2025 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season

2025 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportSoccer
DurationAugust 17, 2025 – October 30, 2025
Teams17
Regular season
Season championsStanford
  Runners-upNotre Dame
Season MVPOffensive:Izzy Engle
Midfielder:Lia Godfrey
Defensive:Elise Evans
Top scorerIzzy Engle (Notre Dame)[1]
Tournament
ChampionsStanford
  Runners-upNotre Dame
Finals MVPJasmine Aikey, (Stanford)
2025 ACC women's soccer standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 2 Stanford  ‍y 9 0 1   .950 21 2 2   .880
No. 11 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 8 1 1   .850 15 2 3   .825
No. 3 Duke  ‍‍‍y 7 3 0   .700 17 5 1   .761
No. 1 Florida State  ‍‍‍y 6 2 2   .700 16 2 4   .818
No. 8 Virginia  ‍‍‍y 6 2 2   .700 14 3 5   .750
No. 24 Louisville  ‍‍‍y 6 2 2   .700 13 5 3   .690
No. 13т North Carolina  ‍‍‍y 6 4 0   .600 13 6 2   .667
California  ‍‍‍ 4 2 4   .600 8 3 8   .632
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍y 4 3 3   .550 11 5 4   .650
NC State  ‍‍‍ 4 4 2   .500 5 9 4   .389
Clemson  ‍‍‍y 4 4 2   .500 8 6 5   .553
SMU  ‍‍‍ 2 6 2   .300 8 8 2   .500
Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍ 2 8 0   .200 6 10 2   .389
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍ 1 7 2   .200 7 8 3   .472
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 1 7 2   .200 5 8 5   .417
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 1 8 1   .150 5 9 4   .389
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 0 8 2   .100 4 10 4   .333
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2025 ACC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of December 9, 2025
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll
Source: The ACC

The 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer season was the 36th season of women's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began in August. Conference play began in September and concluded in October. The 2025 ACC women's soccer tournament was held from November 2 through November 9 at campus sites and at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.[2]

The Stanford Cardinal finished as regular season champions with a record of 9–0–1. The Cardinal used their top seed to win the ACC tournament in a penalty shoot-out over regular season runner-up Notre Dame.[3] The ACC had nine teams selected for the NCAA tournament, which was tied for the most of any conference. Three ACC teams reached the College Cup, with Florida State prevaling to win the national title. This marked the third straight year an ACC team won the national title.

Teams

Stadiums and locations

1. ^ Georgia Tech does not sponsor women's soccer

Coaches

Head coaching changes

Two ACC teams entered the season with four new coaches:

  • Duke head coach Robbie Church retired after twenty-four season as head coach of the program.[4] Kieran Hall was hired as his replacement in January 2025.[5]
  • NC State head coach Tim Santoro was fired after twelve seasons in charge of the program on November 8, 2024.[6] Garry Higgins was hired from East Carolina to be the new head coach on December 12, 2024.[7]
  • Damon Nahas was made the permanent head coach at North Carolina after serving in an interim role during the 2024 season.[8]
  • Randy Waldrum was elevated to Technical Director of the Pittsburgh Panthers program on May 22, 2025. Ben Waldrum was promoted from associate head coach to head coach on the same day.[9]

Head coaching records

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school ACC record
Boston College Chris Watkins 2 91–38–18 12–5–2 4–4–2
California Neil McGuire 19 235–180–49 191–111–43 5–4–1
Clemson Eddie Radwanski 15 288–154–51 149–89–37 63–64–14
Duke Kieran Hall 1 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0
Florida State Brian Pensky 4 239–116–53 54–5–8 24–4–2
Louisville Karen Ferguson-Dayes 24 211–198–51 211–198–51 38–55–16
Miami Ken Masuhr 2 5–8–4 5–8–4 1–6–3
North Carolina Damon Nahas 1 22–5–0 22–5–0 7–3–0
NC State Gary Higgins 1 110–48–28 0–0–0 0–0–0
Notre Dame Nate Norman 8 140–77–29 82–42–16 38–21–6
Pittsburgh Ben Waldrum 1 0–0–0 0–0–0 0–0–0
SMU Nicole Nelson 4 27–19–8 27–19–8 2–6–2
Stanford Paul Ratcliffe 23 447–106–48 392–62–41 5–4–1
Syracuse Nicky Adams 7 105–73–31 24–61–10 3–48–6
Virginia Steve Swanson 25 488–176–74 384–113–63 152–56–29
Virginia Tech Charles Adair 15 169–89–30 169–89–30 65–59–18
Wake Forest Tony da Luz 28 364–241–64 319–200–62 110–120–29

