Carlos Somoano

Biography

Carlos Somoano enters his 16th year at the helm of the North Carolina men’s soccer program in 2026. He holds a career record of 185-68-55 and a 67-31-28 mark in ACC play. Somoano's 185 victories rank second all-time at Carolina and his 67 ACC wins are the most for a head coach in program history. He has guided 14 of his 15 squads to NCAA postseason play and seven of those teams have reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals. Somoano reached the summit of collegiate soccer when he led the Tar Heels to the 2011 NCAA title, becoming just the second rookie head coach in NCAA history to win a National Championship. He returned to the College Cup with his Tar Heel squad in 2016, 2017 and 2020. In 2020, he led Carolina on an improbable run to its fourth College Cup under his tutelage. Entering the NCAA Tournament unseeded, UNC advanced past Charlotte on penalty kicks in the first round, then upset fourth-seeded Stanford and fifth-seeded Wake Forest to reach the national semifinal. Carolina lost, 1-0, in the semis to eventual NCAA champion Marshall and finished the year with a 9-5-4 record. Coaching History Somoano was named the 2011 National Coach of the Year by Soccer America as the Tar Heels posted a 21-2-3 mark en route to the national title. The Tar Heels became only the second team in Atlantic Coast Conference history to claim the treble in a single year by winning the ACC regular season title, the ACC Championship crown and the National Championship in 2011. In addition to his n