Hope Munson Took Holladay to a World Cup. The Olympus Grad Set Up Two Goals for the U.S. in Poland

Hope Munson, a defender from Holladay, Utah, started for the United States in a 9-0 win over New Zealand at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Sosnowiec, Poland, on Sept. 12, 2026, and set up two goals: Alex Buck's in the fourth minute and Linda Ullmark's in the 43rd, U.S. Soccer reported. The result was the most goals a U.S. team has scored in the tournament's history, by U.S. Soccer's account.

Concacaf, covering the match, said Munson was "the first defender to provide two assists in a single match at this edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup." U.S. Soccer added that she played a big part in two more of the goals.

Into the U.S. youth program

U.S. Soccer named her to its 21-player roster for the World Cup in August 2026, listing her with UNC, Holladay and six U-20 caps. U.S. Soccer's announcement of head coach Vicky Jepson's roster noted that she had made the ACC All-Freshman team at North Carolina in 2025, "playing almost 1,800 minutes."

Her path to that roster ran through a U.S. U-19 team at the L'Albir tournament in Spain in February 2025, UNC reported, and three U-20 camps in 2026: in Chula Vista, California, in February and March, in Kansas City in April, with two matches against Brazil, and in Spain in June, with two matches against France.

In Poland she was an unused substitute in the 2-1 opening loss to Italy and came on in the 84th minute of a 2-2 draw with Japan before her first start against New Zealand. The United States advanced as one of the best third-place teams and met Brazil in the round of 16 on Sept. 16 in Katowice. Munson started, sent in a cross for Ullmark in the 23rd minute and won the ball with a hard tackle in the 80th to cross for Sealey Strawn, U.S. Soccer reported. The match ended 1-1, and Brazil won the shootout 5-4.

Holladay and Olympus

UNC and U.S. Soccer print her hometown as Holladay. At Olympus High School she scored 50 goals with 29 assists, was a three-time all-state pick and two-year captain, and won the 2024 state title, where she was named the 5A State MVP, UNC's biography says.

The Deseret News named her its 2024 Ms. Soccer, the 18th winner of the award, and reported that she set a school record with 25 goals and 15 assists as a senior. In the 5A final against Brighton, which was scoreless through 100 minutes, she converted her penalty in the shootout. The paper also reported that she was invited to train with the NWSL's Utah Royals a dozen times that year.

She played her club soccer for Utah Avalanche ECNL, where she was a three-time ECNL Northwest first-team all-conference pick, UNC says.

She told the Deseret News what she wanted to do with the game. "My big thing is making a big impact on other people, like younger girls, especially from Utah. I feel like it's hard for girls to get out of Utah," she said.

"Hopefully in 10 years I'll be playing pro somewhere, hopefully on the full national team, and making big impact on little girls' lives," she added.

North Carolina

Munson graduated from Olympus early and enrolled at North Carolina as a mid-year student in 2025, UNC reported. "It just feels like home, and I've always wanted to play for the best of the best," she says in her UNC biography.

As a freshman in 2025 she started all 20 games she played, logged 1,721 minutes and recorded three assists, two of them in a win over Syracuse, and made the ACC All-Freshman team.

She has added goals as a sophomore. She scored twice against Fairfield on Aug. 13, 2026, the first goals of her college career, and had a goal and two assists against Quinnipiac three days later, UNC reported. On Oct. 15 at Clemson she scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for the top-ranked Tar Heels, and on Oct. 29 against SMU she scored in a 2-0 win and led the team with seven shots. Through that game she had five goals and two assists in 11 matches, UNC's statistics show. One of her UNC teammates, Bella Devey of Draper, played with her at Utah Avalanche, UNC notes.

Next

North Carolina, 14-2 after the SMU game, closes its regular season at Louisville on Nov. 5, 2026, before the postseason, UNC reported.

She is one of the Utah natives followed on the homegrown Utah athletes hub.

Key facts:

• Athlete: Hope Munson, defender, North Carolina; U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team
• Hometown: Holladay, Utah; Olympus High School; Utah Avalanche ECNL
• World Cup: 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Poland; two assists in a 9-0 win over New Zealand
• First: the first defender at that edition to provide two assists in a match, per Concacaf
• U-20 caps: six before the World Cup, per U.S. Soccer's roster
• High school: 2024 state champion and 5A State MVP; 2024 Deseret News Ms. Soccer
• College: 2025 ACC All-Freshman Team; five goals in 2026 through Oct. 29
• Next: North Carolina at Louisville, Nov. 5, 2026