Alessia Russo, a rising senior from Kent, England, is Chapel Hill's MVP. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels have won 21 of the 38 Division 1 NCAA Women's Soccer National Championships. Russo without a doubt is one of the program's best players of all time. The wonderfully creative forward, who stands at 5 feet 9 inches, was a 2018 United Soccer Coaches first-team All-America selection, the first Tar Heel to make the first team since Crystal Dunn in 2013.
Junior Year – Just a few of her many accomplishments:
- Hermann Trophy semifinalist
- Most Valuable Player of the 2019 ACC Tournament
- First-team All-ACC for the third year in a row
- All-ACC Tournament selection
- Preseason All-ACC selection
- Team tri-captain
- Played 24 matches overall, all starts, playing 1,432 minutes
- Leads the team in goals with 13 and is second in points with 29
- Beven braces for her career
- Has 27 career goals, tied for 40th in UNC history
- 16 of her career goals have been game-winning tallies
* Originally published on March 15, 2021, by Jake Lundberg