Anson Dorrance Position: Head Coach

Like fine wine -- with age -- the coaching career of Anson Dorrance only seems to get better. Dorrance proved that again in 2006 when he took a team that had lost five All-America starters from the previous year to graduation and crafted it into an NCAA championship team, winning the University of North Carolina's 19th title in the past 26 years. In the process, Dorrance swept all of the national coach of the year awards. Head coach of the North Carolina women's soccer program since its inception in 1979, Dorrance has built and guided a well-oiled winning machine. Under his expert direction, the Tar Heels have hoarded national and conference championships at a stupendous rate, compiled an overall record staggering in its numerical verity, established records likely never to be approached again and procured the respect befitting a dynasty. At an institution familiar with such incomparable achievement, especially with regard to its storied basketball program, it might be possible to think that Dorrance's accomplishments could somehow fade to the background.

But what he has done in Chapel Hill is simply impossible to disregard. Thus, when an expert panel employed by ESPN announced its list of the Best Coaches of the Past Quarter Century on July 28, 2004 - coincidentally headed at the No. 1 spot by legendary Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith - it came as no big surprise that another deserving Tar Heel mentor made the list, too.

That Dorrance, who was ranked No. 24, was one of only two coaches in the prestigious collection - which was dominated by professional coaches and college football and basketball coaches - to coach an Olympic sport on the collegiate level only speaks louder about his recognized greatness. More recently more accolades were bestowed on Dorrance with his induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on May 19, 2005. He earned the honor while still in the prime of his college coaching career, further testament to his ongoing legacy.

These are fitting honors for a man who in 2006 turned in one of his best coaching jobs of his career in piloting UNC to its 19th national championship. He was the unanimous choice as the national coach of the year after leading Carolina to a 27-1 balance sheet. The Tar Heels accomplished these heroics while starting six freshmen for most of the season. In fact seven freshmen took the field for the start of the second half of UNC's 2-1 NCAA championship game win over Notre Dame. It was a team which lost its season opener at Texas A&M, its first setback in a lidlifter since 1983, and then stormed back to win 27 matches in succession.

So, entering the fall of 2006, as Dorrance prepares to begin his 29th season as the head women's soccer coach at Carolina, even he must be wondering if there is anything left to be accomplished.

Chances are he will find something.

Fitting Accolades From Basketball's Winningest Coach
It is said that greatness recognizes greatness.

Perhaps there is no better example of that than the quote Dean Smith gave Football News magazine in 1997 about Dorrance and the remarkable program he has overseen.

Smith was asked by Football News about Carolina's 1997 preseason No. 1 ranking in football and what it was like for some sport other than basketball to be sharing the throne at the University.

Coach Smith's reply? "This is a women's soccer school. We're just trying to keep up with them." Coach Smith's clever retort was his way to give Dorrance his due, but behind the humor, there was a large dose of truth.

From the person who was then the winningest head coach of all-time in one sport to the winningest head coach of all-time in another sport, the comment struck Dorrance as the ultimate honor. There are very few human beings on Earth who harbor more respect for Dean Smith than Anson Dorrance. As Dorrance has said, "So much of what we have tried to do in our program is modeled after what Dean Smith has done and accomplished. To have our program compared favorably to his by the man himself is enormously humbling."

Similarly, Dorrance's immense loyalty to Carolina mirrors the loyalty Smith always possessed so thoroughly for his adopted school. In 1994, when Dorrance decided not to continue his duties as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team, the choice perplexed many. Some thought he relinquished the honor in order to avoid the pressure that comes with being the leader of what was then the defending World Cup championship squad. But Dorrance's decision to yield the reins of the National Team had little to do with pressure-induced burdens. It had everything to do with loyalty.

Dorrance chose to retire as head coach of the National Team because of his devotion to the women's soccer program at Carolina. All of the glory that came with coaching the United States to the championship in the first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 was not enough to pull Dorrance away from his true professional love - working full-time with the Tar Heels. He wanted to maintain and even increase the level of excellence that soccer fans had come to expect from the record-shattering program he had molded. To do that Dorrance knew he would have to dedicate all of his coaching energy to the University. With more elite-level players emerging from high school and club teams than ever before, the playing field in the college game was leveling out; Dorrance knew that for UNC to remain at the top, he would have to throw himself into the process with renewed vigor. "College programs like ours require a lot of work," says Dorrance. "At that point in time we had been surviving by just doing the minimum amount of work. We certainly couldn't continue to be successful by doing just the minimum. Now we have time to do more and we need that time to stay competitive in an increasingly tough college game."

