UNC Women’s Soccer: Meza named ACC Defensive Player of Week

UNC Women’s Soccer senior Sam Meza was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the second Tar Heel to earn the award in 2023.

The UNC women’s soccer program is known as a dynasty across the sport of collegiate soccer. That is shown weekly and annually with awards and championships. The Tar Heels have started the 2023 season 2-0-2 and, with that, have had impressive defensive showings, holding two opponents to zero goals.

Sam Meza, senior midfielder, was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week award on August 29th, becoming the second Tar Heel to earn the award this year, following up Savy King in week one. Meza’s defensive effort against No. 24 USC on Sunday propelled Carolina to a 4-0 victory.

While Meza has been a force for the Tar Heels during her career, being named to multiple All-ACC teams, this is only the second time in her career that she has earned a Defensive Player of the Week award. During the 2023 preseason, Meza earned a spot on the Hermann Trophy Award Watch List and was one of three Tar Heels named to the preseason All-ACC Team.

Carolina will look for more of the same from Meza for the rest of the season, as they have one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Tar Heels will host in-state opponent Gardner-Webb on Thursday at 7:00 PM before getting into the heart of non-conference play, starting with No. 10 Arkansas on Sunday in Chapel Hill.

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on X (formerly Twitter) and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC Women’s Soccer news, updates, and recruiting.