Two early goals at Virginia brought North Carolina’s sophomore another weekly honor—and a useful sequence for developing forwards to study.

- Between goals
- 26 sec
- Season goals
- 12
- Weekly awards
- 2
North Carolina at Virginia, September 25
UNC’s September 29 announcement
ACC Offensive Player of the Week in 2026
Two finishes, 26 seconds apart
Bella Devey needed just 26 seconds between goals to leave her mark on North Carolina’s latest ACC win. The sophomore forward scored twice in the opening 10 minutes of the Tar Heels’ 3–1 victory at Virginia on September 25, then received ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 29.
It was Devey’s second weekly offensive award this season. At the time of its announcement, North Carolina listed her with 12 goals, ranking third nationally and second in the conference. Her second finish against Virginia became her fourth game-winning goal of the year.
Different routes to goal
The two goals came from different situations. Virginia’s match report describes the opener developing after a turnover near midfield, with Lilliah Blum supplying the assist. After the restart, Bella Gaetino’s long ball sent Devey behind the defense for another finishing opportunity. Summer Denigan added a penalty before Virginia answered with a second-half spot kick.
North Carolina finished the night 10–1 overall and 3–0 in ACC play. For Devey, it was her third two-goal game of the season.
AthleMix takeaway
This match sequence gives young forwards two questions to investigate: how did the attacker find space during a transition, and how did she time the next run against a resetting defense?
If you can access the match footage, watch the actions before each finish. Track the starting position, the passer’s options and the defender’s movement. The lesson to test in training is how quickly you recognize a new opportunity immediately after the previous play ends.
Behind the story
Sources & further reading
Original AthleMix writing based on the linked reporting. Editorial analysis appears under “AthleMix takeaway.”




























