Jake Stanley
Assistant Sports Communications Director (Swimming & Diving | Soccer)
No. 16/7 Georgia (0-0-1, 0-0-0 SEC) vs. No. 5/9 North Carolina (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 22
Time: 5 p.m. EDT
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Site: Dorrance Field (4,200)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Stream: ACC Network Extra (Dean Linke, PxP / Cedric Burke, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @UGASoccer
Instagram: @UGASoccer
Social Media: For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: North Carolina leads 5-0-0
In Chapel Hill: North Carolina leads 2-0-0
Neutral: North Carolina leads 3-0-0
Last Meeting: North Carolina – W, 3-1 (Nov. 17, 2022 – NCAA Tournament Second Round)
Current Streak: L5
GF / GA: 1 / 23
QUICK KICKS
Chapel Hill Bound
No. 16 Georgia, rated No. 7 in Top Drawer Soccer's newest rankings, heads on the road for the first time this season to face No. 5 North Carolina in its first away contest of the season. The Bulldogs are looking for their first victory against the Tar Heels after dropping the previous five meetings. The two sides last met in the 2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round, with UNC prevailing, 3-1. Madison Haugen's 77th-minute goal marked Georgia's first ever score against Carolina. The Tar Heels, now led by interim head coach Damon Nahas following the retirement of the legendary Anson Dorrance, opened the season with road victories at Denver and Colorado, scoring twice in the final three minutes to stun the Buffaloes.
In his coaching career, Keidane McAlpine is 1-3 all-time against North Carolina, beating the Heels, 3-0, during his 2016 NCAA championship season at USC. Georgia is looking for its fourth-ever win against a top-five opponent, with its last such win coming at No. 5 LSU in 2021.
Debuting with a Draw
Georgia opened its 30th season with a scoreless tie against No. 7 Pitt, led by five saves from SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week Jordan Brown. Despite being outshot by the Panthers, 18-10, the two sides were close in shots on frame with Pitt holding a 5-4 advantage. The Bulldogs had a couple of promising changes, including a shot from graduate forward Margie Detrizio that was narrowly deflected by the keeper and hit off the cross bar. With the draw, Georgia has now played to a tie in each of its last three outings against top-10 ACC opponents.
Playing with Expectations
Following last season's historic achievements, including the first SEC Tournament title in program history and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, Georgia enters the 2024 season with the highest preseason expectations in its history. The Bulldogs were ranked 14th in the United Soccer Coaches and 11th in the Top Drawer Soccer preseason rankings, both highest marks in school history. Georgia also tied for third with South Carolina in the SEC preseason coaches' poll. Additionally, seven Bulldogs were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List, while redshirt sophomore midfielder Summer Denigan ranked 92nd in TDS' Top 100 Players List.
Wealth of Experience
Despite losing potential NWSL Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune, Georgia returns a deep and talented roster for 2024, including 19 letter winners and 10 players with at least eight starts last season. All three leading goal scorers, Denigan and graduates Nicole Vernis and Hannah White, return for this season, as does Freshman All-American Kiera Staude to anchor the backline. Junior goal keeper Jordan Brown tallied a 76.7 save percentage last season and looks to take another leap with new goalkeeper coach Rade Tanaskovic at the helm. As a team, the Bulldogs return 74 percent of its minutes from last season, particularly on the backline with junior Cate Hardin.
New Faces in New Places
Along with the returning veterans, Georgia welcomes eight new players to its roster with five transfers and three freshmen. Graduate forward Margie Detrizio comes to Athens with 26 career goals and 16 assists at Washington State, in addition to two All-Pac-12 honors in the past two seasons. Graduate midfielder Amber Nguyen and junior defender Maddie Baker join the Bulldogs from Vanderbilt, with Nguyen tallying 21 points over four seasons with the Commodores. Graduate forward Maddy Pirrello is another SEC transfer, coming over from Florida after three seasons in Gainesville. Pirrello ranked second on the Gators in assists and third in goals last season. Sophomore defender and Marietta native Tyler Kaseta also returned home from Xavier and will be a contributor on the Bulldogs' back line. The Bulldogs' small, but impressive freshman group features forwards Sophia Brelage and Cayla Jackson, along with goalkeeper Nikki Bidun.
The Georgia coaching staff also garnered a boost with the addition of goalkeeper coach Rade Tanaskovic. Tanaskovic joined Georgia this spring following five seasons with the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL, where he worked directly with USWNT keeper Alyssa Naeher. The Serbian national and North Georgia graduate also helped the Americans win the SheBelieves Cup in April and will serve on staff for the U.S. U-20 team at the U-20 Women's World Cup next month in Colombia.
Strong Slate as Always
Throughout his early tenure in Athens, Keidane McAlpine has made it a point to challenge his team with a difficult non-conference schedule. Last season, matches against UCLA, Clemson, and UCF helped Georgia finish No. 7 in the NCAA RPI and earn a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. This year's schedule is no different with contests against defending champion Florida State and quarterfinalists Pitt and UNC in the first two weeks of the season, followed by four preseason-ranked SEC opponents. In 2023, the Bulldogs were the only Power 5 school to play a team from each of the other four leagues. This season, they are one of five with the distinction, joining Texas, Iowa, Michigan, and Baylor. The Bulldogs and Hawkeyes are the only two P4 institutions to face each of the other Power conferences, as well as take on a remaining Pac-12 school (Georgia - Washington State, Iowa - Oregon State).
Coming Back Strong
The Georgia roster received a boost for 2024 as senior midfielder Ellie Gilbert returned to the field for last Thursday's match against Pitt just 10 months after tearing her ACL at Tennessee. Gilbert enters this season ranked second among active Bulldogs in starts (45) and appearances (55) and has been named a captain alongside graduate midfielder Nicole Vernis. In addition to Gilbert, graduate midfielder Dasia Torbert also made her return to the field after missing nearly two years due to a knee injury. Torbert had established herself as the Bulldogs' top playmaker early in the 2022 season and is expected to again contribute as she was named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.
Gold Medal Croix
Last season, Croix Bethune helped lead Georgia to its most historic season ever, earning SEC Tournament MVP and Second Team All-America honors. The Alpharetta native has only continued to make history since, going third overall to the Washington Spirit in January's NWSL Draft. She became the first-ever first round draft pick in program history and the second-highest drafted SEC player ever. Since joining Washington, she has scored five goals and assisted on nine, already tying for the second-most in a season in NWSL history. Bethune has been named Rookie of the Month and a Best XI selection in each month of the season. Along with her pro exploits, she was named as an alternate for the United States Olympic team, eventually being called up to the main roster and playing the closing minutes of its group finale against Australia before winning Georgia Soccer's first gold medal in Paris.
Up Next
No. 16 Georgia returns home for its annual Senior Day match against Kennesaw State on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. at Turner Soccer Complex, with live streaming available on SEC Network+. Prior to the match, seven seniors and graduate students will be recognized for their contributions to the Georgia program.
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