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#UNC coach Damon Nahas and players Bella Devey and Summer Denigan after a 4-0 opening-match win
Aug 14, 2026
#UNC coach Damon Nahas and players Bella Devey and Summer Denigan after a 4-0 opening-match win
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0:01
Now, um
0:03
Now, obviously we're we're um we're
0:05
excited about the having the first game
0:07
of the season. We've been waiting about
0:08
30 days now. Um
0:10
we talked about this before the game.
0:11
So, first I want to give
0:13
uh a shout-out to Fairfield. Um you
0:16
know, we
0:17
you know, we really appreciate how they
0:18
came out and and and played and and uh
0:21
we have a lot of respect for them and
0:22
and their staff and and we're going to
0:24
wish them the best of luck through the
0:25
season. They have big fans in us for the
0:27
remainder of the year. Um obviously, you
0:29
know, going into the first game, the
0:31
games are going to come fast and furious
0:32
now. So, to get the first win is
0:34
obviously always important uh to get a
0:36
shutout uh was great. Um you know, we
0:40
had there's a lot of really good
0:41
pictures in there that that's going to
0:42
help us, you know, not just for this
0:44
weekend, but as we move on. So, the
0:46
thing is the group is really ambitious.
0:48
I thought they're
0:49
the response in the second half to what
0:51
we were what we, you know, got on them
0:53
about, I thought was really really good.
0:55
Uh and that's really all you can ask,
0:56
right? Um so, for me to get the result
0:59
and then and to move on, I think we uh
1:01
came came out of it pretty healthy. I
1:04
think some people are a little bit sore,
1:06
cramped up, so we'll fix that in the
1:07
next couple of days and get ready for uh
1:09
Sunday's game, but overall, pleased with
1:11
the win and um looking forward to uh
1:13
getting back at it on Sunday.
1:15
>> Was Hope a defender the whole game? She
1:17
sure played like a forward.
1:19
>> Yeah, no. That So, that would mean that
1:21
she was not listening to anything that I
1:23
was saying. So, no. Um Hope uh and
1:25
Debbie switched, so we had her go up in
1:27
the nine. So, her and Debbie midway
1:29
through the second half um after her
1:31
goal, her first goal,
1:33
um Debbie went on the right and then uh
1:35
Hope went up in the nine position. So,
1:37
and then in the second half she played
1:39
out wide. Um so, we rotated the both of
1:41
them a couple of times.
1:42
>> So, Hope was a a forward then?
1:43
>> forward the second part of the first
1:45
half.
1:45
>> Did she do that last year at all?
1:47
>> No, she didn't. So, you know, you know,
1:49
obviously her she's really hungry and
1:51
ambitious and she she likes to
1:53
you know, sometimes you You to get
1:55
players in in spots to be able to try
1:57
some different things and based on an on
1:59
an opponent maybe that might be a good
2:00
look or if you want to get her isolated
2:02
outside. So, for us the versatility is
2:04
really important and in this game
2:06
um we just tried it and you know, she
2:08
got a goal off of it and and obviously
2:10
Debbie is is seamless. She played there
2:12
last year, too. So, um we feel
2:14
comfortable with it. So, now
2:16
you know, Hope is going to knock on my
2:17
door to play the nine uh half of the
2:19
game now that I believe.
2:21
>> Talk about her aggressiveness. She was
2:22
She out shot Fairfield 7-1 in the first
2:24
half.
2:26
>> Yeah, I Yeah, and I'll look at those
2:27
shots and we'll talk about what happened
2:29
with those shots. No, but we want
2:31
players that are hungry and that uh you
2:33
know, ambitious to go to goal and and we
2:35
don't ever want to take shots away from
2:36
players. I I think whenever we look at
2:38
those those opportunities, it's about
2:40
what were those shots like? Um I thought
2:43
of those seven shots, probably five of
2:45
them were probably good choices and then
2:46
maybe the decision on how I want to
2:48
finish those. Those are the things we'll
2:49
we'll talk about. And then the other
2:50
things we'll just kind of talk and say,
2:52
what are some other options we could
2:53
look at? And not not specific to Hope,
2:55
but uh in general. And I thought we did
2:57
a better job of that in the second half.
2:59
Um but those are the two uh Hope's first
3:01
two goals, right? So, I mean, what a
3:03
cool moment for her and hopefully that
3:05
just builds confidence and whether she's
3:07
playing out wide or playing in the nine,
3:08
we know that she's going to be hungry to
3:10
to to assist or get goals.
3:13
>> You go.
3:14
>> Okay. Uh Summer, is this the kind of
3:17
game kind of game kind of effort that
3:20
you came to Carolina to experience?
3:23
>> Uh yeah, I mean, it's just an honor to
3:25
be able to wear the Carolina jersey um
3:27
and play for this amazing team and
3:29
program and I'm
3:30
like I could not wait for this first
3:32
game to be able to play with
3:34
specifically Hope and Debbie just like
3:36
being able to combine with such talented
3:37
players. I was really looking forward to
3:39
getting season started.
3:40
>> And you can you describe the assist on
3:42
her goal there?
