Albert Anson Dorrance IV (born April 9, 1951) is an American soccercoach. He is currently the head coach of the women's soccer program at the University of North Carolina. He has one of the most successful coaching records in the history of athletics. Under Dorrance's leadership, the Tar Heels have won 21 of the 41 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships. The Tar Heels' record under Dorrance stood at 809-67-36 (.887 winning percentage) over 33 seasons at the end of the 2017 season. He has led his team to a 101-game unbeaten streak and coached 13 different women to a total of 20 National Player of the Year awards.
The NCAA has recognized Dorrance as the Women's Soccer Coach of the Year seven times (1982, 1986, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006) and as the Men's Soccer Coach of the Year in 1987. On March 10, 2008, Dorrance was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame.[3]
Early life
Dorrance was born in Bombay, India on April 9, 1951, the son of an American oil executive. He spent his youth moving with his family throughout Europe and Africa. Of all the places he lived, three had particular influences on his later life. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia he met his future wife, M'Liss Gary, the daughter of the U.S. Air Forceattache to Ethiopia. He attributes his love of soccer to his years living in Kenya. He gained his education from the Villa St. Jean International School boarding school, located in Fribourg, Switzerland, where he played soccer for three years and graduated in 1969.[4]
After graduating from Villa St. Jean, he moved to the United States and attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where he played soccer for a semester. He transferred after the fall term to the University of North Carolina. There, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall. His love of soccer led him to walk onto the school's soccer team, then coached by Marvin Allen, where he was a three time All-ACC player. As he transferred from another college, he was ineligible to play during his sophomore year, and only joined the team as a junior in 1971. He played as a midfielder, and was team captain in 1973 as a post-senior.[4][5] In 1974, he graduated with a B.A. in English and philosophy. That year he also married his childhood sweetheart, M'Liss Gary, with whom he has three children: Michelle, Natalie, and Donovan.[6] After graduating, Dorrance was the player-coach of Chapel Hill Soccer Club.[7][8]
Under the influence of his father, Dorrance entered North Carolina Central University Law School in 1976, later transferring to the University of North Carolina School of Law. That same year, Coach Allen convinced Dorrance to succeed him as the UNC men's soccer coach. From 1977 until 1988 Dorrance compiled a 175–65–21 (.708) record with the team. His greatest success with the men's team came in 1987 when he led them to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship. They beat North Carolina State University 3-2 winning their first ACC tournament. They also went to the NCAA Final Four in 1987 losing to Clemson University 4–1 in the semi-final game.[9] That same year he also won the NCAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year.[10]
In 1979 UNC expanded Dorrance's duties to include the newly established women's team as well as the men's soccer team. It was this event which moved Dorrance into the limelight. At this time, the NCAA did not have a women's soccer championship. When the NCAA showed no interest in establishing one, Dorrance and University of Colorado coach Chris Lidstone approached the AIAW, who were receptive to the idea.[11] Within two years of the start of the program, Dorrance had guided the Tar Heels to the 1981 Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) title. After the AIAW led the way, the NCAA finally recognized women's soccer as an inter-collegiate sport and Dorrance's teams proceeded to dominate the sport. His teams won 12 of the first 13 NCAA championships (1982–1984, 1986–1994). After winning the 2012 NCAA championship, the Tar Heels have claimed a total of 23 national championships and 22 of the 37 NCAA championships.
Dorrance's success comes from several interrelated attributes. First, he has an eye for recruiting outstanding talent.[12] Related to that is his emphasis on competitiveness. He noted early in his time as a women's coach that women seemed to have an inhibition against open competition. He decided to develop an atmosphere at UNC in which women were rewarded for having an aggressive desire to win. Finally, he noted from his work with both the men's and women's teams that women tended to play best in an atmosphere that focused on relationships.
