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Notre Dame Earns No. 1 Seed, North Carolina Gets Final Bye as 2026 ACC Women’s Soccer Championship Bracket Is Set

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Notre Dame women's soccer player Annabelle Chukwu, wearing No. 7 in white, dribbles the ball during a match at Alumni Stadium at night
Notre Dame's Annabelle Chukwu (#7) dribbles the ball at Alumni Stadium. Photo: @ndwsoccer (formerly @ndwomenssoccer)

Notre Dame closed the regular season on a five-match winning streak to take its first outright ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed, while North Carolina claimed the other semifinal bye — setting a six-team Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship that opens Sunday with Duke at Wake Forest and Virginia at Florida State, and crowns its champion November 15 in Cary.

Following the conclusion of Thursday’s regular-season matches, the bracket and seeds for the 2026 Ally Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Soccer Championship are set.

Ending the regular season on a five-match winning streak and 25 points, Notre Dame won its first ACC regular-season title since 2016, its first-ever outright ACC title and earned the No. 1 seed in the 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship. It marks the third time in the last four seasons the Fighting Irish have earned a bye in the ACC Championship, the most of any team over that span. After beginning the season with one win in its first six matches, Notre Dame rallied to win nine of its last 11 contests to close its regular-season slate.

North Carolina finished as the runner-up in the final conference standings and claimed the final bye into the semifinals. The Tar Heels, who missed the ACC Championship a season ago, earned 24 points with an 8-1 conference record. Overall, North Carolina finished 15-2 and currently sits second in the latest NCAA RPI rankings.

Wake Forest claimed the No. 3 seed with 22 points and returns to the Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship after a one-year hiatus. The Demon Deacons have won their last four games and will play host to sixth-seeded Duke in Sunday’s first round at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The Blue Devils finished tied for sixth with Stanford in the final standings with 16 points, winning the tiebreak with its September 13 win over the Cardinal.

Florida State and Virginia finished tied for fourth in the final standings, with the Seminoles winning the tiebreak with more wins over common opponents. Florida State will host the Cavaliers in the first round on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network in a rematch of last season’s first-round matchup which saw UVA advance in penalty kicks.

The winners from Sunday’s first round will advance to the semifinals set for Thursday, November 12, at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Kickoff times will be announced following the conclusion of Sunday’s matches.

The championship final is set for Sunday, November 15, at noon ET on ESPNU, also at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. It marks the ninth straight year the ACC champion will be crowned in Cary, North Carolina.

Tickets for the semifinals and final of the 2026 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship are on sale now. Tickets to the first-round matches can be purchased through the host schools.

2026 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship (All Times ET)

First Round | Sunday, Nov. 8 – Campus Sites

#6 Duke at #3 Wake Forest | 6 p.m. | ESPNU

#5 Virginia at #4 Florida State | 8 p.m. | ACC Network

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

Florida State/Virginia Winner vs. #1 Notre Dame | 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. | ACC Network

Wake Forest/Duke Winner vs. #2 North Carolina | 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. | ACC Network

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

Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner | Noon | ESPNU

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NAIA Women’s Soccer Notebook: Red Banner Chase Heads Toward Decatur as Bids Fill In

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November 6, 2026

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Rocky Mountain's Charlize Davis on the ball and goalkeeper Matea Vernon in front of goal
NAIA women's soccer action, with Rocky Mountain's Charlize Davis and goalkeeper Matea Vernon, who were named NAIA PrestoSports Players of the Week. Photo via NAIA.

The NAIA women’s soccer regular season is over, conference tournaments are in win-or-go-home mode, and the road to the Red Banner in Decatur is taking shape, with the final Players of the Week named, six automatic bids already claimed, and the selection show set for November 13.

The final issue of the 2026 NAIA Women’s Soccer notebook looks ahead at where to tune in for the selection show, final site tickets, and more, as the Battle For The Red Banner gets underway in just over a week for 40 teams across the nation.

New automatic bids: Two more automatic bids into the national tournament were punched — Clarke (Iowa) from the Heart of America and Hastings (Neb.) from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Both begin their respective conference tournaments as the No. 1 seed.

Final Players of the Week (PrestoSports-NAIA):

  • Offensive Player of the Week: Sara Aguirre of William Carey (Miss.) — contributed to 11 goals across two home matches last week; junior forward from Villavicencio, Colombia; scored three goals and added four assists across the two contests.
  • Defensive Player of the Week: Izzy Martinez of Brenau (Ga.) — recorded two shutouts last week, including one in a victory that secured Brenau’s place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament; freshman goalkeeper from McDonough, Ga.

Automatic bids already claimed (by winning the conference regular season outright or via conference tiebreaker procedures, for conferences of 12 or more teams): Truett-McConnell (Ga.), College of Idaho, Clarke (Iowa), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Hastings (Neb.), and William Carey (Miss.). Other teams must win their conference tournament to earn an automatic bid.

Championship details:

  • First and second rounds are under two weeks away; play for the final 16 teams in Decatur, Ala., is just under four weeks away.
  • Final site: Jack Allen Sports Complex in Decatur, Ala.
  • Selection show: Friday, November 13 at 5 p.m. CT on the NAIA’s YouTube page.
  • All matches will be broadcast free on the NAIA Network from opening kick on November 30 through the championship game and awards ceremony on December 7.

Keiser (Fla.) leads the final STADIONIC-NAIA Women’s Soccer Selection Committee Top 25 Poll, with Grace (Ind.) No. 2 and Indiana Wesleyan No. 3.

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