Notes

  • Records shown are prior to the 2025 season
  • Years at school includes the 2025 season

Pre-season

Hermann Trophy Watchlist

The Hermann Trophy preseason watchlist was released on August 14, 2025. Nine ACC players were selected the preseason watchlist, including the winner of the 2024 award, Kate Faasse.[10]

Player Class Position School
Mia Bhuta Junior MF Stanford
Tessa Dellarose Senior MF North Carolina
Jordynn Dudley Junior MF Florida State
Izzy Engle Sophomore FW Notre Dame
Kate Faasse Senior FW North Carolina
Heather Gilchrist Senior DF Florida State
Leah Klenke Senior DF Notre Dame
Cameron Roller Junior DF Duke
Mia Oliaro Junior FW Duke

Pre-season poll

The pre-season poll and pre-season all conference teams were voted on by the league's 17 head coaches. The results of the poll were released on August 7, prior to the season starting.

Pre-season Coaches Poll

Predicted finish Team Points (1st place)
1 North Carolina 246 (10)
2 Notre Dame 229 (2)
3 Florida State 225 (4)
4 Duke 208
5 Stanford 201
6 Wake Forest 172
7 Virginia 169 (1)
8 Virginia Tech 162
9 Clemson 132
10 California 124
11 Pittsburgh 111
12 SMU 83
13 Boston College 81
14 Louisville 67
15 Miami 44
16 NC State 40
17 Syracuse 18

Source:[11]

Pre-season All-ACC Team

Position Player Class School
Goalkeeper Teagan Wy Senior California
Defender Heather Gilchrist Florida State
Leah Klenke Notre Dame
Cameron Roller Junior Duke
Midfielder Tessa Dellarose Senior North Carolina
Mia Oliaro Junior Duke
Linda Ullmark Sophomore North Carolina
Forward Maggie Cagle Senior Virginia
Jordynn Dudley Junior Florida State
Izzy Engle Sophomore Notre Dame
Kate Faasse Senior North Carolina
Andrea Kitahata Senior Stanford
Mia Minestrella Junior Duke
Olivia Thomas North Carolina

Source:[11]

Regular season

Conference Matrix

The table below shows head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team plays ten matches. Each team does not play every other team.

  Boston College California Clemson Duke Florida State Louisville Miami North Carolina NC State Notre Dame Pittsburgh SMU Stanford Syracuse Virginia Virginia Tech Wake Forest
vs. Boston College 0–0 1–0 × × 1–0 × 3–1 1–0 × 2–1 × 2–0 0–1 2–0 × 0–0
vs. California 0–0 2–2 × 2–2 × 0–2 × × × 1–2 2–1 8–2 0–1 2–2 0–1 ×
vs. Clemson 0–1 2–2 3–2 × 1–0 × × × 5–1 × 2–3 2–2 1–2 3–0 × 0–1
vs. Duke × × 2–3 × × 0–1 2–3 1–3 3–2 0–5 × × 0–2 3–1 2–3 3–2
vs. Florida State × 2–2 × × 0–2 0–3 0–1 1–1 4–2 × × 2–1 0–4 2–3 × 1–4
vs. Louisville 0–1 × 0–1 × 2–0 0–2 × 0–3 3–1 × 0–3 × × 1–1 0–1 1–1
vs. Miami × 2–0 × 1–0 3–0 2–0 1–2 × × × 0–0 3–2 1–0 × 0–0 3–1
vs. North Carolina 1–3 × × 3–2 1–0 × 2–1 0–1 4–3 1–3 0–3 × 2–4 × 1–2 ×
vs. NC State 0–1 × × 3–1 1–1 3–0 × 1–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 × × × 4–4 1–2
vs. Notre Dame × × 1–5 2–3 2–4 1–3 × 3–4 1–2 1–0 0–3 × × × 0–5 1–1
vs. Pittsburgh 1–2 2–1 × 5–0 × × × 3–1 1–0 0–1 4–0 6–0 × 2–0 × 2–1
vs. SMU × 1–2 3–2 × × 3–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 0–4 5–1 1–1 × × ×
vs. Stanford 0–2 2–8 2–2 × 1–2 × 2–3 × × × 0–6 1–5 0–4 1–2 0–5 ×
vs. Syracuse 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 4–0 × 0–1 4–2 × × × 1–1 4–0 3–0 × ×
vs. Virginia 0–2 2–2 0–3 1–3 3–2 1–1 × × × × 0–2 × 2–1 0–3 1–2 ×
vs. Virginia Tech × 1–0 × 3–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 4–4 5–0 × × 5–0 × 2–1 2–1
vs. Wake Forest 0–0 × 1–0 2–3 4–1 1–1 1–3 × 2–1 1–1 1–2 × × × × 1–2
Total 1–7–2 4–2–4 4–4–2 7–3–0 6–2–2 6–2–2 1–7–2 6–4–0 4–4–2 8–1–1 2–8–0 2–6–2 9–0–1 1–8–1 6–2–2 0–8–2 4–3–3

