With investment and interest in women’s soccer on the rise, there’s never been a better time to get into the game. If you’re keen to know which are the best colleges for women’s soccer in 2025, you’re in the right place! Let’s dive in!
There are many good reasons why you would want to play college soccer in the United States, especially the chance to combine developing as a player with getting a university degree. If you’re looking to forge a career in the college game, it can be difficult to choose a team: there are no less than 351 women’s soccer teams in NCAA Division I alone, across 32 conferences.
There are many factors to consider in choosing a team, some of which you as a player can affect more than others. Your style as a player will suit some coaches’ systems better than others, and some programs might offer you better scholarships than others. In DI women’s soccer, there are 14 scholarships for each team, with the average roster size being 28. This means some colleges might offer you a full-ride scholarship, while others might offer only partial financial aid.
In this article, we’ve looked at the best of the best. Here we list the true powerhouses of women’s college soccer, the schools that routinely make it to the NCAA tournament and fight for the College Cup. Check it out and maybe you’ll find the college for you!
North Carolina Tar Heels
The absolute powerhouse of women’s college soccer, the team from the University of North Carolina (UNC) has been in every single NCAA tournament since the tournament was founded in 1982. They’ve won more than half the tournaments, claiming 23 out of a possible 44 national championships. To put that into perspective, no other team has won more than four.
This amount of success has also brought a lot of popularity and following to the team. The Tar Heels are currently coached by the legendary Damon Nahas, who won the national championship in his first year in charge. Notable former players include Mia Hamm, one of the greatest women’s soccer players of all time; US national team player Tobin Heath; England internationals Lucy Bronze and Alessia Russo; and current England manager Sarina Wiegman.
Applying to the university? Check out our range of UNC student housing.
Florida State Seminoles
Florida State Seminoles are a reasonably new addition to the women’s college soccer landscape, as the team was only founded in 1995. The first few years were difficult, but they’ve been a powerhouse in the 21st century. They’ve made every NCAA tournament since 2000 and have won the national championship four times, with all wins coming since 2013.
Many notable players have worn a Seminoles shirt. Former Seminole player Heather Payne was in the Ireland squad for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and started their opening game against Australia. Mama Yamaguchi and Jaelin Howell have won the Hermann Trophy for the best college soccer player of the year, with Dagný Brynjarsdóttir and Jenna Nighswonger finishing runners-up. Natalia Kuikka and Jaelin Howell have won the Honda Sports Award.
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UCLA Bruins
Recent national champions UCLA Bruins have made the NCAA tournament every year since 1997, except 2015. They’ve brought the national title back to Los Angeles twice, in 2013 and 2022. Recently they’ve invested more in the soccer team, moving to the soccer-specific Wallis Annenberg Stadium in 2018. They’re well followed too, with some of their games attracting crowds of more than 2,000 people.
2023’s title-winning team included star players such as Nicaragua international Jackie Gilday. Notable former players include Ashley Sanchez, who was in the World Cup squad for the USA, as well as Lauren Holiday, Sydney Leroux, Mallory Swanson (née Pugh), Abby Dahlkemper and Sam Mewis, all of whom have played more than 70 games for the US national team.
Like the sound of this college? Explore our range of UCLA housing.
Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils women’s soccer team was founded in 1988. Showing admirable consistency, they’ve only had three head coaches since then. The Blue Devils have never won a national championship, but have finished as runners-up three times. They’ve been consistently good in the last few years, having made the quarterfinals in the last three NCAA tournaments.
Michelle Cooper won the Hermann Trophy playing for Duke in 2023. Other notable former players include international footballers Imani Dorsey (USA), Toni Payne (Nigeria) and Natasha Anasi (Iceland).
Applying to the university? Discover our Duke University off-campus housing.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
One of the leading women’s soccer programs in the Great Lakes region, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have missed the NCAA tournament only twice since 1993. They’ve been to eight national championship games (second-most behind only North Carolina) and won the trophy three times. They’ve made some steady progress in the last five seasons under head coach Nate Norman, reaching the NCAA tournament quarterfinals in 2023, their best performance since the title-winning season of 2010.
Previous players include Hermann Trophy finalist Korbin Albert, who has since turned professional with Paris Saint-Germain, and Jamaican international Kiki Van Zanten. Notable former players include Hermann Trophy winners Cindy Daws, Anne Mäkinen and Kerri Hanks, who won the Hermann Trophy twice. Another former Fighting Irish player is US international Kelly Lindsey, who has managed the national teams of Afghanistan and Morocco since retiring as a player.
Thinking about applying? Check out our Notre Dame off-campus housing.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Penn State Women’s Club Soccer was created in 1977, but getting varsity status was quite a challenge. The club was so successful that it got national recognition and even made some international tours, but was denied varsity status by Penn State University twice in 1980 and 1981. The club had to file a Title IX complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, and was only given varsity status in 1994 when the Big Ten Conference more or less ordered the university to do so.
