Soccer Preview: Arkansas vs. #7 North Carolina

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas soccer (0-1-1) will host No. 7 North Carolina (2-0-0) on Thursday, August 20 at Razorback Field.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the matchup will be streamed live on ESPNU with Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play) and Kacey White (analyst) on the call.

ON THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina opened the 2026 season with multi-goal shutouts over Fairfield (4-0) and Quinnipiac (8-0) and moved up one spot in the rankings to No. 7 after week one. The Tar Heels are home to five TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Top 100 players, including No. 35 Bella Devey, the week one ACC Player of the Week after she scored five goals in the first two matches. North Carolina is in year three under head coach Damon Nahas, who replaced legend Anson Dorrance in December of 2024. In his first season, Nahas and the Tar Heels won the 2024 national championship, their 23rd all-time.

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas picked up its first result of the season on Sunday (Aug. 16) at Loyola Maryland, a 1-1 draw. The Hogs’ goal came on a 29th-minute penalty kick taken by 5th-year midfielder Zoe Susi. She improved to 3-3 from the spot as a Razorback. The Greyhounds equalized in the 55th minute on a olimpico. The Hogs were outfouled 14-7, a rarity, and did not convert on the many set pieces around the 18-yard box in the final 25 minutes. Arkansas outshot Loyola, 16-3, and forced five saves. Susi led the Razorbacks with four shots, two on frame, and scored her ninth collegiate goal.

TOUGH SCHEDULE

As of this week’s poll, Arkansas will play five ranked teams: No. 7 North Carolina, No. 16 Tennessee, No. 18 Alabama No. 24 Clemson and No. 25 Georgia. All three Power-4 non-conference opponents appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, with Clemson finishing in the second round and UNC and Baylor making it to the Sweet 16. ¬ In total, eight of Arkansas’ 2026 opponents appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament: UNC, Baylor, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Kentucky.

KEEPING IT FRIENDLY

The Razorbacks played two preseason exhibitions prior to the first week of games against Kansas City and No. 21 Memphis. Arkansas defeated the Roos, 3-0, and lost to Memphis on the road, 2-0. Returning sophomore Vailana Tu’ua scored a four-minute brace followed by a header from senior Bella Field five minutes later. Arkansas played five matches in the spring and outscored opponents 15-1, including a 2-0 win on the road at TCU, a team who went to the College Cup in 2025. Aniyah Nurse-Whyte led the squad with three goals, followed by Zoe Susi, Natalie Wagner, Vailana Tu’ua and Lauren Van Rhein with two.

HIGH ON THE HOGS

Arkansas entered the first week of matches ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason top 25. The Hogs received the No. 18 ranking in TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason top 25 and were predicted to finish second in the SEC by the league’s head coaches. Prior to this week, Arkansas had been ranked in every United Soccer Coaches poll since September 13, 2022, 205 weeks ago. In 2024, the Hogs received their first No. 1 ranking in program history and the first for an SEC team since 1998.

SOLID SIGNEES

Arkansas’ 2026 recruiting class finished at No. 30 in TopDrawerSoccer’s combined recruiting class rankings. 2025’s 19th-ranked class was the only time Colby Hale has signed a top 25 class since his tenure began at Arkansas in 2012. Multiple players ranked in the IMG Academy National Top 200: #108 MacKenzie Gwin (#18 in Southern California, #42 Forward), #157 Ivy Harding (#14 in Rocky Mountains & Southwest, #56 Midfielder) and #181 Lauren Van Rhein (#9 in Heartland, #61 Forward).

KEEPER KEEGAN

Arkansas junior goalkeeper Keegan Smith has quickly cemented herself as one of the program’s best after just one season between the pipes. In her debut season in 2024, Smith tied former Razorback Grace Barbara (2022) for the single-season shutout record (11) and finished with the second-lowest goals-against average (.62) behind former Hog and current Racing Louisville FC keeper Katie Lund (.48, 2019). The Bath, New York native shut out seven of Arkansas’ 10 SEC regular season opponents and two of three NCAA Tournament opponents (Oklahoma State and Cal) to lead the Razorbacks back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. She allowed just six goals at Razorback Field to help the Hogs to an unbeaten home record of 11-0-2. Keegan was the first freshman goalkeeper in program history to receive All-SEC honors. She finished the 2024 season ranked the No. 3 freshman in the nation and was placed on the Best XI Freshman Team by TopDrawerSoccer. During the offseason, Smith was called up to the U-19 U.S. Women’s National Team training camp in Spain in February of 2025. She was called up a second time in June of 2025, this time for the U-18/19 U.S. YNT combined training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia. Smith picked up her first shutout of 2025 in the 2-0 win over Georgia Southern on August 24. Smith added another clean sheet, her 13th overall, on September 2 at BYU. She tied her career high with 9 saves, including several highlight-reel saves that garnered attention on social media. Smith missed 11 games due to a hip flexor muscle issue and made her return on Nov. 14 for the NCAA Tournament opener against Dartmouth. She recorded three saves and her 14th career shutout. She started in Arkansas’ second round game against 4-seed Washington, a 1-0 loss.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Arkansas is unbeaten in 52 of its last 55 matches at Razorback Field, dating back to 2021. The Hogs have gone 47-3-5 at Razorback Field since beating No. 25 BYU on Aug. 30, 2021. Arkansas is also unbeaten in its last 26 SEC home matches, dating back to 2020. The three losses came on November 17, 2023 against Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on Aug. 14, 2025 against No. 13 Iowa and on Aug. 28 against No. 3 Duke. The Razorbacks have outscored opponents 194-43 at Razorback Field during this stretch.

FAMILIAR POSITION

This year’s ranking marks the seventh straight season Arkansas has been placed inside the top two of the preseason poll. 1. Vanderbilt 2. Arkansas 3. Georgia 4. LSU 4. Tennessee 6. South Carolina 7. Texas 8. Florida 9. Alabama 10. Oklahoma 11. Auburn 12. Texas A&M 13. Kentucky 13. Mississippi State 15. Ole Miss 16. Missouri.

For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on social media.