× – Matchup not played in 2025

Rankings

Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Final
Boston College USC Not released
TDS
California USC RV RV Not released
TDS 21 17
Clemson USC RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 Not released RV
TDS
Duke USC 4 1 (3) 3 (1) 3 2 3 9 14 14т 9 7 10 11 Not released 3 (1)
TDS 5 3 3 2 4 5 7 14 14 10 11 10 9 10 10 6 4
Florida State USC 3 3 (2) 7 7 7 6 6 5 7 11 6 6 Not released 1 (7)
TDS 4 2 2 6 2 2 6 6 5 5 9 5 6 7 7 5 1
Louisville USC RV RV RV 23 RV RV 20т 21 20 Not released 24
TDS 20 22 14 10 11 15 16 14 15 20 19 22 22
Miami USC Not released
TDS
NC State USC Not released
TDS
North Carolina USC 1 (8) 12 22 23 19 18 22 19 19 23 23 RV Not released 13т
TDS 1 6 15 19 14 11 11 19 17 23 18 25 16 16
Notre Dame USC 2 5 6 6 2 2 2 1 (8) 1 (8) 1 (8) 2 Not released 11
TDS 3 8 6 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 17 17
Pittsburgh USC Not released
TDS
SMU USC Not released
TDS
Stanford USC 7 2 (3) 1 (3) 1 (6) 3 2 (1) 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 (8) Not released 2
TDS 2 1 1 1 6 7 5 5 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2
Syracuse USC Not released
TDS
Virginia USC 15 17 13т 8 5 1 (7) 1 (8) 1 (8) 1 (8) 3 3 7 7 Not released 8
TDS 24 21 13 7 3 2 2 2 3 6 8 7 8 8 10 10
Virginia Tech USC 14 15 24 20 RV Not released
TDS 10 9 24
Wake Forest USC 10 10 19 17 18 16 19 12 13 17т RV RV RV Not released RV
TDS 18 17 20 24 25 20 22 12 20 18

Players of the Week

Week Date Awarded Offensive Player of the week Defensive Player of the week Reference
1 August 19 Mia Minestrella – Duke Elise EvansStanford [12]
Valentina AmaralWake Forest
2 August 26 Mackenzie Geigle – Louisville Victoria SafradinVirginia [13]
3 September 2 Devin Lynch – Duke Cameron Roller – Duke [14]
Laney Matriano – Notre Dame
4 September 9 Amelia Swinarski – Louisville Teagan WyCalifornia [15]
Annabelle Chukwu – Notre Dame
5 September 16 Ella Carter – Virginia Janet OkekeFlorida State [16]
6 September 23 Annabelle Chukwu (2) – Notre Dame Olivia Pratapas – NC State [17]
7 September 30 Izzy Engle – Notre Dame Teagan Wy (2) – California [18]
Kylie Maxwell – Wake Forest
8 October 7 Jade Bordeleau – NC State Olivia Pratapas (2) – NC State [19]
Olivia ThomasNorth Carolina
9 October 14 Jasmine Aikey – Stanford Teagan Wy (3) – California [20]
10 October 21 Andrea Kitahata – Stanford Teagan Wy (4) – California [21]
11 October 28 Jordynn Dudley – Florida State Erynn Floyd – Louisville [22]
Izzy Engle (2) – Notre Dame
12 October 31 Jasmine Aikey (2) – Stanford Abby Reisz – Pittsburgh [23]

