percent (46 of 64) of its goal scoring production from last season. 

The list includes junior forward Olivia Thomas, who scored the lone goal in the 2024 national championship game. She tallied nine goals in total over 19 matches last season after missing time with an injury midway through her sophomore campaign. 

Also to help round out the attack will be midfielders Linda Ullmark and Tessa Dellarose. Ullmark earned All-ACC freshman honors last season with six goals and five assists, while Dellarose led the team in assists with seven and scored four times. 

UNC did have to replace key pieces, however, after a slew of Tar Heels signed professional contracts to play in the NWSL. This included starters Trinity Armstrong, Emerson Elgin, Maddie Dahlien, Evelyn Shores and goalkeeper Clare Gagne. 

“We lost Dahlein and Trinity and Evelyn to going pro early, which was significant players for us,” Nahas said.  “So now there’s other pieces that now have to fall into place.” 

As a result, North Carolina turned to the portal to find replacements, where it picked up four transfers to pair with its eight incoming freshmen.

This includes the addition of two new goalkeepers to the roster, former Washington State goalie Liya Brooks and top junior college keeper Emilie Maihs. UNC also added All-Big Ten freshman midfielder Shaela Bradley out of the transfer portal, who scored four times and assisted four more for Rutgers last season. 

“Just watching [Shaela], she’s got some special qualities that we’re excited about,” Nahas said. 

The Tar Heels will begin their season with a pair of exhibitions in Chapel Hill against UNC Wilmington on August 6 and preseason No. 10 Wake Forest on August 9. 

North Carolina will then face four preseason-ranked ACC opponents — No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 3 Florida State, No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Duke throughout its conference slate. 

Although UNC will have a chance to compete for back-to-back national championships for the first time since its 2008-09 titles, Nahas’ mentality for the season isn’t to look at what’s ahead, but a daily search within. 

“One of our missions as a group: Chase yourself individually from last year, whoever you were, beat that player out. Then as a team, let’s beat our team out,” Nahas said. “So we’re really chasing ourselves because if you chase yourself from what happened last year, and you go beyond that, then we get ourselves a really good chance every single day, to maybe have that chance at the end of the season.

“So it’s not chasing a national championship, it’s chasing ourselves.”