We Speak Soccer

Joschi Schelb Named ACC Offensive Player of the Year as SMU Headlines the 2026 Men’s Soccer All-ACC Team

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

North Carolina senior Joschi Schelb, wearing No. 10, celebrating with arms outstretched after a goal at Dorrance Field

Joschi Schelb celebrates for North Carolina. Photo: Dalton Wainscott / GoHeels.com

Joschi Schelb scored 16 goals this season, more than anyone else in the ACC and second most in the country, and the league’s coaches have now voted the North Carolina senior its Offensive Player of the Year. SMU, the unbeaten regular-season champions, claimed four season honors as the 2026 All-ACC Team was announced ahead of the championship semifinals in Cary.

SMU highlighted the 2026 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Team and season award winners, which were announced Wednesday following a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches.

After going unbeaten and winning the league’s regular-season title, SMU claimed four of the league’s season honors. Enzo Panozzo earned Defensive Player of the Year, Jonathan Evans notched Goalkeeper of the Year and Kevin Hudson nabbed Coach of the Year, while Jaylinn Mitchell shared the Midfielder of the Year honors with Stanford’s Jack Pymm. North Carolina’s Joschi Schelb earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, and Duke’s Jack Ottley picked up Freshman of the Year laurels.

Six SMU players earned All-ACC honors, while five earned first-team honors, the most first-team honorees by any team since Wake Forest had five in 2008.

Schelb leads the ACC and ranks second nationally with 16 goals this season. The native of Freiburg, Germany, also scored a league-best seven goals in regular-season conference play this season. His total of 35 points leads the ACC and also ranks third nationally. He is one of 30 NCAA players to earn a spot on the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.

A native of Sarasota, Florida, Panozzo spearheads the nation’s top-rated defense. The Mustangs have conceded just six goals this season, good for a 0.375 goals-against average. Both numbers are tops nationally. SMU has confined opponents to 10 shots or fewer in 10 of the last 11 matches.

Mitchell has totaled three goals and nine assists this season. He is tied for third in the league in assists. The native of La Mirada, California, also is a member of the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List.

Pymm owns seven goals and an assist this season, with four of his goals coming in conference play. His four ACC goals rank fourth among all league players this season. A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Pymm has totaled 61 shots this season, which is second in the ACC.

Evans leads the ACC with a 0.38 goals-against average and 11 shutouts in 16 matches. He also recorded seven clean sheets in nine matches against league foes. The native of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, also is a member of the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List.

Ottley put up big numbers as a freshman this season with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points. He ranks fifth in the ACC in points, and ninth in both goals and assists. Hailing from Chesapeake, Virginia, Ottley totaled 10 points in league play, most of any freshman.

Named ACC Coach of the Year for the first time, Hudson led SMU to its first ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship. Currently at 13-0-3, the Mustangs became just the sixth ACC program since 1998 to record an unbeaten regular season.

The semifinals of the 2026 ACC Men’s Soccer Championship will be contested Thursday, November 12, at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, beginning with No. 7 seed North Carolina facing No. 11 seed NC State at 5:30 p.m. ET and followed by No. 1 seed SMU versus No. 13 seed Syracuse at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both matches will air on ACC Network and follow the semifinals of the Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship, which will be played at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The championship match will be broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, November 15, at 4 p.m. ET.

In the latest NCAA RPI, 11 ACC teams rank among the top 40, the most of any conference, including six in the top 20, with No. 2 SMU, No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 Pitt, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 12 Louisville and No. 19 Stanford.

2026 ACC Men’s Soccer Season Honors
Offensive Player of the Year: Joschi Schelb, Sr., F, North Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year: Enzo Panozzo, 5th, D, SMU
Co-Midfielder of the Year: Jaylinn Mitchell, Sr., SMU; Jack Pymm, So., Stanford
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jonathan Evans, Jr., SMU
Freshman of the Year: Jack Ottley, M, Duke
Coach of the Year: Kevin Hudson, SMU

2026 All-ACC First Team
Ransford Gyan, F, Clemson
Jack Ottley, M, Duke
Joschi Schelb, F, North Carolina
Luca Nikolai, D, North Carolina
Aidan Payne, M, NC State
Jonathan Evans, GK, SMU
Jaylinn Mitchell, M, SMU
Ryan Clanton-Pimentel, D, SMU
Enzo Panozzo, D, SMU
Stephan Soghomonian, F, SMU
Jack Pymm, M, Stanford

2026 All-ACC Second Team
Dylan Mafong, M, Boston College
Lukas Magnason, D, Clemson
Remi Okunlola, D, Clemson
Ethan Congleton, F, Duke
Giacomo Zizza, M, Louisville
Nico Loebus, M, North Carolina
Bertil Rygaard Hansen, F, North Carolina
Blake Kelly, GK, Notre Dame
Noah Holmstrom, D, SMU
Marco Dos Santos, M, Virginia
Brendan Lambe, M, Virginia
Noe Uwimana, D, Virginia Tech

