ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The best player in college soccer is none other than North Carolina’s own Kate Faasse.
Faasse was named the winner of the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy, the most coveted honor in NCAA Division I soccer. She was presented the award during a banquet on Jan. 3, 2025, at the historic Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The MAC Hermann Trophy, a 10-pound crystal soccer ball awarded annually since 1967, honors the United Soccer Coaches National Players of the Year in NCAA DI men’s and women’s soccer based on voting conducted by member coaches.
Carolina now has eight players who have won a combined 10 Hermann Trophies, the most by any school.
Faasse, a junior forward, finds herself among an elite group of Tar Heels who have won the honor. Past winners include UNC and USWNT legends Shannon Higgins (1989), Kristine Lilly (1991), Mia Hamm (1992, 1993), Tisha Venturini (1994), Cindy Parlow (1997, 1998), Catherine Reddick (2003) and Crystal Dunn (2012).
Faasse was the first Tar Heel to be a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist since Brianna Pinto in 2020. She is the 20th player in program history to be named a finalist at least once in their career, and the first to win since Dunn in 2012.
This year’s three women’s Hermann finalists all hailed from the Atlantic Coast Conference, as the runners-up were Duke’s Maggie Graham and Wake Forest’s Caiya Hanks. It marks the second time in three seasons all three finalists were from the ACC.
An ACC student-athlete has now won the Hermann Trophy the last five seasons, while current membership has won the annual award for eight straight years dating back to 2017. Overall, ACC players have won 17 Hermann Trophies, with current membership claiming 27 awards.
No stranger to accolades this year, Faasse was tabbed TopDrawer Soccer Player of the Year, United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team, United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region First Team, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Tournament Team and TopDrawer Soccer Best XI First Team.
Faasse was also selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2024-25 Honda Sport Award for Women’s Soccer, presented annually by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards to “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.”
A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Faasse had four goals and three assists during the NCAA Tournament to help North Carolina earn its 23rd national championship and first since 2012. She netted the game-winner in the quarterfinals and semifinals while dishing out the game-winning assist in the third round.
After her tally in the College Cup semifinals, Faasse became the nation’s outright leading scorer with 20 goals. Her 44 points sit atop ACC standings and is tied for second in the country. She also recorded an NCAA-leading eight game-winning goals.
Her 44 points and 20 goals are the most by a Tar Heel in a single season since Casey Nogueria had 58 and 25, respectively, in 2008. She is the eighth Carolina player to record 40+ points in one year since the turn of the century. She also became the fourth player nationally to win an NCAA title while leading the country in goals since 2000.
Three of Faasse’s five braces on the year came during the postseason. She is the first UNC player to have three-plus braces in one season since Alessia Russo had five in 2019. In fact, only three Tar Heels have had three-plus braces in a single season in the last decade: Faasse (five, 2024), Russo (five, 2019) and Bridgette Andrzejewski (four, 2016).
Faasse surpassed her point total from her freshman (six) and sophomore (seven) season combined just 10 games into her breakout 2024 campaign. She started all 27 games this past season and led all field players with 2,300 minutes.