Postseason

ACC Tournament

Semifinals Final
      
1 Stanford 3
5 Virginia 2
1 Stanford (pen.) 2 (5)
2 Notre Dame 2 (4)
2 Notre Dame 2
3 Duke 1

NCAA tournament

Seed School Region 1st Round 2nd Round Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
1 Stanford Stanford W 5–1 vs. Cal Poly – (Stanford) W 7–3 vs. (8) Alabama – (Stanford) W 6–0 vs. (5) BYU – (Stanford) W 5–1 vs. (2) Michigan State – (Stanford) W 1–0 vs. (2) Duke – (Kansas City) L 0–1 vs. (3) Florida State – (Kansas City)
1 Notre Dame Notre Dame W 4–0 vs. UIC – (Notre Dame) L 0–1 (2OT) vs. Ohio State – (Notre Dame)
1 Virginia Virginia W 5–0 vs. High Point – (Charlottesville) W 2–0 vs. (8) Penn State – (Charlottesville) T 1–1 (4–5 PKs) vs. (4) Washington – (Charlottesville)
2 Duke Virginia W 3–0 vs. Elon – (Durham) W 1–0 vs. (7) UCF – (Durham) W 2–0 vs. (3) Kansas – (Durham) W 3–0 vs. (4) Washington – (Durham) L 0–1 vs. (1) Stanford – (Kansas City)
3 Florida State Notre Dame W 4–0 vs. Samford – (Tallahassee) W 1–0 vs. Lipscomb – (Washington, D.C.) W 3–1 @ (2) Georgetown – (Washington, D.C.) W 4–1 vs. Ohio State – (Tallahassee) W 1–0 vs. (2) TCU – (Kansas City) W 1–0 vs. (1) Stanford – (Kansas City)
6 Louisivlle Virginia T 1–1 (5–4 PKs) vs. Kentucky – (Louisville) L 1–3 vs. (3) Kansas – (Durham)
7 Wake Forest Stanford W 2–1 vs. South Carolina – (Winston-Salem) L 0–1 @ (2) Michigan State – (East Lansing)
8 Clemson Vanderbilt W 2–1 vs. Liberty – (Clemson) L 2–3 (2OT) @ (1) Vanderbilt – (Nashville)
North Carolina Vanderbilt W 3–1 @ (3) Tennessee – (Knoxville) T 1–1 (4–3 PKs) vs. (6) Texas Tech – (Fort Worth) T 1–1 (3–4 PKs)@ (2) TCU – (Fort Worth)
W–L (%): 8–0–1 (.944) 4–4–1 (.500) 3–0–2 (.800) 3–0–0 (1.000) 2–1–0 (.667) 1–1–0 (.500) Total: 21–6–4 (.742)

Awards and honors

Conference end of season awards were released on November 5, 2025, prior to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Izzy Engle was named Offensive Player of the Year, Lia Godfrey won Midfielder of the Year, Elise Evans won Defensive Player of the Year, Caroline Birkel won Goalkeeper of the Year, and Paul Ratcliffe was named Coach of the Year. A full list of award winners and All-ACC Teams is shown below.[24]

ACC Awards

2025 ACC Women's Soccer Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Coach of the Year Paul RatcliffeStanford
Offensive Player of the Year Izzy EngleNotre Dame
Midfielder of the Year Lia GodfreyVirginia
Defensive Player of the Year Elise Evans – Stanford
Goalkeeper of the Year Caroline Birkel – Stanford
Freshman of the Year Kylie Maxwell – Wake Forest
2025 ACC Women's Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team Second Team Third Team All-Freshman Team

