UNC WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH COACHED FOR 47 YEARS
Dorrance Had 21 NCAA ChampionshipTitles
Imagine winning close to 1000 games in a college coaching career, Imagine being crowned NCAA Champion 21 times. Such is the legacy of Anson Dorrance, who announced his intention to retire Sunday, and will officially step down for the Tar Heels on Monday.
When coaching against UofL WSOC, he went 4-1-1. His lone loss to the kickin' Cards came the first time the schools ever played, back in 2015, in Louisville. That was the early days of Dr Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium, the second year it was operational.
An overtime 2-1 win that day (Thursday, Oct 8th) for the Cards, with Hannah Konermann delivering a perfect kick into a mass of players in the UNC box, and Hannah Harris getting the ball to Caroline Kimble, who put a header into the goal with nine seconds left in the overtime. The goal was the only one for Kimble in the 2015 season.
I never got the chance to interview Dorrance...he was last here in 2022 and his UNC squad took a 2-0 win over the Cards. He also coached both the men's and women's squads at UNC from 1977-1988...imagine that, if you will. They won 92 consecutive matches from 1990-1994.
When he first started, a lot of women's sports participated in the AIAW (Association for Intercolleigiate Athletics for Women. He also won the AIAW national title for UNC in 1981.
UNC is the only women's soccer school/program to participate in every NCAA Tournament . 42 straight.
Dorrance was Coach of the Year in women's soccer seven times his career.
Has it been the greatest college dynasty? Consider this... Dorrance had six unbeaten and untied season is his coaching time. Last year's NCAA championship squad (Florida State) went 22-0-1 and UNC's WSOC record in 2023 was 13-2-8.
As Bear Bryant was in college football and Adolph Rupp was in college basketball, Dorrance will be always remembered as a legend among coaches. One of his quotes, that is a favorite of mine is: "The vision of a champion is someone that is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion...when nobody else is watching"
ACC WSOC will miss him but I dare say the man has earned his retirement. Enjoy it, Anson.
paulie
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