100 shots with her left foot. 100 shots with her right foot.

As a kid, this was Bella Sember’s morning routine before school. Sember and her mom would stop by her school’s tennis court which was home to a backboard wall.

“At first your parents kind of were like you have to do this if you want to get better. So, like obviously here no one's telling me to get up and go do extra fitness, but I know for myself that fitness is something I need to work on,” said Sember.

Bella Sember is now a junior student-athlete competing for the UNC-Chapel Hill Women’s Soccer team.

“We identified Bella in an I.D. camp. She ripped it up. It was a no-brainer, we wanted her from day one.” Shared UNC Head Coach Anson Dorrance.

Compared to the other recruits at the camp, Bella seemed to easily be the best on the pitch. During competition, Sember proved to be very technically savvy, at a level Coach Dorrance admired. She also proved her aggressiveness, creating and forcing plays rather than sitting back and letting the play come to her.

While competing at this I.D. camp, Sember quickly realized she could compete at the next level.

“The girls on the team back then would jump in with us, and I remember being able to play with them and hold my own,” said Sember.

“So, I think that was the moment where I was like, this might be something that I want to do in the future.” She continued.

The Tar Heels not only wanted Sember, but Sember wanted to be a Tar Heel. A dream she picked up from her mother and early morning training.

Sember’s mother, Dana Porciello, was also a soccer player. She grew up playing all through high school but was unable to compete at the colligate level.

Luckily, Porciello was able to instill strong practice ethics into Sember, helping push her into the college soccer world. Sember and her mother created a strong, special bond during their early morning training on Sember’s school’s tennis court in Long Island, N.Y.

“I definitely remember that was such a bonding point for me and my mom, because she was so into soccer, and she always dreamed of being a Tar Heel.” Sember shared.

Now that Sember is a part of the UNC program, she has fulfilled a dream her mom once had. A dream and love for the game carried on from generation to generation. And Sember is very fortunate to have found that spark at such a young age. With the credit going to Porciello and her father.

Sember’s father, Paul Sember, was also a varsity letterman in soccer during his high school tenure. Like Porciello, he did not compete at the college level.

Sember family outings during her younger childhood years involved the pitch. Both of her parents played in competitive soccer leagues.

Sember is the oldest of four siblings, two younger sisters, Ruby, 20, and Delilah, 16, with their youngest sibling being their only brother, William, 12.

Her parents played competitive soccer until her third sister, Delilah, was born. They would drive the whole Sember family to their soccer match, then either pick up food on the way home or eat a pack-out dinner on the car ride home.

“All of my siblings were involved, all four of us played. All four are still playing. So, it was just kind of the love that just translated from them to us,” spoke Sember.

So far, finding playing time for Sember at UNC has been a great climb. Her freshman year she played in 12 matches, sophomore year in 20 matches, then this past season she played in all 23. She is still yet to start a match, though.

Even without starting a match, Sember made a major impact in multiple NCAA Women’s College Cup matches this past post-season.

In the first round, the Tar Heels were facing an early 1-0 deficit to Towson at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, N.C. In the 43rd minute, Sember scored the equalizer off an assist from senior Talia Dellaperuta. UNC went on to win the match 3-1, an effort sparked by Sember’s goal.

UNC defeated Alabama in the second round, and moved on to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech. The third-round matchup was defined by defense and goaltending, as the Red Raiders had one of the best goalkeepers in the country in Madison White. In the 71st minute, UNC forward Ally Sentnor found herself with the ball at her feet inside the Red Raiders’ 18-yard box. She centered the ball, where Sember controlled the ball at the top of the box, played her left foot, and banged an upper-right-corner laser to score the game’s only goal. Giving UNC the 1-0 win.

“When it was happening, it just felt like I was supposed to be doing that,” Sember shared, “I just remember everything lining up.”

As Sember prepares for her senior season, she is one of the most technically gifted players on the team. The team consistently tests their players’ technical abilities throughout practices. After each practice the players receive an email detailing each player’s ranking in each drill or skill touched on during practice.

“We just finished technical testing. My guess is she finished number one in technical testing, but every single year, she's one, two, or three in technical testing where we're testing trapping, passing, shooting, dribbling, and heading.” Shared Coach Anson Dorrance.

Coach Dorrance did mention, though, that Sember must work on her fitness if she wants to become an even better player, a weakness Sember understands.

Outside of practice, Sember puts in extra work to improve her fitness. This takes the form of many different running-focused workouts, including timed sets of multiple 120-yard sprints.

Her teammates voted Sember as the spring captain of the team, a recognition which surprised Sember. She had faced adversity over the past three years, as she hadn’t received the playing time or opportunities she had wanted but recognizes these moments as a part of her leadership.

“I had every opportunity to just kind of give up and be like, ‘this isn't the place for me,’ or ‘just kind of settled into the background.’” Said Sember. “I was able to kind of pick myself back up when nobody even knew and get myself to where I wanted to be. And I'm still not there yet. But I have one more season.”

Her teammates would describe her as a good listener, as someone who is always there for her teammates. Coach Dorrance sees the same thing, describing her as “a sweet, thoughtful, and warm human being.”

She learned from her parents about the work needed to get the team where they want to be, and hopefully it will translate into a fall captaincy for Sember. Her focus, now, is on separating the love for her teammates and how much she wants her team to do well, because sometimes you must have tough conversations as a captain.

Coach Dorrance is hopeful and “would love for (Sember) to be one of my 10s.” This would fit her well as she can play behind two forwards and the midfielders behind her could pick up defensive responsibilities. This would allow her to utilize her technical skills and strong shot to the best of her abilities.

Coach Dorrance even stated, “If she has the kind of season that I think she can have, she will get drafted.”

Sember has the chance to not only lead but to excel in the sport. To get there, she and Coach Dorrance understand what she needs to do.

It is no longer 100 shots with her left and 100 with her right every morning with the support of her mom, it is fitness every day on her own.