'Protect your legacy': UNC women's soccer head coach Anson Dorrance retires

Anson Dorrance doesn’t like vacations. 

During his 45 seasons with the UNC women’s soccer team, he’s never gone on a vacation longer than seven days. 

“Whenever we used to go on vacation, I would think that someone was getting ahead of me,” Dorrance said. 

But this summer, the head coach went to Lisbon with his extended family. Then he went to Rome. Then to Tuscany and Vinci. Dorrance stayed away from Chapel Hill — or what he calls the southern part of heaven — for a few weeks. 

On Aug. 11, Dorrance announced his retirement from UNC. And while Dorrance didn’t directly answer when or why he decided to call it quits during Monday’s press conference, he noticed small changes in his typical airtight coaching style. 

After 22 national championships and a 934-88-53 record, Dorrance grew tired of responding to emails for four hours per day and having weekends saturated by recruiting. He likes spending time with family and eating gelato on vacation. While he’s trained to “beat everyone to death,” he said he feels he cannot give the team the same zeal. 

“What you find out eventually is that you’re gonna run out of energy,” Dorrance said. 

In January, the Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham approached the head coach and said something simple: “You’ve got to protect your legacy.” 

Interim head coach Damon Nahas said Dorrance constantly uses the phrase "never-ending ascension." He’s always pushed himself and his players to make the program better. 

As the first and only UNC women’s soccer coach, Dorrance has reached unprecedented heights. The head coach led UNC to 22 ACC tournament championships in 32 appearances. Of the 42 ever Women’s College Cups, the Tar Heels have reached 31 — 17 more than any other program. North Carolina is also the only school to appear in every NCAA tournament. 

Though Dorrance likes to credit his success to luck, his legacy manifested from a system — the competitive cauldron. It’s designed to develop a mentality second to none. 

Following each practice, Dorrance sends an email ranking players first to last in every drill and the overall session. He quizzes his players frequently on core values and the game itself. His winningest alums have said they became used to losing every day. 

“The competitive cauldron is like competing on the surface of the sun,” Dorrance said. 

And as the all-time NCAA championship leader across every Division I sport, he’s proved this structure works. 

But following that January meeting, Cunningham’s question began to resonate.

In November, the Tar Heels’ hopes of making a return to another College Cup ended in the quarterfinals after giving up a 3-0 lead in the second half at Brigham Young University. In the following weeks, 21 players left the team, with nine transferring and 11 going pro. 

Although the coach didn’t mention details about last season last Monday, he emphasized that, to protect his legacy, he couldn’t leave the program after the NCAA tournament loss. 

So, 11 days before the beginning of the season, the head coach notched his final “beat them to death” 5-1 win during an exhibition match against the USL’s DC Power Football Club. One week later, he announced his retirement. 

According to Nahas, the previous associate head coach knew Dorrance would retire in his own way, similar to what he has done his entire career. 

So, last Sunday afternoon, he gathered the team for one final meeting to break the news. 

Although the players had no idea about his retirement, junior defender Tessa Dellarose didn’t mention her shock, only her endless appreciation. Even four days before the start of the season, Dorrance earned this type of retirement. 

“He’s built this program at UNC from the ground up, but he’s also built women’s soccer from the ground up as well,” Dellarose said. 

And though Dorrance has been perceived through his competitive cauldron, he let emotions flow freely on Monday.

He thanked the family, friends and colleagues there with him who made his career worthwhile. When he became emotional, he paused and collected himself. 

In his final goodbye, Dorrance shared one of his favorite quotes. 

“What do you do when your life exceeds your dreams?”

After a four-decade-long career, the quote means more than ever. Through his complex system, he’s carved a spot in college athletics that’s singular and untouchable. 

“That’s the way I feel,” Dorrance said. “And I guess now I’m going to find out.”

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