3:43
>> Uh yeah, we just kind [laughter] of
3:46
we just like have that intuition, I
3:47
guess. Like we work on it like in
3:49
practice just being able to combine um
3:52
and making good runs in the box and
3:53
finding each other.
3:55
>> And then then
3:56
Bella, you had had a lot of good chances
3:58
but they
3:59
you buried them in the second half. Can
4:01
you talk about your game?
4:04
>> Oh, my god.
4:06
Um yeah, I don't know. The first half
4:09
um I had a lot of chances on goal but it
4:11
maybe wasn't the right choice in the
4:13
moment. And the second half I kind of
4:15
just found
4:17
my calm in the box and like finding my
4:19
instincts and knowing when to pass,
4:21
knowing when to shoot, and knowing when
4:22
to combine.
4:24
>> And the second goal of the first half,
4:27
the new rule where you get to challenge,
4:29
can you walk me through that and
4:31
obviously you like the rule for tonight
4:33
anyway.
4:33
>> Well, yeah. Um I think in in the past
4:36
they would have had a review that
4:37
anyways. If they didn't blow the whistle
4:38
before the the shot, they would have had
4:40
a review that last year on their own,
4:41
right? Um but yeah, I mean the new rules
4:44
you're just kind of getting it. For us
4:46
you have two challenges and if whether
4:47
you it works out or it doesn't um you
4:50
lose it either way. So,
4:52
um Corey and our guys have the you know
4:54
the video behind and I had to look at
4:57
it. They showed it to me and I was like
4:59
it was close enough to to uh
5:01
to do the old twirl as they say. So, um
5:03
thankfully it worked out for us. Yeah.
5:04
>> So, this is like the baseball managers
5:06
you have a Do you have a certain amount
5:08
of time you have to say yay or nay?
5:09
>> You have to do it before the next uh the
5:11
ball goes after the next stoppage. So,
5:13
like if that girl if she would have
5:14
taken that kick before I did that, it
5:16
would have not been able to video
5:17
review.
5:18
>> Well, so big big And what you think they
5:20
would have reviewed it anyway last
5:22
season?
5:22
>> Last year they would have. So, if if the
5:23
whistle didn't blow before the ball went
5:25
in the back of the net, they would have
5:26
or at least I would have had a
5:27
discussion with the the referee to say
5:30
take a look at that to see and make sure
5:31
it was offsides. They would have done
5:32
that. Now they put it in the hands of
5:33
the coach to make that decision.
5:35
Um so yeah, so that's kind of the way it
5:37
goes.
5:38
>> Good.
5:39
>> Sorry.
5:40
Yeah, what are some like takeaways I
5:41
guess you're going to take from this
5:42
game
5:43
um heading into like a tough schedule I
5:45
guess? Like
5:46
>> [clears throat]
5:46
>> did it kind of go like sort of sort of
5:48
going to plan or did you learn some new
5:49
things like
5:50
>> No, well well, look, we there are
5:52
there's never a game that goes exactly
5:54
to plan, right? I think um I I
5:56
appreciate the team. The team didn't
5:58
have a lack of
5:59
um commitment to try and do like they
6:02
were trying to do the right things. They
6:03
were really eager, they were excited to
6:05
play, and I think some of that affected
6:07
some of their decision-making in the
6:08
first half. Um so, it's kind of a and
6:10
you have some young players, too. And
6:12
they were even with Summer and Lil, um
6:15
this is the first game with us. So, like
6:16
it's a it's almost a brand new team in
6:18
so many respects. So, that level of
6:20
patience, but to be honest with you, I
6:22
know what their potential is. So, we
6:24
don't want to really just sit back and
6:26
and, you know, accept those things. We
6:27
want to make sure that we learn from
6:28
them. And I mean from minute to minute,
6:30
and I thought they did a really good job
6:31
of that um from the first half to the
6:33
second half.
6:34
>> I guess you do you kind of mean like
6:35
sort of like rushing forward into the
6:37
attack or like not really taking their
6:39
time on the ball.
6:40
>> Is that your assessment?
6:41
>> Uh no, not necessarily. That's okay.
6:43
>> If it is, it's a good assessment.
6:45
>> Yes, I think um
6:46
I think for them it's all about
6:47
decision-making, right? So, when when
6:50
it's on, when it's not, and they
6:51
sometimes are pushing the line, they're
6:52
dropping deep, and they're just to
6:53
understand to just pull off of it and
6:55
just do the simple. Uh we always talk
6:57
about going from good to great
6:58
opportunities, and I thought in the
6:59
first half we were trying to be great in
7:01
every opportunity, and I think uh not a
7:03
lack of the want, I just that they were
7:06
just a little bit impatient. And uh got
7:08
caught a couple of times in transition
7:09
because of that. So, lessons learned,
7:11
and it the the curious thing I had is
7:13
what was going to happen in the second
7:15
half.
7:15
And I thought their response was great,
7:17
and um and I can tell that they were
7:19
thinking about what they needed to do
7:20
better, and I thought they executed a
7:21
lot better.
7:23
>> So, when you get Deuce and Amari back,
7:24
will Hope be back in the
7:27
back line? Probably, or you don't know?