Since then they’ve not looked back, winning the Big Ten regular season title 20 times, the Big Ten tournament nine times, making the NCAA tournament every year since 1995 and winning the national championship in 2015. The team has been coached by Erica Dambach since 2007, and has made it at least to the sweet sixteen of the NCAA tournament on most occasions in recent seasons.
The Nittany Lions play their home games at Jeffrey Field, an impressive, soccer-specific stadium with capacity for 5,000 spectators. The Penn State teams even have their own supporters’ group, the Park Avenue Army. Notable former players include Hermann Trophy winners Christie Welsh and Raquel Rodríguez (who plays for Costa Rica in the World Cup), and former World Cup winners Alyssa Naeher, Ali Krieger and Allie Long. Of this trio, Naeher was in the USA squad for the 2023 World Cup.
Looking for a student apartment? Explore our selection of Penn State off-campus housing.
Virginia Cavaliers
Despite having never won the NCAA tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers have only missed the tournament once since 1987, and have been to every tournament since 1994. They’ve made at least the sweet sixteen stage of the tournament every year but one since 2005. In 2022, tournament they made the quarterfinals until they were beaten by eventual champions UCLA in extra time. The Cavaliers have been coached by Steve Swanson since 2000.
Notable former Cavaliers include two-time Hermann Trophy winner and two-time World Cup winner Morgan Gautrat (née Brian), two-time World Cup winner and Olympic champion Becky Sauerbrunn, who has played more than 200 games for the US national team, and World Cup winner Emily Sonnett, who is in the US squad in the current World Cup.
Making the move to Charlottesville? Browse our UVA off-campus housing.
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford University is not just a powerhouse in women’s soccer, it’s also one of the best universities you’ll find. Ranked as the sixth-best university in the world in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, combining soccer and a world-class education is easy if you go to Stanford. The soccer is top quality too, with the Cardinal having missed the NCAA tournament only twice since 1990. The team has won three NCAA championships, all of them in the 2010s.
One of the Cardinal’s current star players is Amy Sayer who’s played internationally for Australia. No less than five Stanford players have won a combined six Hermann Trophies: Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press, Teresa Loyola, Andi Sullivan, and Catarina Macario, who won it twice. Of these, O’Hara and Sullivan are in the USA squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and O’Hara and Press have previously won a World Cup, with Macario winning a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
BYU Cougars
BYU Cougars are another team that started life as a club team before being given varsity status by Brigham Young University in 1995. Former player Jennifer Rockwood started coaching the club team in 1989 and has been the head coach ever since. The team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1997 and has since missed it only three times, with their best result coming in 2021 when they finished as runners-up.
The Cougars are a very popular team in their community, garnering one of the highest average attendances in NCAA women’s soccer, Brigham Young is a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) university, and many of its players follow the religion. These include Washington Spirit and US international player Ashley Hatch, Portland Thorns pro Michele Vasconcelos and Aleisha Cramer, a very promising former US international who quit the game at the age of 20 because she didn’t want to play on Sundays. You don’t have to be a Mormon to play for BYU though, as for example Portuguese international Nádia Gomes used to play for the Cougars.
Santa Clara Broncos
Santa Clara University is a smaller, less well-known university than most on this list. With a suburban campus in Santa Clara, California, it has less than 10,000 students. In women’s soccer, though, it’s a big deal though. The Santa Clara Broncos have missed the NCAA tournament only twice since 1989. They’ve won the national championship twice, last in 2020. The team has been coached by Jerry Smith since 1987.
The Broncos have a whole host of notable former players. Two former Broncos, Aly Wagner and Mandy Clemens, have won the Hermann Trophy. Wagner later went on to win two Olympic gold medals as well. Team USA had two Broncos alumni in the 2023 World Cup squad, Julie Ertz and Sofia Huerta. Brandi Chastain, whose penalty kick won USA the World Cup in 1999, is also a former Bronco.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Really? Soccer in Alabama? Believe it or not, some exciting things in the world of soccer are going on at the traditional college football powerhouse. The Crimson Tide have made the NCAA tournament only five times in their history, but have now been there twice in a row, including a semifinal appearance last year. Former MLS professional Wes Hart has been the head coach at Alabama since 2015, and has been achieving some promising results.
Time will tell how good the Crimson Tide are going to get in the next few years, but the achievements so far can’t be argued with. In recent years, Reyna Reyes (Portland Thorns), Riley Parker (Racing Louisville) and Riley Tanner (Washington Spirit) all turned professional. Celia Jímenez played for Spain in the 2015 World Cup while she was a Crimson Tide player, and currently plays professionally for Orlando Pride.
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Conclusion
There are a huge number of great college soccer programs across the US. What is the perfect program for one player, might not suit at all to somebody else. When choosing a team, you have to think about the team’s playing style, current roster and coaching staff, but also what majors you can study there and what kind of scholarship they’re offering.
At the end of the day, it’s impossible to say what women’s college soccer program is the best, because each situation is unique. In this article, we’ve listed some great programs, but ultimately, only you and the people close to you know what works best for your situation.
Wherever you end up, you’re going to need to find some student housing. For that you’ve come to the right place, because Student.com offers hundreds of student housing options in dozens of cities across the United States.
