From the first NCAA women’s soccer national championship game in 1982 to UNC’s 21st national title (NCAA only) in 2012, the Tar Heels could only be kept away from the crown for two seasons at most before reclaiming the top spot.
However, from 2012 up to the end of last year, it’s been a much different story. Yes, UNC remained an elite program, making the tournament semifinals five times and finishing as national runner ups in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Yet, 11 seasons went by without UNC hoisting a national championship trophy.
Then, 21 players from the 2023 squad left the program for the pros, transfer portal and graduation, and to top it off, legendary coach Anson Dorrance announced his retirement days before the start of the 2024 season. The 11 seasons could’ve very well been on its way to 12, but coach Damon Nahas and his new look Tar Heels, who are NSJ’s pick to be the 2024 Team of the Year, reset the clock to zero.
And, they’re in a good position to keep it there.
As told by the result of this past season and the praises of Nahas by his predecessor, the championship culture didn’t walk out the door with Dorrance and the numerous players from the 2023 team.
“This is a group of 27 young women that were just committed to doing this from day one,” Nahas said following UNC’s 1-0 win over Wake Forest in the national championship game. “I was just fortunate to be in front of them. They came to work every day, they loved each other, they trusted me, they trusted our staff, they believed, and today was a really good example of that.”
Nahas, who had his interim tag removed following the national championship win, joined UNC’s coaching staff in 2015 and has been part of multiple teams that came close to a title. In fact, he helped engineer the program’s recent success as an elite recruiter with deep ties to national youth programs. Dorrance praised Nahas’ ability to find and develop talent when he was first hired, and he even said Nahas had “a player development attitude just like mine.”
Dorrance had even higher sentiments of his successor prior to UNC’s 2024 campaign.
“Damon Nahas is the best coach I’ve ever seen,” Dorrance said. “I think he’s the best soccer coach in the country, and I include myself in that circle.”
In a transition season, Nahas also had his players fully in his corner as they celebrated when he announced that he’d been made the permanent head coach. As he’d built relationships with many of the players prior to taking over, his familiarity with the program has proven to go a long way.
“Damon 100% deserves it,” junior midfielder Tessa Dellarose said on CBS’s “Attacking Third” show on Dec. 11. “He had our full support, our full backing, so it was just a really great moment for all of us because it was a good cap to what a great year it was.”
And while the Tar Heels already have the makings of a championship coach, returning a championship roster will also be a huge boost towards repeating.
Some of UNC’s top veterans could return for 2025, including junior forward and midfielder Kate Faasse, the nation’s leading scorer, sophomore forward Olivia Thomas, redshirt junior defender and midfielder Emerson Elgin and Dellarose.
There’s also plenty of talent in the younger corps who got meaningful minutes and an early glimpse of a championship run, including freshman midfielder Linda Ullmark, freshman midfielder and forward Bella Gaetino and freshman defender Trinity Armstrong.
The experience of making the championship game and losing in a heartbreaking fashion in 2022 served as motivation for the seniors and juniors who were on that team. But with a happier ending this time around, the motivation is in defending the title and keeping the UNC program on top, where it has belonged for decades.
Now, Nahas isn’t new to winning championships at UNC, and his players aren’t either. The Tar Heels won it all under unusual and challenging circumstances, and with a hopefully more ideal offseason, it shouldn’t be a surprise if they do it again.
