By Daniel Susann – @dsus_sus
Since the inception of NCAA women’s soccer in 1982, the ACC has forever dominated, accounting for 27 of 43 national championships. And if you retroactively include new ACC blood Stanford and Notre Dame, that number moves to 33 of 43 total champions.
Yet, only a few squads account for all that greatness. UNC-Chapel Hill held a decades-long dynasty, while Florida State has recently produced a period of eminence, winning three of the last five Women’s College Cups.
Duke, Virginia and Wake Forest have also built yearly contenders, each with a College Cup berth since 2020.
Heading into the 2026 season, you could reasonably pick any of these schools to win the conference or the national title. Florida State, Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford and North Carolina each stand out as possible favorites.
Florida State won the 2025 NCAA title, with Stanford as the runner-up after going 9-0-1 in ACC play and winning the ACC title. Duke earned a berth to the College Cup, while Notre Dame finished second in the conference and conference tournament. Carolina, the 2024 national champ, is set to bring in a top recruiting class after a down year in 2025. Virginia was the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA tournament last season.
Even with all the star power, there are a few schools to keep your eye on that don’t necessarily jump off the page.
Louisville
At the top of the list is Louisville, a team that has returned a solid portion of its core despite the retirement of former head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes, the winningest coach in program history. In her place steps Hunter Norton, who had worked under Ferguson-Dayes for 13 seasons, helping to build a staunch defense for Louisville.
The Cardinals showed signs of promise last year before falling to Duke 1-0 in the first round of the ACC Championships. They have not made it past the first round in their ACC history since joining the conference in 2014, and have never made it past the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. That could change this season.
The Cardinals are bringing back star midfielders Liza Suydam and Amelia Swinarski, who accounted for nearly a third of Louisville’s 166 points. Swinarski led with 10 goals and 10 assists, while Suydam had six goals and 10 assists of her own. Rounding out a strong Cardinals midfield are AG Gibson and Betsy Huckaby, who had four goals each, combining for 25 points.
Even with its great play at midfield, it’s arguable that Louisville’s greatest strength was in the defensive half, with six shutouts in ACC play. Goalkeeper Erynn Floyd ranked near the top of the conference with 0.78 goals against per game, and the squad as a whole allowed only 67 shots on goal through 21 games. Though Floyd has graduated, this year’s starting keeper will have a solid defense in front of her, whether it is returner Brielle Baker or one of the two freshmen goalies on the roster.
And if the Cardinals can get decent contributions from their young forwards Karina Peat and Nicole Jodoin, plus SMU transfer Liz Eddy who scored three goals for the Mustangs last season, Louisville will do some damage in the ACC. Whether they can rival the likes of Florida State, Duke, Notre Dame and Stanford — that is to be seen.
NC State
One of the best stories in ACC women’s soccer last fall was NC State. After starting the season 0-5-2 under newly appointed Head Coach Gary Higgins, the Wolfpack rattled off a mark of 5-1-2 and finished in the middle clump of teams, nearly qualifying for the ACC tournament. Ending the season at 4-4-2 in conference, NC State fell to Louisville, Duke and North Carolina in the final stretch.
The campaign reached its peak as the Wolfpack tied the eventual national champions, Florida State, 1-1. Then, the Pack rattled off three straight wins versus Wake Forest, Boston College and Pitt. Early in the year, the squad looked inexperienced and disjointed, but grew up through the course of the season into a plucky team, nearly qualifying for the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Wolfpack is returning almost all of its starters, including star forward and 10-goal scorer Jade Bordeleau, and looks to build on the results from last season. With more attention on the squad from Raleigh, will Higgins lead his team to its first ACC Tournament berth in over half a decade, or will the Wolfpack find itself once again in an early-season slump?
