Amid change, UNC women's soccer exhibitions prepare Tar Heels for 46th regular season

The UNC women’s soccer team will begin its 46th season on Thursday at Denver, marking the first year without former head coach Anson Dorrance, who announced his retirement last Sunday.

Assistant coach Damon Nahas will serve as the interim head coach as UNC athletics begins a national search for a new coach. 

With a different sideline on display, the Tar Heels are looking to redeem themselves this season after surrendering a 3-0 lead to BYU in the 2023 NCAA tournament quarterfinals.After 22 national championships and advancing to the Women's College Cup five times in the last seven years, North Carolina will face one of its biggest tests in recent years amid a changing program and conference. 

Heading into the season, the Tar Heels are playing with a smaller roster than usual after 21 players left in the offseason and only 15, including eight first years, joined the team. Still, junior defender Tessa Dellarose is optimistic. 

“I think [this team] can accomplish anything that we set out to do,” Dellarose said. “It may look a lot different than what it has been in the past and even last year, but if we all come together as a collective and we are really bought in and everyone is giving one hundred percent effort, I think anything is on the table.”

With the newcomers outnumbering the returning players, the team worked on getting to know each other in the offseason. Dorrance credits the spring captains — Dellarose, senior forward Bella Sember and senior defender Asha Means — for creating a welcoming environment for the new players. 

The Tar Heels started play with two exhibition matches against USL Super League’s DC Power and Davidson College, which they won 5-1 and 3-0, respectively. The Tar Heels were dominant on offense, notching 30 shots on goal through the two games. 

Sophomore forward Olivia Thomas and first-year midfielder Linda Ullmark were responsible for five of the eight goals. Ullmark was a first half substitute, but Dorrance gave high praise for the player. 

“We think she can be on the U.S full National Team, she played so well,” Dorrance said. “And we’re so excited she came.” 

UNC fielded the same starting lineup for both exhibition matches and used the bench throughout. But the starting lineup is not set in stone for the beginning of the season, according to Dorrance. 

Absent from the lineup was sophomore Evelyn Shores, who tore her ACL last October. Shores is set to return this season, and Dorrance believes she can be a difference maker.  

“What we’re trying to sort out now is the different places that people can play,” Dorrance said. “We’re shifting positions around, we had four or five players that play multiple positions and we’re trying to figure out what suits us best.”

Still, a new challenge faces UNC. This season, the Tar Heels will compete against new opponents with the addition of Stanford, California and SMU to the ACC. The Tar Heels will travel to California to play Cal and Stanford, with the Cardinals ranked No. 2 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches poll. 

“I think that’ll be very tough,” Ullmark said. “But I think it’s a good challenge for us, and it’ll be exciting to see what other teams we can challenge.” 

UNC will play six teams who appear in the preseason top-25 rankings, five of which are ACC teams. The team begins conference play at Duke on Sept. 5 and will finish the regular season with a tough two-game stretch at Florida State — the defending national champions — and another match against Duke at home. 

And even as the 2024 season is marked by change, the Tar Heels look to impress in a new era. 

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