Mia Oliaro


Mia Katherine Oliaro is an American college soccer player who plays as a midfielder or wingback for the Duke Blue Devils. She previously played for the North Carolina Tar Heels. She has represented the United States at the youth international level.

Early life

Oliaro was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Scott and Jeri Oliaro, and has a younger brother. Her father, the associate director of sports medicine at the University of North Carolina, played college football at Cornell, and her mother played basketball at American. Oliaro began playing soccer at the YMCA at about age three. She also played other sports growing up, such as lacrosse, basketball, and swimming, in which she won a state championship at age ten. She played soccer two age groups up for Triangle United, where she was coached by her future Duke assistant coach Carla Overbeck.
Oliaro joined the North Carolina Courage Academy while attending Chapel Hill High School, twice receiving ECNL first-team all-conference honors. The summer before college, she played for the North Carolina Courage U23 in the 2023 USL W League season. Oliaro contributed five goals and a team-high six assists as the Courage went undefeated in the regular season and reached the national final, in which she assisted an equalizer in the overtime loss to Indy Eleven. Oliaro was named the league's Young Player of the Year, first-team Team of the Year, and the South Atlantic Division Player of the Year. The next summer, she helped the Courage U23 win the 2024 national title, starting in the final victory over the Colorado Storm.

College career

North Carolina Tar Heels

Oliaro made 20 appearances as a substitute for the North Carolina Tar Heels as a freshman in 2023, scoring 1 goal with 1 assist. The team went to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals, losing to BYU. After the season, Oliaro entered the NCAA transfer portal, saying North Carolina "just wasn't the right fit for me".

Duke Blue Devils

Oliaro transferred to the state rival Duke Blue Devils. She started all 22 games for Duke as a sophomore in 2024, helping the team to the national ranking and the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. She set a program record with goal contributions in nine consecutive games, including a brace against No. 2–ranked Wake Forest to secure the ACC title. Duke earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament and won four shutout wins before losing to the eventual champion Tar Heels in the semifinals. She had 8 goals and 13 assists and was named second-team All-ACC.
Oliaro became team captain heading into her junior season in 2025. She scored 2 goals and led the team with 12 assists in 23 games. Duke again earned a one seed in the NCAA tournament and reached the semifinals, losing this time to Stanford.

International career

Oliaro was first called into training camp with the United States national under-17 team in 2021. She played for the team at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship, which they won to qualify for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Oliaro missed the World Cup due to injury. She trained with the combined under-18/under-19 teams in 2023.

Honors and awards

Duke Blue Devils
North Carolina Courage U23
Individual