2026 All-ACC Third Team
Andrej Borak, GK, Boston College
D’Andre Pickett, D, California
Mason Jimenez, M, Clemson
Nick Lockermann, D, North Carolina
Ryan Zellefrow, M, North Carolina
Riley Moloney, D, NC State
Nolan Spicer, M, Notre Dame
Caden Grabfelder, M, Pitt
Villads Landsperg, D, SMU
Alex Chow, M, Stanford
Tate Lorentz, F, Wake Forest

2026 ACC All-Freshman Team
Lucca Guimaraes, M, California
Mateo Tsakiris, M, Clemson
Jack Ottley, M, Duke
Ethan Congleton, F, Duke
Cooper Olson, F, Louisville
Myles Carson, D, North Carolina
Michael Capretto, F, Notre Dame
Tristan Tropeano, F, Notre Dame
Mamadou Tall, F, Pitt
Jayden Fitzgerald Boes, F, Stanford
Tim Fortier, M, Stanford

North Carolina Faces Virginia Sunday for the 2026 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship

Published

23 hours ago

November 14, 2026

We Speak Media

North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players in white warmup tops laughing together on the field before a match at Dorrance Field

North Carolina chases a record 23rd ACC tournament title and Virginia chases its first since 2012 when the Tar Heels and Cavaliers meet Sunday at noon ET in Cary on ESPNU.

Second-seeded North Carolina and fifth-seeded Virginia will play for the 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship Sunday at noon ET from First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.

The Tar Heels and Cavaliers will meet in the title match for the fifth time, with previous matchups in 1990, 2004, 2005 and 2019. North Carolina is 3-1 in those matchups, with UVA’s lone win coming in 2004. It will also be the first time since a No. 2 seed has faced a No. 5 seed in the final since 2012, when fifth-seeded Virginia defeated second-seeded Maryland, 4-0. That season was the last time the Cavaliers have won the ACC title.

UNC is in the ACC Championship final for the 30th time and seeks its record 23rd tournament title. The Tar Heels have dropped their last three final appearances (2020, 2022 and 2024) and have not won the ACC crown since defeating Virginia in the 2019 title match. UNC looks to become the first No. 2 seed since Florida State in 2022 to win the women’s soccer championship.

Virginia returns to the ACC title match for the first time since 2021, having won the championship twice (2004 and 2012). The Cavaliers have not allowed a goal in their last four matches and five of their last six contests. It marks the first time a team has advanced to the title match from the first round without allowing a goal since 2020.

Sunday’s final will be broadcast live on ESPNU at noon ET. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on game day and are available online only; no walk-up sales will be available.

2026 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship

First Round | Sunday, Nov. 8 – Campus Sites

#6 Duke 5, at #3 Wake Forest 4 (OT)
#5 Virginia 3, at #4 Florida State 0

Semifinals | Thursday, Nov. 12 – First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.)

#5 Virginia 1, #1 Notre Dame 0
#2 North Carolina 1, #6 Duke 0

Final | Sunday, Nov. 15 – First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.)

#2 North Carolina vs. #5 Virginia | Noon | ESPNU
All times Eastern

Noting ACC Women’s Soccer

• The 40th season of ACC Women’s Soccer got underway on Wednesday, August 12, while the 39th Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship concludes Sunday, November 15, with the championship final from First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.

• The ACC has seven teams in the latest IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Poll, the most of any conference.

• The poll includes No. 2 North Carolina, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 10 Virginia, No. 12 Duke, No. 16 Florida State and No. 16 Stanford (tie). Clemson and Virginia Tech are receiving votes.

• The ACC has eight teams ranked among the top 30 in the RPI, also the most of any conference.

• The RPI top 30 includes No. 1 North Carolina, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 11 Virginia, No. 13 Duke, No. 15 Stanford, No. 28 Florida State and No. 29 Clemson.

• Four ACC teams were named to the initial NCAA Women’s Soccer Committee Top 16, announced on Monday, October 26: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 3 Wake Forest, No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 11 Stanford.

• ACC teams have combined for 86 non-conference wins and a .801 winning percentage, both of which lead the nation.

• A total of 12 ACC standouts were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Mid-Season Watch List, the most among all conferences. The next-closest conference had six.

• Florida State earned the ACC’s 27th national championship (24th since the ACC began sponsoring women’s soccer) a season ago, bringing the total to 33 national championships among current ACC institutions. No school outside the ACC has won more than two championships.

• The Seminoles defeated Stanford, 1-0, in the 2025 national championship match, marking the second straight year that two ACC teams met for the national title and the third consecutive championship match featuring current ACC members.