Tessa Dellarose

Tessa Dellarose (born April 2, 2004) is an American college soccer player who plays as a defender for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the United States national under-20 team.

Early life
Dellarose was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Melinda and Ron Dellarose, and has two older siblings. Her father played college baseball at Duquesne. She was raised in Grindstone, Pennsylvania.

Dellarose played three seasons of high school soccer for Brownsville High School, where she captained the team and set a school record with 108 career goals. She committed to the University of North Carolina as a sophomore in August 2019. She sat out her senior high school season to play with her club squad, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds's academy team, and the youth national team. She played for Racing Louisville of the amateur USL W League in the summer of 2022 and returned in 2024.

College career
Dellarose began playing as a left back for the North Carolina Tar Heels in the fall of 2022. On her first day of preseason training, she set a team record in the beep test (multi-stage fitness test) by reaching level 57, a mark she surpassed the next year at 63. She started almost every game as a freshman, receiving All-ACC third team and ACC All-Freshman honors, and helped North Carolina reach the 2022 NCAA championship game. She appeared in every game as a sophomore and started three.

International career
Dellarose was called into training camp with the United States national under-16 team in 2020 and the under-20 team the following year. She appeared in all five games at the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, where the United States finished runners-up.