Meza, Bell, and Dellaperuta were tabbed 19th, 21st, and 76th, respectively, in the preseason rankings.
Earlier this week Meza was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI second team, while Bell received third-team honors.
An All-ACC performer in each of the past two seasons, Meza earned preseason all-conference honors this year after playing 975 minutes in 16 games a year ago. She scored two goals as a sophomore in 2021, including the golden goal in the Tar Heels’ 1-0 overtime win against Arkansas.
Bell, a second-team All-America player, started all 17 games that she played and logged more than 1,400 minutes. She anchored the Tar Heels’ defensive unit that posted seven shutouts, while scoring a pair of goals, including the game-winner against Stanford.
Dellaperuta played in just eight games last season due to injury but was called up to the US Women’s Youth Under-20 National Team over the summer. She led the United States to the 2022 CONCACAF U20 Championship and became the first US Youth National Team player to win four youth titles.
Her younger sister, Tori, was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Best XI Freshman Team. Named the 2021 National High School Player of the Year, she played with Pomigliano CF of Serie A, Italy’s highest soccer classification, over the summer and scored four goals.
UNC returns 24 letterwinners in 2022, including 2021 All-ACC freshman team performers Emily Colton and Emily Murphy along with the all-conference returnees Bell and Meza.
The 10th-ranked Tar Heels open their 2022 season on Thursday, Aug. 18, against No. 11 Tennessee at 7 p.m. at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill.