No. 7 Carolina women’s soccer gets another big-stage test Sunday, hosting No. 5 Michigan State in a top-10 matchup at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., and the meeting will be streamed on ACC Network. It’s a rare collision between the programs: the teams have faced each other only once before, and that came 16 seasons ago. Carolina won that first matchup, 3-0, with a shutout.
Both sides enter unbeaten and both have been stingy at the back. UNC has opened the season 3-0 and has yet to concede, rolling to a 14-0 scoring edge. Michigan State has also kept clean sheets in every game so far, outscoring its opponents 3-0.
Carolina’s early-season surge has come with production all over the lineup. Lilliah Blum and Summer Denigan have scored in back-to-back matches, while Hope Munson and Denigan each have a brace this season. Denigan also leads the Tar Heels with three assists.
Bella Devey picked up ACC Player of the Week honors after putting together the nation’s top scoring output with five goals and 10 points. It was the first weekly ACC award of her career, and she had already been named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
The Tar Heels have also been hard to break down defensively. Opponents have managed just 10 total shots against Carolina, and only three of those have been on goal. Peyton Trayer logged a career-high two saves in the win over Arkansas, while Shaela Bradley made her return to the field in that same match after more than a year away because of injury and played 25 minutes.
Carolina is ranked No. 7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll and was picked fifth in the ACC preseason poll. The roster has been loaded with preseason recognition as well, with five Tar Heels landing in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100: Summer Denigan at No.
4, Izzi Stratton at No. 24, Bella Gaetino at No.
35, Bella Devey at No. 68 and Hope Munson at No. 77.
Three Tar Heels were also included on TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason Best XI teams: Denigan on the First Team, Stratton on the Third Team and Cali O’Neill on the Freshman Team. Denigan and Stratton were both named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
Carolina will be without Amari Manning and Deus Stanislaus for the first three matches of the season because of U-17 WNT camp, the final training session before the U-17 FIFA World Cup later this fall. Aven Alvarez, Hope Munson and Sealey Strawn were named to the U-20 WNT roster for the 2026 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup and will join the national team from Sept. 5-27 in Poland.
In Other News...
UNCs Overhaul Put One Huge Belichick Question Front And Center
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The bigger question now is how quickly all of those pieces fit together, especially with the offense still being built around Edwards Jr. and a plan to keep adding pass catchers and offensive linemen for 2026. The staff also made a point of strengthening the rushing attack and pass rush, so the next stretch is less about the roster overhaul itself and more about whether this version of the Tar Heels can turn that new structure into something that actually works on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Malones Early UNC Vision Could Change How The Tar Heels Win
Michael Malone is settling into his first season leading North Carolina, and the early shape of the roster tells you where he wants this program to go. The Tar Heels have shifted their focus toward the backcourt, using transfers to shore up guard play and give the team a different kind of backbone heading into the new season.
For a program long associated with frontcourt size and post presence, that emphasis says plenty about Malones priorities. He has been clear that toughness, effort and guard play will drive what UNC becomes next, and the real question now is how quickly those additions can turn that vision into something the Tar Heels can lean on when the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen McGill Is Pushing For A Bigger UNC Role Before TCU
Jaylen McGill has spent the offseason trying to make himself harder to keep off the field, and North Carolinas sophomore running back says the work has centered on the details that coaches notice quickest. He pointed to improvement in pass protection and a growing comfort as a receiver, both signs that he is trying to become more than just another option in the backfield. With the opener against TCU set for Dublin, Ireland, McGill also sounded steady about the quarterback room and the way the offense is coming together under Bobby Petrino.
For a player looking to expand his role, those kinds of comments matter because they fit the broader tone coming out of Chapel Hill. McGill described a locker room that is tight and focused, with players buying into the standard the staff is setting. The Tar Heels still have to show it on game day, but McGills offseason message was clear: he wants a bigger piece of the offense, and he believes he is ready for the chance. [Read more 🡒]