Six Tar Heels Named All-ACC

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season champion North Carolina earned two major season awards and placed eight student-athletes – including four first-teamers – on the All-ACC and All-Freshman Women's Soccer Teams announced Thursday.

UNC sophomore forward Alessia Russo was chosen as the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while Tar Heel coach Anson Dorrance was honored as the ACC Coach of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches.

Four Tar Heel starters were named first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference - forward Alessia Russo, midfielders Taylor Otto and Brianna Pinto and defender Emily Fox. Defender Julia Ashley was named second-team All-ACC and midfielder Dorian Bailey was named third-team All-ACC as all three starting Tar Heel midfielders were named to an All-ACC squad.

Two Tar Heels - forward Rachel Jones and midfielder Brianna Pinto - were named to the ACC's All-Freshman Team.

Before suffering a broken leg that ended her season versus Wake Forest on October 25, UNC's Russo successfully followed up a 2017 campaign in which she was voted the ACC Freshman of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the ACC Championship. The MAC Hermann Trophy candidate from Kent, England, ranks second among ACC players in shots per game (4.21) and seventh in points per contest (1.14). Four of Russo's team-high six goals were game-winners.

Dorrance guided the Tar Heels (16-2-1, 10-0) to their 22nd ACC regular-season title and first outright since 2010. UNC finished unbeaten and untied in regular-season conference play for the first time since 2006. Dorrance, who will be bidding for his 23rd league tournament title as he leads the Tar Heels into the semifinals of the ACC Championship on Friday night, owns an all-time winning percentage of .904 dating back to the program's first year in 1979. The 11-time ACC Coach of the Year hit the 1,000 career-win mark as a head coach (women's and men's teams combined) with UNC's 2-0 shutout win over No. 23 Ohio State early this season.

The ACC Women's Soccer Championship semifinals are set for Friday with No. 1 seed North Carolina and No. 5 seed Clemson meeting in the first game at 5:30 p.m., and No. 3 seed Virginia facing No. 7 seed Florida State in the second semifinal set for approximately 8 p.m. at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Friday's winners will play on Sunday at noon for the ACC title and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.

Tickets for the 2018 #ACCWSoccer Championship at Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park are on sale. Single-day adult general admission tickets are $10. Admission is free for youth ages 18 and under and students of ACC institutions. To purchase tickets, visit: https://theacc.co/18SoccerTix.

Friday evening's semifinal matches will be available on ACC Network Extra via the ESPN App, and Sunday's championship match will be carried live on ESPNU.

The complete 2018 All-ACC Women's Soccer Team and All-Freshman Team are listed below.

Offensive Player of the Year: Alessia Russo, So, F., North Carolina
Midfielder of the Year: Sam Coffey, So., M, Boston College
Defensive Player of the Year: Sam Staab, Sr., D, Clemson
Freshman of the Year: Yujie Zhao, Fr., M, Florida State
Coach of the Year: Anson Dorrance, North Carolina

First Team All-ACC
Sam Coffey, So., M, Boston College
Sam Staab, Sr., D, Clemson
Kayla McCoy, Sr., F, Duke
Deyna Castellanos, Jr., F, Florida State
Yujie Zhao, Fr., M, Florida State
Emina Ekic, So., M, Louisville
Emily Fox, So., D, North Carolina
Taylor Otto, R-So., M, North Carolina
Brianna Pinto, Fr., M, North Carolina
Alessia Russo, So., F, North Carolina
Amanda McGlynn, Jr., GK, Virginia Tech

Second Team All-ACC
Mariana Speckmaier, So., F, Clemson
Taylor Racioppi, Sr., F, Duke
Ella Stevens, Jr., M, Duke
Jaelin Howell, Fr., M, Florida State
Natalia Kuikka, Sr., D, Florida State
Phallon Tullis-Joyce, R-Sr., GK, Miami
Julia Ashley, Sr., D, North Carolina
Tziarra King, Jr., F, NC State
Ricci Walkling, Jr., M, NC State
Phoebe McClernon, Jr., D, Virginia
Bayley Feist, Sr., M, Wake Forest

Third Team All-ACC
Sandy MacIver, Jr., GK, Clemson
Miranda Weslake, R-Sr., F, Clemson
Malia Berkely, R-So., D, Florida State
Brooklynn Rivers, Jr., F, Louisville
Courtney Petersen, R-Jr., D, Virginia
Dorian Bailey, Sr., M, North Carolina
Karin Muya, Gr., F, Notre Dame
Alexa Spaanstra, Fr., F, Virginia
Taryn Torres, So., M, Virginia
Kelsey Irwin, R-Jr., D, Virginia Tech
Peyton Perea, Sr., M, Wake Forest

All-Freshman Team
Kayla Duran, Fr., D, Boston College
Delaney Graham, Fr., D, Duke
Sydney Simmons, Fr., M, Duke
Jaelin Howell, Fr., M, Florida State
Yujie Zhao, Fr., M, Florida State
Brianna Pinto, Fr., M, North Carolina
Rachel Jones, Fr., F, North Carolina
Rebecca Jarrett, Fr., F, Virginia
Alexa Spaanstra, Fr., F, Virginia
Emily Gray, Fr., M, Virginia Tech
Giovanna Demarco, Fr, M, Wake Forest

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Julia Ashley

Dorian Bailey

Emily Fox

Rachel Jones

Taylor Otto

Brianna Pinto

Alessia Russo

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