No. 7 North Carolina closes out its nonconference schedule Sunday afternoon with a first-time matchup against Alcorn State, and the Tar Heels will try to carry a five-game winning streak into the contest at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., with the game streaming on ACCNX.
UNC enters the weekend in strong form, coming off a statement win over No. 2 Duke and sitting at 2-0 in ACC play.
The Tar Heels have been especially sharp at home, where they own a 5-1 record and have outscored opponents 26-5. Overall, Carolina has piled up a 31-6 scoring edge this season.
The Tar Heels are ranked No. 7 in the recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, and several individual performances have helped fuel that rise. Lilliah Blum posted her first career brace against Duke and now has four goals on the season.
Bella Devey leads the team with eight goals after earning ACC Player of the Week honors in week one, when she led the nation in scoring with five goals and 10 points. That award was the first ACC weekly honor of her career, and she was also named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Summer Denigan and Hope Munson have each recorded a brace this season, while Denigan also leads Carolina with four assists and 18 points. In goal, Peyton Trayer has started to separate herself as well, leading the Tar Heels with eight wins and 13 saves while posting six clean sheets.
North Carolina’s preseason recognition reflected the depth of this roster. Five Tar Heels appeared in the Preseason TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Rankings: 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 more players landed on TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason Best XI teams, with Denigan on the First Team, Stratton on the Third Team and Cali O'Neill on the Freshman Team. Denigan and Stratton were also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, and the Tar Heels were picked fifth in the ACC Preseason Poll.
UNC will also have a different kind of home-field energy on Sunday, with Dogs at Dorrance set to bring fans and their pets to the stadium. Dogs will be allowed through any entrance, but they must be seated in sections 19, 20 or 21, remain on fixed leashes no longer than 6 feet, and have current vaccinations. Owners are responsible for their dogs throughout the event, and UNC notes that the crowd and warm weather could make the setting uncomfortable for some pets.
The Tar Heels also have three players on the U-20 WNT roster for the 2026 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Aven Alvarez, Hope Munson and Sealey Strawn. The trio helped the national team reach the round of 16 at the tournament.
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 🡒]