Women’s Soccer Opens 2024 Season At Denver

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The eighth-ranked University of North Carolina women's soccer team officially embarks on its highly-anticipated 2024 campaign this week, traveling to face Denver on Thursday in Denver, Colo.

Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. MT) at University of Denver Soccer Stadium. The match will broadcast on Summit League Network with Chris Bianchi on call.

Match Info
Who: (8) Carolina at Denver
What: 2024 season opener
Where: Denver, Colo. – Denver Soccer Stadium
When: Thursday, Aug. 15 – 9 p.m. ET (7 p.m. 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.

Dorrance's retirement press conference from Aug. 12 can be found here.

Ten Things To Know:

North Carolina women's soccer enters its 46th year as a program with an all-time record of 934-88-53, including 244-30-20 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tar Heels will be vying for their 23rd national championship in program history (22nd NCAA title). No other women's soccer team has more than four.
The team is coming off a 2023 campaign which saw a 13-2-8- record and a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.
The Tar Heels checked in at No. 8 in the United Soccer Preseason Coaches poll. The team has been ranked for 513 consecutive weeks.
Carolina was also slotted at No. 4 in the ACC Preseason Coaches poll after finishing fourth in the league standings a year prior.
UNC has won or tied nine straight season openers and is 37-5-3 all-time in its first game of the season.
Fifteen newcomers joined the team, including eight freshmen. They join 12 returners for a 27-person roster.
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.
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.
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."

North Carolina sets out on one of the toughest schedules in the country, highlighted by matchups with defending NCAA champion Florida State and national runner-up Stanford. In addition, UNC's opponents include four quarterfinal and three semifinal teams from the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

After the weekend road trip, 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.

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Players Mentioned

Maddie Dahlien

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