| Sport: | women's soccer |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Team: | North Carolina Tar Heels |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Record: | 13–2–8 |
| Conf Record: | 5–0–5 |
| Head Coach: | Anson Dorrance |
| Hc Year: | 47th |
| Asst Coach1: | Damon Nahas |
| Ac1 Year: | 8th |
| Asst Coach2: | Nathan Thackeray |
| Ac2 Year: | 2nd |
| Asst Coach3: | Alexandra Kimball |
| Ac3 Year: | 1st |
| Tourney: | NCAA Tournament |
| Tourney Result: | Quarterfinals |
| Nscaarank: | 8 |
| Tdsrank: | 6 |
| Prev Year: | 2022 |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
The 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 47th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 47th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The Tar Heels started off the season as the 2nd ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. They would draw two of their three opening games, one against tenth-ranked and another against unranked . They would then play four more ranked teams during their non-conference schedule, defeating number 24 USC, number 8 and number 10 and drawing with number 12 . They finished their non-conference season 5–0–3 and played seven Power 5 opponents. Their ACC season started with two wins before a draw against number three Florida State. Two more wins were followed by three draws. The Tar Heels finished the season with a dominant 6–1 win against Syracuse and a disappointing draw with last-place Boston College.
The Tar Heels finished the season 13–2–8 and 5–0–5 in ACC play to finish in fourth place. As the fourth seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted Pittsburgh in the first round and were upset 1–2 in overtime. They received an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament where they were the third-seed in the BYU Bracket. They defeated in the first round, six-seed Alabama in a second-round rematch, and second-seed in the Round of 16. They then had to travel to Provo, Utah to face one-seed BYU in the Quarterfinals. The Tar Heels raced out to a 3–0 lead in the first twenty minutes of the match, but surrendered four goals, three in the last ten minutes to lose 3–4 to end their season.
See main article: 2022 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team.
The Tar Heels finished the season 20–5–1 and 8–2–0 in ACC play to finish in a tie for first place. As the first seed in the ACC Tournament, they hosted rival Duke in the semifinal after receiving a first-round bye and drew 0–0. The Tar Heels won the ensuing penalty shoot-out 7–6 to advance to the final where they lost to Florida State. They received an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament where they were the second seed in the Notre Dame Bracket. They defeated in the first round, seven-seed in the second round, and six-seed BYU in the Round of 16. They then had to travel to Notre Dame to face one-seed Notre Dame. The Tar Heels advanced with a 2–0 win to the College Cup, where they would face Florida State again. The Tar Heels won the rematch of the ACC Tournament Final 3–2 and advanced to the national title game against . North Carolina lost a tight match 3–2, with UCLA scoring goals in the 80th and 89th minutes to force overtime and scoring the game winner in the 107th minute.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abby Allen | 2 | DF | 5'9" | Junior | Transferred to Texas | ||
| 3 | MF | 5'3" | Sophomore | London, England | Signed professional contract with Häcken[1] | ||
| Rachel Jones | 10 | FW/MF | 5'2" | Graduate Student | Graduated | ||
| Lauren Wrigley | 11 | MF | 5'3" | Sophomore | Transferred to Maryland | ||
| Aleigh Gambone | 16 | MF/FW | 5'3" | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Marz Josephson | 17 | GK | 5'7" | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Libby Moore | 20 | MF | 5'3" | Senior | Graduated | ||
| 22 | DF | 5'10" | Senior | Graduated; Drafted 25th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft | |||
| Maggie Pierce | 28 | MF | 5'4" | Senior | Graduated | ||
| 35 | FW | 5'6" | Sophomore | Transferred to Wake Forest | |||
| Sarah Bayer | 82 | FW | 5'4" | Graduate Student | Graduated | ||
| Madelyn Galbus | 98 | FW | 5'7" | Freshman | — |
Source:[2]
| Name | Nationality | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | [3] | ||||
| | Slammers FC HB Koge | [4] | |||
| | [5] | ||||
| | PDA | [6] | |||
| | Tophat SC | [7] | |||
| | [8] | ||||
| | Michigan Hawks | [9] |
| Athletic Director | Bubba Cunningham | |
| Head coach | Anson Dorrance | |
| Associate head coach | Damon Nahas | |
| Assistant Coach | Nathan Thackeray | |
| Assistant Coach | Alexandra Kimball | |
| General Manager | Chris Ducar | |
| Director of Operations | Tom Sander |
Source:[10]
|-!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition|-!colspan=6 style=""| Non-conference Regular season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Regular Season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament|-!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament
| Recipient | Award | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maycee Bell | Pre-season All-ACC Team | August 10 | [13] |
| Sam Meza | |||
| Ally Sentnor | |||
| Sam Meza | Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist | August 17 | [14] |
| Savy King | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | August 22 | [15] |
| Sam Meza | August 29 | [16] | |
| Savy King | September 5 | [17] | |
| Avery Patterson | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 12 | [18] |
| Maycee Bell | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | September 19 | [19] |
| Ally Sentnor | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 26 | [20] |
| Ally Sentnor | ACC Midfielder of the Year | November 1 | [21] |
| Avery Patterson | All-ACC First Team | ||
| Ally Sentnor | |||
| Maycee Bell | All-ACC Second Team | ||
| Savy King | |||
| Sam Meza | |||
| Savy King | All-ACC Freshman Team | ||
| Evelyn Shores | |||
| Ally Sentnor | United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team | December 1 | [22] |
| Avery Patterson |
See also: 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings.
See main article: 2024 NWSL Draft.
North Carolina had six players selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft. The six players tied the NWSL record for number of selections from a single school in a draft. North Carolina also had the first and second overall picks for the second time in school history.[23] [24]
| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | MF | |||
| 1 | 2 | DF | |||
| 1 | 14 | DF | |||
| 2 | 17 | MF | |||
| 2 | 19 | FW | |||
| 3 | 40 | DF |