A prime example of what Dorrance meant is the fact UNC has captured only four of the past nine NCAA championships, compared to the era from 1982 through 1997 when it seemingly ran roughshod through the competition, winning 14 of 16 titles. It should be pointed out, however, that no other school has won more than two in the past nine years.

Simply Staggering Numbers
It is difficult to comprehend Dorrance and his coaching staff taking Carolina's women's program to any greater heights than what they have already achieved. Yet, for a program consumed with striving for excellence and getting better, that remains the goal.

It is this relentless attitude that has helped the Tar Heels win a mindblowing 19 of the 26 national championships that have been decided in the history of collegiate women's soccer. Only two other schools in the country have won as many as two titles. Carolina has also captured 18 of the 20 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships since the sport was given title status by the league in 1987, with its only two runner-up finishes coming after failing to prevail in penalty kick shootouts after overtime ties in 1988 and 2004.

In short, Carolina's record is one of total dominance. All told, the Tar Heels are 629-28-18 in the 28-year history of the program, a winning percentage of .945. No other college program has even come anywhere close to matching that record -- ever.

When Carolina decided to make women's soccer a varsity sport in 1979, Dorrance became a two-sport head coach as he was already coaching the men's team. Dorrance's particular brilliance at coaching women manifested itself almost immediately as it took just three years before the Tar Heels won a national championship, capturing the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national title. Carolina went on to claim four straight national titles with NCAA championship game wins in 1982 over Central Florida, in 1983 over George Mason and in 1984 over Connecticut. The Tar Heels made it to the NCAA title game in 1985, but lost to George Mason 2-0 on the Patriots' home field - the first of only six losses in NCAA Tournament play for Carolina to go along with 92 wins and a single tie.

A String of Nine Straight Championships
That loss to George Mason, remarkably, was the last time the Tar Heels lost any game in the decade of the 1980s. Beginning with the season opener in 1986 and continuing into the 1990 season, Dorrance's Tar Heels won 97 games and tied six matches over a stretch of 103 contests. In the process, Carolina continued to mow down opponents and win national titles.

In 1986, Carolina defeated Colorado College 2-0 in the finals. A year later, the Tar Heels downed Massachusetts 1-0 on the Minutewomen's home field in the title game. The 1988 campaign saw the Tar Heels defeat NC State 4-1 in the title game in Chapel Hill. A year later, Carolina defeated Colorado College 2-0 at Raleigh.

During this era, the Atlantic Coast Conference also began championship competition, with UNC winning the inaugural title in 1987. N.C. State claimed the 1988 title on penalty kicks but Carolina regained the title in 1989 and has won all but one conference championship since then.

Connecticut snapped the 103-match unbeaten streak that had started in 1986 by defeating the Tar Heels in overtime at Storrs, Conn., on September 22, 1990. The Tar Heels rebounded from that lone defeat to win their fifth straight NCAA crown in 1990, avenging the only blemish on their season by beating the Huskies in the final game 6-0 in Chapel Hill.

Tackling The Challenge of the National Team
Along the way, Dorrance's love of a challenge prompted him to take the head coaching job for the U.S. Women's National Team in 1986. In a short time, Dorrance took the National Team to the vertex of the world's most popular sport. On November 30, 1991, Dorrance led the United States to a 2-1 win over Norway to claim the World Cup championship. The win came just six days after assistant coach Bill Palladino led UNC to a national championship game win over Wisconsin for Carolina's sixth NCAA title in a row.

Dorrance was the architect of the World Cup triumph, a win with a decided Carolina Blue hue. Not only was Dorrance coaching the U.S. team, but nine of the 18 players on Team USA played collegiately at North Carolina, and his assistant coach was former UNC player Lauren Gregg.

The next year, Dorrance assembled what many soccer observers have labeled the best college soccer team in history. That edition of the Tar Heels finished the season undefeated at 25-0, claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference championship for the fourth straight year and won the NCAA title for the seventh consecutive time. Carolina's 9-1 NCAA championship game rout of Duke was as thorough a victory as the final score would lead one to believe and a nonpareil way for the Heels to finish the year.

In 1993, UNC won the NCAA championship with an unsullied record of 23-0. The Tar Heels whitewashed George Mason 6-0 before a collegiate women's soccer record crowd of 5,721 fans at Fetzer Field. Mia Hamm capped her brilliant career at Carolina that day and went on to win unanimous national player of the year honors for the second year in a row.

