By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina jumped six spots to No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches women’s soccer Top 25 poll after the Tar Heels extended their win streak to six with two victories last week.
It’s the first time UNC has been No. 1 since the preseason poll last season and the 38th time in the top spot in program history. The six consecutive weeks in the top 10 are the most since a 15-week streak capped by that 2025 top ranking. Its previous best ranking this season was No. 7 three times, including the last two polls.
UNC supplanted Michigan State (6–1–2) atop the poll. The Spartans, who fell one spot to No. 2, handed Carolina its only loss this season, 3–2, in Chapel Hill on Aug. 23. The Tar Heels got four of eight first-place votes, with Michigan State garnering two and No. 3 Vanderbilt (8–0–2) also getting two.
In the middle of that six-game win streak, the Carolina went to Dublin and been a professional team, Shelbourne FC, 3–0, in a friendly.
The Tar Heels (9–1, 2–0 ACC) handed then-No. 2 Duke its first loss of the season with their 4–2 victory on Thursday, then thumped Alcorn State 5–0 Sunday in their final regular-season non-conference game. Carolina equaled the number of goals Duke had given up in its first seven games in that match.
The Blue Devils (6–1–1, 1–1) fell two spots to No. 4.
UNC senior forward Lilliah Blum is the ACC Offensive Player of the Week after producing a brace and an assist in the win over Duke.
In the Sunday victory, UNC welcomed back Aven Avarez, Hope Munson and Sealey Strawn, who returned from playing for the United States in the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
UNC leads the ACC in scoring margin (+3) and is second in goals average (3.6).
Sophomore forward Bella Devey (No. 10 in top photo), who had a brace against Alcorn State, leads the team and is tied for second in the ACC in goals (10). Graduate midfielder Summer Denigan, who missed both games last week (groin injury), leads the team and is third in the ACC in points (18; 2.25 per game). Freshman goaltender Peyton Trayer is fifth in the ACC in goals-against average (0.71).
UNC (6 points) is a point behind league-leading Louisville (8–1–1, 2–0–1), tied with Virginia Tech (6–1–3, 2–0), No. 15 Notre Dame (4–0–5, 2–0; down two spots), No. 5 Wake Forest (9–1, 2–1; down two spots) and Miami (6–2–1, 2–1) heading into Friday’s 7 p.m. game at No. 16 Virginia (5–1–2, 1–1; down three spots).
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 6 Stanford (7–2–1, 1–2–0; unchanged) and No. 22 Florida State (4–1–2, 0–0–1; down one spot).
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Top 25
| Rank | School | Previous | 1st-place votes | Poll points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 7 | 4 | 196 | 9–1–0 |
| 2 | Michigan State | 1 | 2 | 189 | 6–1–2 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 4 | 2 | 180 | 8–0–1 |
| 4 | Duke | 2 | 0 | 177 | 6–1–1 |
| 5 | Wake Forest | 3 | 0 | 163 | 9–1–0 |
| 6 | Stanford | 6 | 0 | 161 | 7–2–1 |
| 7 | Alabama | 10 | 0 | 150 | 9–1–0 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 5 | 0 | 144 | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | Tennessee | 8 | 0 | 137 | 6–0–2 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 9 | 0 | 136 | 5–0–2 |
| 11 | Baylor | 12 | 0 | 119 | 7–1–1 |
| 12 | UCLA | 21 | 0 | 107 | 5–3–1 |
| 13 | Colorado | 15 | 0 | 90 | 7–1–1 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 14 | 0 | 88 | 6–1–2 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 17 | 0 | 84 | 4–0–5 |
| 16 | Virginia | 13 | 0 | 82 | 5–1–2 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 16 | 0 | 81 | 8–1–0 |
| 18 | Washington | 11 | 0 | 61 | 7–0–2 |
| 19 | Utah State | 18 | 0 | 46 | 7–2–2 |
| 20 | Michigan | NR | 0 | 38 | 4–1–3 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 24 | 0 | 37 | 8–0–2 |
