No. 7 Carolina wrapped up its non-conference schedule in emphatic fashion Sunday, rolling past Alcorn State 5-0 at Dorrance Field behind two-goal performances from Bella Devey and Deus Stanislaus.
The Tar Heels never let the game settle in. Stanislaus opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a header, finishing off a feed from Wylie Roossien for the first assist of her career. Two minutes later, Devey made it 2-0 after Amari Manning worked her way into the box from the left side and slipped the ball across for the finish.
Stanislaus struck again in the 26th minute, using a sharp move around her defender to bury her second goal of the afternoon. Manning picked up her second assist of the day on the play and fourth of the season, and Carolina took that 3-0 edge into halftime. The Tar Heels controlled the opening 45 minutes with seven shots and five on target.
Before the break, Aven Alvarez, Hope Munson, and Sealey Strawn returned to Dorrance Field after being called up to the U-20 WNT for the 2026 U-20 FIFA Women's World Cup in Poland. Their last appearance for Carolina came against Michigan State on Aug. 23.
Devey kept the pressure on in the second half, scoring again in the 58th minute off a cross from Riley Kennedy and a flick by Bella Gaetino. That goal gave the sophomore 10 on the season, and Gaetino collected her first assist of the year. Carolina closed the scoring in the 89th minute when Logan Tongberg finished for her second goal of the season, with Ella Martinez recording her first career assist.
The result pushed Carolina to 6-1 at home and 9-1 overall. The Tar Heels have now outscored opponents 31-5 at home this season and finished non-conference play at 7-1 while holding a 29-4 edge in goals.
A few more numbers from the afternoon: Caitlin Mara made her first start of the season and played 85 minutes, 26 Tar Heels saw the field, and Carolina finished with 10 shots, seven of them on goal.
The braces from Devey and Stanislaus also added another line to Carolina’s season-long trend: five Tar Heels have now recorded one, including Lilliah Blum, Summer Denigan, Hope Munson, Devey, and Stanislaus. For Stanislaus, it was the first brace of her career.
In Other News...
UNC Fans Have A Bigger Billy Edwards Jr. Concern Than One Bad Finish
The final throw against Clemson will stick with North Carolina fans for a while, but the bigger question around Billy Edwards Jr. is not one bad finish. The quarterbacks first interception of the year came at the worst possible moment in a game the Tar Heels could not close out, yet he remains the starter as the season moves forward and UNC keeps building around him.
What makes this situation more delicate is Edwards Jr.'s track record and the importance of depth behind him. The Tar Heels have sophomore backup Miles O'Neill available if needed, but the conversation in Chapel Hill is less about one late mistake than it is about whether Edwards Jr. can stay on the field and keep the offense steady over the long haul. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Grades Exposed A Bigger Concern Than The Clemson Collapse
The film grades from UNCs loss to Clemson do offer a few bright spots, even if the final result still stings. Junior safety Greg Smith led the defense with a 90.0 grade after helping force turnovers, while senior running back Benjamin Hall posted a career-best rushing performance and earned a 77.3 offensive grade. Beyond those two, the snap counts and individual grades paint a fuller picture of where the Tar Heels found some resistance and where they were repeatedly put on their heels.
For a team trying to sort out what went wrong, the bigger concern is less about one bad afternoon and more about the uneven stretches that showed up across the roster. The breakdown of who played well, who held up, and who struggled points to a Tar Heels group that still has answers to find on both sides of the ball, even as a few individual performances suggest there is at least something to build on. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Already Has One Debate Fans Cant Ignore
After three games, North Carolina has given its fans a pretty familiar early-season split between hope and concern. The Tar Heels are 2-1 with wins over TCU and East Tennessee State, and Xavier Lewis has already emerged as a bright spot by leading the ACC in sacks, but the offense has not come close to matching that energy.
Billy Edwards Jr. has thrown for 476 yards in three games, and the quarterback play remains the clearest issue hanging over the teams outlook. With Clemson already handing UNC its loss, the Tar Heels look like a group that can flash enough to stay interesting, but one that still has plenty to sort out before the schedule gets any less demanding. [Read more 🡒]