92 Wins in a Row
Amongst all the coaching jobs that Dorrance has done during his career, the one which culminated in the 1994 NCAA championship could be considered the most impressive for many reasons. That title drive spoke volumes about Dorrance's coaching genius as he was able to rally the Tar Heels after arch-rival Duke ended a 101-game unbeaten streak by beating Carolina 3-2 on October 19, 1994. The loss came 17 days after Notre Dame had snapped a 92-game Carolina winning streak by playing the Heels to a scoreless tie. UNC ran the table after that and NCAA wins over NC State, Duke, Connecticut and Notre Dame added a 13th national title to Dorrance's coaching resume. Tar Heel midfielder Tisha Venturini was selected as the 1994 National Player of the Year, marking the seventh straight season in which the national player of the year came from the Carolina ranks.

The 1994 season presaged a sea change in the college game. With the proliferation of available talent and the vast increase in the number of college programs, parity was quickly becoming a part of the women's game. While the Tar Heels still led the way in terms of consistent excellence, one of the big news stories of 1995 was that Carolina failed to win the national championship in women's soccer for the first time in 10 years. The Tar Heels, top-seeded in the NCAA Tournament and sporting a 25-0 mark, were upset by Notre Dame 1-0 in the 1995 NCAA semifinals. Relinquishing the title to Notre Dame in 1995 only fueled Dorrance's competitive fire the next season. He took a team that returned nine starters from 1995, crafting it into another championship unit by season's end.

It didn't come easily by any stretch of the imagination. The team's chemistry was off the first third of the season despite not losing a game. However, in the ninth game of the campaign, Notre Dame defeated the Tar Heels 2-1 in overtime and becoming the first college team to beat UNC in successive meetings. Carolina regrouped and the Tar Heels whipped William & Mary, James Madison and Florida in the opening three rounds of the NCAA tourney before holding on against Santa Clara on its home field in the semifinals. Two days later UNC proved it was still at the acme of women's college soccer, beating defending champion Notre Dame 1-0 in overtime to claim the 1996 crown.

A Dynamite Defense in 1997
Dorrance turned in another magnificent coaching job as the Tar Heels wound up in the winner's circle again in 1997. Honored by Soccer Buzz and Soccer Times as the national coach of the year, Dorrance spearheaded a Carolina campaign which resulted in a nearly umarred 27-0-1 record. The 27 victories were an NCAA record for victories in a season and UNC tied its existing NCAA record by shutting out 22 opponents during the course of the campaign.

In 1998, Carolina had another brilliant season, going 25-0 before falling 1-0 to second-seeded Florida in the national championship game. Despite the disappointing end to an otherwise stellar season, the Tar Heels outscored their opponents by a dominating 98-7 margin on the year and won their 10th successive ACC championship.

Disappointed after seeing the 1998 NCAA title elude the Tar Heels, Carolina soccer fans were able to find solace in the performance of the 1999 U.S. Women's National Team which competed in the Women's World Cup. The 20-person roster featured eight Tar Heel players -- Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Carla Overbeck, Cindy Parlow, Tisha Venturini, Tracy Ducar, Lorrie Fair and Tiffany Roberts -- and UNC alumna Lauren Gregg as a U.S. assistant coach. This Tar Heel-laden composition of the World Cup Team, which reclaimed the championship it had relinquished in 1995, once again stood as a testament to the indelible contributions Dorrance has made to the international nature of the sport.

Back-To-Back National Championships
Basking in the glow of a World Cup title featuring so many ties to the Tar Heel program, Carolina's collegiate dominance seemed to be in doubt just weeks later when, eight games into the 1999 season, the Tar Heels were ranked fourth in the national polls and sported a distinctly unfamiliar 6-2 record. The two losses were the most in a season since 1985 and the Tar Heels were only one third of the way into their season. But Dorrance and his coaching staff retooled the Tar Heels offensively and defensively and led Carolina to 18 sequential wins and another national championship. Defender Lorrie Fair earned national player of the year accolades, but in many regards the 1999 team was a squad without star presence, just incredible unity of purpose.

A year later, the 2000 Carolina team suffered the program's most losses in a season in 20 years but found that no obstacle in again winning ACC and NCAA titles. What may have been even more amazing was the fact that three times in the NCAA Tournament Carolina trailed its opponent 1-0 midway through the second half of games. All three times the Tar Heels demonstrated remarkable perseverance in coming from behind to win 2-1 in regulation time en route to another national title.

