CARY, N.C. (theACC.com) – Headlined by Olivia Thomas’ 62nd-minute strike, North Carolina claimed its 23rd national championship and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 26th, as the Tar Heels fended off Wake Forest, 1-0, in the all-ACC title match of the 2024 Division I Women’s College Cup Monday evening at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Within the ACC’s current membership, the league has won a total of 32 women’s soccer national championships and has claimed three of the last four titles. For the first time in league history, all four teams in this year’s Women’s College Cup were from the ACC. For UNC, the title is its 22nd NCAA title and 23rd overall after winning the AIAW national championship in 1981.
After the teams played a scoreless first half, Thomas found the breakthrough after North Carolina was awarded a free kick just outside the Wake Forest box. Thomas’ strike found the far corner and gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead. Scoring her fourth goal of the NCAA Tournament, Thomas was named the tournament’s Offensive Most Valuable Player.
Wake Forest, which advanced to its first-ever national championship, closed the match with seven shots, but could not beat UNC goalkeeper Clare Gagne who finished with three saves. Gagne did not allow a goal throughout the College Cup, previously posting a five-save shutout against top-seeded Duke on Friday and earned the Defensive MVP.
The ACC finishes with 25 victories in the NCAA Tournament, the most of any conference since the ACC posted 20 in 2022.
NCAA Women’s College Cup All-Tournament Team
Olivia Thomas, North Carolina (O-MVP)
Clare Gagne, North Carolina (D-MVP)
Trinity Armstrong, North Carolina
Linda Ullmark, North Carolina
Zara Chavoshi, Wake Forest
Emily Colton, Wake Forest
Emily Murphy, Wake Forest
Lizzie Boamah, Stanford
Allie Montoya, Stanford
Elle Hase, Duke
Hannah Bebar, Duke
NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship
NCAA Tournament – First Round
Friday, November 15
at #1 Florida State 8, Samford 0
at #1 Duke 8, Howard 0
at #2 North Carolina 8, USC Upstate 0
at #2 Wake Forest 4, Morehead State 0
at #3 Stanford 5, UC Santa Barbara 0
at #4 Notre Dame 5, Milwaukee 1
at #4 Virginia 2, Princeton 1
at #7 Virginia Tech 2, Tennessee 1
Saturday, November 16
California 2, at #7 Pepperdine 1 (2OT)
NCAA Tournament – Second Round
Friday, November 22
#4 Notre Dame 3, #5 Kentucky 1
Starkville, Miss.
#3 Stanford 2, UConn 1
Fayetteville, Ark.
at #2 North Carolina 1, Santa Clara 0
at #2 Wake Forest 3, Colorado 1
at #1 Duke 3, #8 Texas Tech 0
#7 Virginia Tech 2, at #2 UCLA 1
at #2 Arkansas 1, California 0
vs. #5 Wisconsin 0, #4 Virginia 0 (2OT; Wisconsin advances 4-2 in penalties)
Los Angeles, Calif.
#8 Vanderbilt 3, at #1 Florida State 3 (2OT; Vanderbilt advances 4-3 in penalties)
NCAA Tournament – Third Round
Sunday, November 24
at #2 Wake Forest 1, #3 Ohio State 0
at #2 North Carolina 3, #6 Minnesota 0
at #1 Duke 2, #5 Michigan State 0
#4 Notre Dame 2, at #1 Mississippi State 0
#3 Stanford 1 at #2 Arkansas 1 (2OT; Stanford advances 4-2 in penalties)
#7 Virginia Tech 1, vs. #3 Iowa 0
Los Angeles, Calif.
NCAA Tournament – Quarterfinals
Friday, November 29
#2 Wake Forest 2, at #1 USC 2 (2OT; Wake Forest advances 4-3 in penalties)
at #3 Stanford 2, #4 Notre Dame 0
at #2 North Carolina 2, #4 Penn State 1 (OT)
Saturday, November 30
at #1 Duke 1, #7 Virginia Tech 0
Women’s College Cup (WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, North Carolina)
Semifinals
Friday, December 6
#2 North Carolina 3, #1 Duke 0
#2 Wake Forest 1, #3 Stanford 0
Women’s College Cup (WakeMed Soccer Park – Cary, North Carolina)
National Championship
Monday, December 9
#2 North Carolina 1, #2 Wake Forest 0
Rankings based off NCAA Tournament seeding