7:29
>> Uh
7:30
well,
7:31
time will tell. I mean, I'm I'm waiting
7:32
for Sunday. So, Amari and Deuce won't be
7:34
back until after Arkansas.
7:36
>> Right.
7:37
>> Um so, that's a long ways away. So,
7:39
right now it's all I got to tell Deuce
7:41
and Amari with stuff to take care of
7:43
what they got to take care of while
7:44
they're with the national team. And then
7:46
when they come back integrating them
7:47
will be that decision will be made based
7:49
on how our performances are in the next
7:50
couple of games. So, I'm not really
7:52
focused on that. We want them hopefully
7:53
they get they get back healthy and gives
7:55
us greater depth.
7:56
Um and ultimately hopefully we continue
7:59
to have good performances and then that
8:00
decision will be made when when that
8:02
time comes.
8:03
Like if she helps scoring three goals,
8:05
then she's telling me what what I need
8:06
to do. So, players determine what
8:08
happens and not necessarily me in those
8:11
moments. So, but with time it's up.
8:13
>> Uh for both players what the it seemed
8:15
like it just overall crisper than the
8:17
exhibition. What did you see as a
8:19
difference between the exhibition and
8:20
this game?
8:21
>> I think like the first [clears throat]
8:23
game of the official season there's just
8:24
like this feeling of like anxious
8:26
excitement. And I think just again like
8:28
being able to get out there and kind of
8:30
get the first game out of the way and
8:31
like execute what we want to execute and
8:33
just learn from here and like move on to
8:34
the next game is really important.
8:37
>> Yeah, I think the same thing. I mean the
8:39
first game is always really
8:40
nerve-wracking. So, just getting our
8:42
footing and
8:43
um we're all really excited for this
8:45
game too. You can feel the energy before
8:46
the game and
8:47
um yeah, just really excited for the
8:49
season.
8:51
>> They had to wait, right? I mean so not
8:52
only did they wait 30 days, but then
8:54
they had a wait an extra day
8:55
unfortunately for Fairfield. But but
8:58
again I I
8:59
a really really classy group. I I I
9:01
can't say that enough the class of of
9:02
the Fairfield staff and was uh
9:05
um I have a lot of admiration after our
9:07
our first time playing against them. So,
9:09
I really wish them the best.
9:12
>> Can you how much can you take away from
9:14
a a game like this against a non-power
9:16
14? Obviously impressive, but is it is
9:19
there a risk of
9:20
taking too much away from that?
9:22
>> No. No, I mean I think there's not a
9:24
no different than a practice, you know,
9:26
we take away
9:27
um the positives and not necessarily the
9:29
negatives, but the areas we got to
9:30
improve on whether it's in training or
9:31
whether it's in the game. That would be
9:33
disrespectful to Fairfield. Fairfield is
9:35
a winning team a winning culture for the
9:37
last seven seven years. So,
9:40
you know, they're going to have a lot of
9:42
wins and when you have a winning
9:43
culture, that's a challenge in its own
9:45
right cuz they had to believe they
9:46
didn't sit back. Um and ultimately all
9:49
the teams in the country are are playing
9:51
against different opponents. Our our
9:53
schedule is
9:54
you know, at the top um as far as uh
9:57
the uh RPI goes for sure. Uh if you look
10:00
at it from ACC on and we don't take any
10:03
team lightly. We came in with the most
10:04
respect for Fairfield and and um we talk
10:07
about that no different than in
10:08
training. So, this game is extremely
10:10
valuable for so many different reasons.
10:12
Again, I don't know how many I mean, I
10:14
would actually should have said Summer
10:15
and and Lil, this is really their first
10:17
cap with us as well. So, we probably had
10:20
I don't know, eight people that have
10:21
their first time on the field for
10:23
University of North Carolina. So, the
10:25
value of this game is significant and um
10:28
if I was going to say anything other
10:29
than that, it'd be disrespectful to
10:31
Fairfield. So, for me they're going to
10:33
help us get better.
10:34
>> What did you see from Payton? Obviously,
10:35
she didn't get a lot of big load to to
10:37
deal with.
10:39
>> Yeah, I mean, you look at a young player
10:41
to have that much confidence in her. You
10:43
could just see like she she um
10:45
she wants to be in that moment. Her
10:47
distribution was phenomenal with her
10:49
feet, her range, her decep- when you
10:51
watch her her deception to be able to
10:53
freeze people and then be able to ping a
10:54
ball 30-40 yards is pretty remarkable
10:56
for a young player. And today that was
10:58
what that's what was demanded of her. Uh
11:00
and then and then and then eventually
11:02
her voice will be there to be, you know,
11:03
better in organization to make sure that
11:05
the players in front are in their our
11:07
rest defense that she's owning that and
11:10
and I know that she'll she'll take care
11:11
of that. So, yeah, it's a pretty cool
11:12
moment for her.
11:15
>> Good.
11:15
>> Yeah, I'm good.
11:16
>> Okay.
11:17
Thank you, guys.
11:18
>> Thank you.
11:18
>> Yeah, you're good.
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