After an uncustomary two-year hiatus from the awards stand, UNC reclaimed the NCAA title in 2003 with aplomb, unleashing the most dominant college soccer team in 10 years. Carolina became the first team since the Tar Heels of 1993 to go undefeated and untied, finishing with a perfect 27-0 mark in winning its 15th straight ACC title and its 18th national championship. Led by co-national players of the year Lindsay Tarpley and Catherine Reddick, Carolina outscored its opponents 132-11 on the season, including an amazing 32-0 rampage in six NCAA Tournament matches.

Carolina's Role in International Play
With the presence of Carolina players on the U.S. National Team seemingly a staple, Tar Heel soccer undoubtedly plays an enormous role on the international scene. In 1996, Dorrance took great pride in watching the United States claim the first ever Olympic gold medal in women's soccer, knowing that, in many respects, he was responsible for the success of that team.

The 1996 Olympic Team entered play with added incentive. In 1995, the United States had failed to successfully defend its FIFA Women's World Cup Championship as Norway claimed the title. The United States was determined to avenge that defeat on home soil in the first Olympic women's soccer tournament. The U.S. Olympic team featured two assistant coaches who were former Carolina players and seven of the 16 players were Carolina alumnae. In storming to the gold medal, the U.S. avenged its 1995 Women's World Cup loss to Norway with a 2-1 sudden-death overtime victory in the Olympic semifinals before outlasting China 2-1 in the gold medal match. The gold medal victory was the greatest single moment for the growth of the sport in American history and players and coaches with Tar Heel ties were prevalent in the revelry that followed. Dorrance's unparalleled accomplishments have not gone unnoticed -- most of all by those who played for him. Former Tar Heel great April Heinrichs, the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team from 2000-05, says that where Dorrance gains his coaching edge is in the unique way he handles his players.

"Anson is incredibly charismatic and intelligent," Heinrichs says. "He is very attuned to women's issues, in ways that many women's coaches aren't. He breaks down cliques and builds team unity."

Equally effusive in his praise of Dorrance is Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford, who served as athletic director at Carolina for 17 years while Dorrance was the head coach from 1980-97.

"Anson's accomplishments on the field are unparalleled. He may well be the single most successful coach in intercollegiate athletics," says Swofford. "I think of Anson as a Renaissance man. He's so talented in so many different ways. And he has analyzed and made a science of coaching female athletes. No one knows the ins and outs of that better than Anson Dorrance. He is a great ambassador, not only for women's soccer, but for the University of North Carolina as well."

Ironically, Dorrance's career plans did not originally include coaching a women's team. He began his coaching career at Carolina as the designated head coach for the men's team in 1976 during Marvin Allen's last year as head coach. He took over as head men's coach the following year and served for 12 years in that role, posting a 172-65-21 record. His team won the ACC Tournament championship in 1987. He took the Tar Heels to the 1987 NCAA College Cup semifinals and to the second round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Dorrance's .708 winning percentage is tops among Carolina's men's soccer coaches and his 172 wins rank third in school history behind current UNC head mentor Elmar Bolowich, whom Dorrance brought to Carolina as an assistant men's coach, and Dr. Marvin Allen, the founder of the program in 1947.

Since taking over as the women's head coach in 1979, Carolina has a 629-28-18 record under Dorrance and only twice in 28 years have the Tar Heels lost more than two games in a single season. The Tar Heels' 18 NCAA crowns are more than any other women's NCAA Division I sports program in the entire nation, and the 19 national championships are more than any single sports program in ACC history, men's or women's.

A Host of National Players of the Year
Over the years, 15 different Tar Heels have been named national players of the year under Dorrance's direction -- April Heinrichs in 1984 and 1986, Shannon Higgins in 1988 and 1989, Kristine Lilly in 1990 and 1991, Mia Hamm in 1992 and 1993, Tisha Venturini in 1994, Debbie Keller in 1995 and 1996, Staci Wilson in 1995, Cindy Parlow in 1996, 1997 and 1998, Robin Confer in 1997, Lorrie Fair in 1999, Meredith Florance in 2000, Lindsay Tarpley in 2003, Catherine Reddick in 2003, Heather O'Reilly in 2006 and Yael Averbuch in 2006.

North Carolina begins the 2007 season with a 253-9-5 all-time home record. In its history, totaling 675 games, Carolina has shut out opponents 446 times and has been held scoreless in just 19 games.

Coach of the Year Honors Galore
Dorrance has been named national coach of the year for coaching both women and men. He earned women's national honors in 1982, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006 and he was named men's national Coach of the Year in 1987.

Dorrance has been named the Southeast Regional coach of the year in 1989, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2006. In 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006, he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Coach of the Year.