Mia Minestrella – Duke
Jordynn Dudley – Florida State
Olivia Thomas – North Carolina
Annabelle Chukwu – Notre Dame
Izzy Engle – Notre Dame
Leah Klenke – Notre Dame
Jasmine Aikey – Stanford
Caroline Birkel – Stanford
Elise Evans – Stanford
Andrea Kitahata – Stanford
Lia Godfrey – Virginia

Kat Rader – Duke
Wrianna Hudson – Florida State
Taylor Suarez – Florida State
Karsyn Cherry – Louisville
Amelia Swinarski – Louisville
Jade Bordeleau – NC State
Shae Harvey – Stanford
Charlotte Kohler – Stanford
Maggie Cagle – Virginia
Laney Rouse – Virginia
Victoria Safradin – Virginia

JuJu Harris – Clemson
Carina Lageyre – Duke
Cameron Roller – Duke
Heather Gilchrist – Florida State
Mimi Van Zanten – Florida State
Emersen Jennings – Louisville
Kate Faasse – North Carolina
Linda Ullmark – North Carolina
Grace Restovich – Notre Dame
Valentina Amaral – Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell – Wake Forest

JuJu Harris – Clemson
Daya King – Duke
Avery Oder – Duke
Hope Munson – North Carolina
Tessa Knapp – Notre Dame
Caroline Birkel – Stanford
Y-Lan Nguyen – Stanford
Addison Halpern – Virginia
Liv Rademaker – Virginia
Allie Flanagan – Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell – Wake Forest

All-Americans

2025 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans[25]
First Team Second Team Third Team Fourth Team

Elise Evans – Stanford
Leah Klenke – Notre Dame
Lia Godfrey – Virginia
Kat Rader – Duke
Jasmine Aikey – Stanford
Jordynn Dudley – Florida State
Izzy Engle – Notre Dame

Karsyn Cherry – Louisville
Annabelle Chukwu – Notre Dame
Mia Minestrella – Duke

Valentina Amaral – Wake Forest
Heather Gilchrist – Florida State
Charlotte Kohler – Stanford
Olivia Thomas – North Carolina

Laney Rouse – Virginia
Linda Ullmark – North Carolina

References

  1. ^ "2025 Women's Soccer - Overall Statistics". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 30, 2025. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  2. ^ "Sites and Dates Announced for 2025-26 ACC Championships". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. July 2, 2025. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  3. ^ "Notre Dame women's soccer falls to Stanford in PKs in ACC Championship". WNDU-TV. November 9, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  4. ^ Howell, Maria (November 16, 2024). "How Duke women's soccer delivered a comeback season in coach Robbie Church's last dance". ncaa.com. NCAA. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  5. ^ "Duke Selects Kieran Hall As Next Head Women's Soccer Coach". collegiatesportsassociates.com. Collegiate Sports Associates. June 25, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  6. ^ "NC State women's soccer program parts ways with head coach Tim Santoro". soccerwire.com. Soccer Wire. November 12, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  7. ^ "HIGGINS NAMED HEAD COACH FOR WOMEN'S SOCCER". gopack.com. NC State University Athletics. December 12, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  8. ^ Swanson, Shelby (December 8, 2024). "UNC women's soccer coach draws praise in leading Tar Heels back to national title game". The News & Observer. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  9. ^ "Pitt's Ben Waldrum elevated to women's soccer head coach". Yahoo!Sports. The Tribune-Democrat. May 22, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  10. ^ Wilburn, Sarah (August 14, 2025). "2025 Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced". United Soccer Coaches. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "North Carolina Selected 2025 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  12. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 19, 2025. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  13. ^ "Louisville's Geigle, Virginia's Safradin Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  14. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 2, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  15. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 9, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "Virginia's Carter, FSU's Okeke Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  17. ^ "Notre Dame's Chukwu, NC State's Pratapas Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  18. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. September 30, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  19. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  20. ^ "Stanford's Aikey, California's Wy Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  21. ^ "Stanford's Kitahata, California's Wy Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  22. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 28, 2025. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  23. ^ "Stanford's Aikey, Pitt's Reisz Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of the Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 31, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  24. ^ "2025 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  25. ^ "2025 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's All-America Teams Announced". United Soccer Coaches. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2025.