Women’s Soccer Continues Road Trip At Colorado – University of North Carolina Athletics

Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. ET (noon MT) at Pretnup Field. Brad Thompson will be on call for the matinee match, which will stream on ESPN+.

Match Info
Who: (8) Carolina at Colorado
Where: Boulder, Colo. – Pretnup Field
When: Sunday, Aug. 18 – 2 p.m. ET (Noon MT)
Links: Live Stats | Live Stream

Following the retirement of Anson Dorrance – the Tar Heels’ first and only women’s soccer head coach to date – on Aug. 11, associate head coach Damon Nahas will serve as interim head coach while UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham conducts a national search.

Thursday’s season-opening victory at Denver marked the first career win for Nahas as a head coach at the collegiate level. 

Ten Things to Know:

1. This will be the seventh meeting between Carolina and Colorado in program history with UNC leading the all-time series at 6-0. The first meeting was 1998 in Boulder – the only game in the series to be held there prior to Sunday. 
2. The Tar Heels have never given up a goal to the Buffaloes, having out-scored them 16-0 all-time. The largest margin of victory was a 6-0 shutout in 1999.
3. The last meeting between the two teams was a 1-0 win in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament; UNC went on to a national runner-up finish that year. The lone goal was scored by Alessia Russo, a star for Arsenal and the England National Team.
4. Tessa Dellarose scored the first goal of the season on Thursday at Denver, which was her second career goal. Bella Sember netted the game-winner for her sixth career goal.
5. The Tar Heels held Denver to just four shots on Thursday, including none in the first half. In 2023, UNC had held its opponents shotless during a half seven times, including four times in the opening frame. 
6. Asha Means joins fellow senior Sember along with junior Dellarose as this year’s team captains. 
7. The Tar Heels checked in at No. 8 in the United Soccer Preseason Coaches poll. The team has been ranked for 513 consecutive weeks. 
8. Junior forward Maddie Dahlien was recently named to the U.S. U-20 National Team which will compete in the 2024 FIFA U-20 World Cup from Aug. 31-Sept. 22 in Colombia.
9. Two former standouts in Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox won gold with Team USA in Paris. It was the USWNT’s fifth Olympic gold; at least two Tar Heels have been on all five of those rosters.
10. Nahas, who will serve as interim head coach, enters his ninth complete season at UNC this year. Dorrance has high praise for him: “Damon Nahas is the best coach I’ve ever seen. I think he’s the best soccer coach in the country, and I include myself in that circle.”

After Sunday’s match, the Tar Heels return to Chapel Hill for their home opener on Thursday, Aug. 22, against Georgia. Tickets are available for purchase here.

Stay up to date with UNC women’s soccer by following the Tar Heels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.