In 1996, Dorrance received the highest honor possible from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He won the NSCAA's Walt Chyzowych Award for lifetime coaching achievement. In 2007 he won the Bill Jeffrey Award from the NSCAA given to a person who has raised intercollegiate soccer to new heights through his or her long-term dedication to the game

Honors from His Peers at Carolina
Dorrance was inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1988, Carolina's highest honorary society which includes Carolina students, faculty and staff.

In 1994, Dorrance added another cherished honor when the athletic department at the University of North Carolina designated him as a "Priceless Gem." This honor is reserved only for those individuals who have contributed in extraordinary ways to the successful athletic climate at the University. It is normally bestowed upon an individual at the time of his or her retirement.

In 1995, Dorrance's program was profiled in a full-length documentary film entitled, "Dynasty." The movie focused in particular on the Tar Heels' amazing nine-year national championship run from 1986 through 1994, and it included in-depth interviews with both current and former Tar Heel players. In the fall of 2003, Sports Illustrated On Campus named UNC's women's soccer program as the greatest college athletics dynasty of all-time.

Dorrance has also coauthored two books. He combined with Tim Nash to write "Training Soccer Champions" in 1996. It sold out in its first printing and did equally well in its second press run. Dorrance co-authored the award-winning "The Vision of a Champion" with Gloria Averbuch. It was published in 2003 and almost immediately went to a second and then a third printing. In 2006, "The Man Standing" by former Sports Illustrated writer Tim Crothers debuted to smashing reviews.

Following the United States' victory in the women's World Cup in 1991, Dorrance received an Honorary All-America Award, one of the most prestigious of its kind, from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

In 1991, Soccer America named Dorrance one of the 20 most influential men in American soccer during the previous 20 years. Soccer America followed that up in 1995 by naming Dorrance as one of the 25 most influential people in the history of American soccer. Dorrance was one of only three coaches on that list and the only women's coach tapped.

Dorrance in His College Years
A 1974 University of North Carolina graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and philosophy, Dorrance originally enrolled at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where he spent one year studying and playing soccer. He then transferred to Carolina to play for Marvin Allen. Dorrance's natural gifts on the pitch led to his selection to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team three times as an undergraduate and he won All-South Region honors in 1973. He was named in 2002 one of the Top 50 men's soccer players in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He was also one of the top intramural sports performers on the Carolina campus during his days as an undergraduate, competing for his dorm teams and earning a host of championships.

Prior to his permanent return to Chapel Hill in 1976, he organized youth soccer leagues in both Connecticut and North Carolina. He was the founder of both the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association and the North Carolina Senior Soccer Association.

Dorrance has an "A" level coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation. He was a charter member of the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee and he has served as the women's chairman of the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America. He is the former chairman of the NCAA Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee and one of the few coaches in the country to qualify as a national staff coach for the United States Soccer Federation and for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He is also involved in training coaches and awarding coaching licenses. In the summer of 2003, he was named to the Board of Directors of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Dorrance's summer soccer camps for young women are the most popular in the nation. The camps sell out well in advance. Dorrance has even hosted a version of the famous camp in England.

Dorrance also made a seamless transition to his role as the color analyst on the Women's United Soccer Association Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons as shown on PAX TV from 2001-03.

The Dorrance Family
Dorrance was born on April 9, 1951, in Bombay, India, and he is married to M'Liss Gary Dorrance. M'Liss is a former professional dancer and she continues to teach ballet as an associate professor of the practice of ballet and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Duke University Dance Program. She also teaches at the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, which she co-founded in 1980. When M'Liss is not watching soccer games on the weekends, she is rehearsing her choreography for the Duke Ballet Repertory Ensemble and the Chapel Hill Dance Theatre.

The Dorrances have three children.

Michelle turns 28 on September 12, 2007. She is a graduate of New York University and works as a rhythm tap dancer in New York, where she also teaches at Broadway Dance Center and Steps Studios. Michelle was featured in the March 2005 issue of Dance Magazine. She performs in New York, across the U.S. and overseas with several companies as well as at leading tap festivals.

Natalie will turn 25 on October 10, 2007. She is married to David Harris, a UNC law school graduate. Natalie teaches at New Hope Elementary School in Chapel Hill and administrates the North Carolina Girls Soccer Camp.

Donovan is 16 (born May 22, 1991). He is a junior at Chapel Hill High School. In his spare time he enjoys soccer and music and studies the piano and the electric guitar.

Dorrance's soccer origins stem from his youth when he lived in Ethiopia. He also resided in Kenya, Singapore, Belgium and Switzerland while growing up. His family moved all around the world as his father was an international businessman.