| 22 | Florida State | 21 | 0 | 34 | 4–1–2 |
| 23 | Central Florida | 25 | 0 | 30 | 5–1–1 |
| 24 | Texas State | 18 | 0 | 15 | 7–1–2 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | RV | 0 | 13 | 4–0–4 |
Also receiving votes: Virginia Tech (10), Saint Louis (7), Texas (6), Saint Mary’sa (6), Brigham Youngy (6), Memphis (2), Louisville (1), Penn State (1), Clemson (1) and Liberty (1)
ACC standings
| Team | Points | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Notre Dame | 25 | 8–1–1 | 10–1–6 |
| No. 2 North Carolina | 24 | 8–1–0 | 15–2–0 |
| No. 4 Wake Forest | 22 | 7–2–1 | 14–2–1 |
| No. 10 Florida State | 17 | 5–2–2 | 9–3–3 |
| No. 14 Virginia | 17 | 5–3–2 | 9–3–4 |
| No. 15 Duke | 16 | 4–2–4 | 9–2–5 |
| No. 17 Stanford | 16 | 5–4–1 | 11–4–2 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 15 | 4–3–3 | 10–4–3 |
| Virginia Tech | 14 | 4–4–2 | 8–5–5 |
| Miami | 14 | 4–4–2 | 10–5–3 |
| N.C. State | 13 | 4–5–1 | 11–5–2 |
| Boston College | 11 | 3–5–2 | 10–5–2 |
| Clemson | 10 | 2–4–4 | 6–5–6 |
| California | 8 | 2–6–2 | 5–8–5 |
| SMU | 6 | 1–6–3 | 6–7–5 |
| Pittsburgh | 5 | 1–7–2 | 7–8–3 |
| Syracuse | 3 | 1–9–0 | 4–11–2 |
Thursday’s results
No. 2 North Carolina 3, No. 24 Louisville 2
No. 4 Wake Forest 2, Clemson 0
No. 17 Stanford 2, Boston College 1
No. 14 Virginia 0, No. 15 Duke 0
Virginia Tech 2, No. 10 Florida State 1
Pittsburgh 2, SMU 2
No. 6 Notre Dame 1, Miami 0
California 2, Syracuse 0
ACC tournament
Sunday’s first round
No. 6-seed Duke at No. 3-seed Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ESPNU
No. 5-seed Virginia at No. 4-seed Florida State, 8 p.m., ACCN
First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary:
Thursday’s semifinals (ACC Network)
No. 1 seed Notre Dame vs. FSU-Va. winner, 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.
No. 2 seed North Carolina vs. WF-Duke winner, 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15, championship
Semifinal winners, noon, ESPNU
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 12 South Carolina | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 4–0 | vs. Fairfield | 1–0 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 8–0 | vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | at Arkansas | 3–0 |
| 23 | Sunday | L, 3–2 | vs. No. 5 Michigan State | 3–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Shelbourne FC | Friendly |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | at Arizona | 4–1 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | at Arizona State | 5–1 |
| 10 | Thursday | W, 3–0 | vs. California | 6–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 13 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. NJIT | 7–1 |
| 17 | Thursday | W, 4–2 | vs. No. 15 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 14 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 4–1 | vs. No. 6 Notre Dame | 11–1, 4–0 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | at Clemson | 12–1, 5–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | L, 3–1 | at No. 4 Wake Forest | 12–2, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 17 Stanford | 13–2, 6–1 |
| 29 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | vs. SMU | 14–2, 7–1 |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 3–2 | at No. 24 Louisville | 15–2, 8–1 |
| ACC tournament | Cary | |||
| 12 | Thursday | 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. | Semifinal: winner of Sunday Duke at Wake Forest match | ACCN |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | |||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun. | First round | ||
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | ||
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | ||
| December | ||||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
