For children growing up in Rockville Centre, N.Y. in the 1990s, playing soccer wasn’t just common. It was almost an inevitability.
At the age of four, Dunn became hooked.
“My town is a soccer town,” Dunn said. “If you’re young, you play soccer.”
So when Dunn brought a few soccer balls with her to her aunt’s youth program in Queens this summer, she was surprised by the response she received from the children there.
“These kids never heard of soccer,” Dunn said. “I mean, maybe they’ve seen it on TV, but they’ve never played it.”
So for three weeks in July, from about noon to 1 p.m. every weekday, Dunn decided to run a soccer-teaching program.
“It was a little scrappy in the beginning,” Dunn said. “But I eventually taught them the rules. I taught them discipline.”
Dunn said the hope was to give the children an escape from whatever stresses filled their lives.
“A lot of these kids have come from broken homes, and they really haven’t been able to experience being a kid,” Dunn said. “I gave them a chance to be a kid again.”
In some ways, Dunn said soccer was also an escape for her as a child.
And it still is.
‘Every little girl’s dream’
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At the urging of her mother Rhonda, Dunn started playing soccer at the age of four and quickly became enamored with it.
Even at a young age, Dunn had her eyes set on a collegiate career, and more specifically, a starring role at UNC.
“It’s every little girl’s dream school,” Dunn said. “It has the best coaching. It has the best legacy. It’s just the best overall.”
As Dunn entered high school, that dream started to materialize.
By her senior year, Dunn had already drawn recognition from the local and national media for her play, and she was named an All-American by NSCAA, ESPNRise and Parade Magazine.
As the accolades started rolling in, so did the recruitment letters — including one from Dorrance.
“You never know what a youth player is going to do at the next level,” Dorrance said. “You certainly hope every kid takes a nice jump when they get to college.
“And (Dunn) was certainly a brilliant youth player.”
Making her name
For a moment, it looked like Dunn had kept the Tar Heels’ playoff hopes alive.
It was Nov. 20, 2010, and UNC was in the midst of a third-round NCAA tournament bout with then No. 7 Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish had zipped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, exploiting an empty net with an unassisted goal.
But six minutes later, to the delight of Dunn, her shot from 20 yards out evened the score.
“I think that was the greatest moment of my entire life,” Dunn said.
The goal ultimately came in a 4-1 UNC loss, but for Dorrance, the moment epitomized Dunn’s importance to the team.
“You measure people by what they do against the best competition,” Dorrance said. “When the going gets tough, and when you need her most, she shows up.”
Despite not having a stable role with the Tar Heels last season, Dunn excelled. She took home Soccer America Freshman of the Year honors, was named to the first team All-ACC roster and earned ACC Defensive Player of the year — the first freshman to ever do so.
“Every single person on the team counts on her,” senior forward Courtney Jones said. “And the poor girl probably has so much pressure just because we put all our weight on her most of the time.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that this girl is going to play for the U.S. national team one day.”
Contact the Sports Editor ?at sports@dailytarheel.com.