Dorrance was able to bring out his players' aggressiveness and competitiveness while also fostering an almost family sense of the team.[13] Regarding the aggressiveness, Santa Clara University women's soccer coach Jerry Smith noted in a 1998 Sports Illustrated article, "When you watch them, you can see the edge they have. I'll go beyond aggressiveness. It's meanness. Anson has found a way to bring that out of his players." Mia Hamm added in the same article, "I grew up always good at sports, but being a girl, I was never allowed to feel as good about it as guys were. My toughness wasn't celebrated. But then I got to the University of North Carolina, and it was O.K. to want to be the best."[2] Anson Dorrance was honored with his name given to the soccer stadium formerly known as Fetzer Field, as Dorrance Field.[14]
National championPostseason invitational champion Conference regular season championConference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season championDivision regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion
National team coach
His success at North Carolina led to the United States Soccer Federation hiring Dorrance as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team in 1986. In taking the job Dorrance delivered a letter containing a stark warning to the players he inherited: "If you don't come in fit, I will cut you!"[15] He successfully juggled his duties to both the national team and UNC. In one extreme case, Dorrance left Assistant Coach Bill Palladino to lead UNC to a championship victory in the 1991 NCAA tournament while he led the US Women to a World Cup championship. In that tournament, the United States won the first Women's World Cup, held in China. When Dorrance ended his tenure in 1994 with the national team, he had accumulated a record of 65–22–5 (.707) record. He has coached some of the finest players in women's soccer history including Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly.
7x National Coach of the Year (1982, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006)
12x ACC Coach of the Year (1982, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2018, 2019).
North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame (2002)
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2005)
National Soccer Hall of Fame (2008)
United Soccer Coaches' Hall of Fame (2018)
Court cases
In 1998 a former player, Melissa Jennings, sued Dorrance for sexual harassment. He had just cut her from the team. Initially, it appeared the suit was retaliation against Dorrance. However, Debbie Keller Hill, a former team captain, joined the suit. In October 2004 U.S. District Court Judge N. Carlton Tilley Jr. threw out the six-year lawsuit, stating the "behavior at issue does not constitute severe, pervasive and objectively offensive sexual harassment."[16] In April 2006 a three judge federal appeals panel voted to not reverse the judgement (2–1).[17] Jennings appealed to the full court with oral arguments taking place in October 2006.[18] Hill had earlier settled with the university for $70,000.[19]
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after a rehearing by the full court, vacated summary judgment for defendants in Jennings' lawsuit. The April 9, 2007, decision allowed Jennings to proceed on her Title IX claim and on sexual harassment civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Dorrance and a university official.
The 4th Circuit Court found in favor of Dorrance, the majority opinion stating "When the evidence in this case is viewed most favorably to Jennings, the evidence shows that Dorrance used vulgar language and participated in sexual banter at practice with some women that he coached and that he once directed a vulgar question at Jennings. Jennings immediately responded to Dorrance’s vulgar question with her own profane reply and that ended the inquiry. Dorrance never touched, never threatened, never ogled, and never propositioned Jennings. Because no reasonable jury could find that Dorrance sexually harassed Jennings or find that Jennings’ other claims have merit, we affirm the judgment of the district court." The dissenting opinion, authored by Judge M. Blane Michael, said that Dorrance's conduct "went far beyond simple teasing and qualified as sexual harassment."[17]
On October 1, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition by the state Attorney General's Office for the court to hear a nine-year-old sexual harassment suit against UNC-Chapel Hill and its women's soccer coach, Anson Dorrance.
The refusal by the Supreme Court to hear the case meant that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling from 2007 would stand and the case could proceed to trial. On January 14, 2008, the suit was settled out of court and Melissa Jennings received $385,000, mostly used for legal fees. The university also reviewed its sexual harassment policies and procedures, and brought in an outside law professor to help. Dorrance was quoted saying. "I think for everyone concerned, it's a good thing. I really feel like both parties felt it had gone long enough." The coach issued a written apology to the player, her family, and team members saying that his comments were inappropriate.[20]
Roy Allen Williams is an American retired college basketball coach who served as the men's head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 18 seasons and the Kansas Jayhawks for 15 seasons. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Karen Christina Shelton is an American former field hockey player and coach. Shelton served as head coach of the University of North Carolina's field hockey program from 1981 until her retirement in 2022. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1977 to 1984 and a starter on the team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She attended West Chester State and was a member of four NCAA championship winning teams. Shelton also qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal many years later.
Robert Fetzer Field was a stadium located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and was the home of the lacrosse and soccer teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The four teams that called Fetzer field their home have a combined total of 26 national championships.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname Carolina, especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as UNC or The Heels.
The North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I soccer. The team has won 22 of the 35 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, and 21 of the 41 NCAA national championships. The team has participated in every NCAA tournament.
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's lacrosse team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. North Carolina currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays its home games at Fetzer Field and Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their main rivalry series is with fellow ACC member Duke.
Elmar Bolowich was most recently head coach of the George Mason Patriots men's soccer team at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, United States. He was previously the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's soccer team at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska for eight years after leaving his 22-year tenure as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team at the University of North Carolina.
E. Marvin Allen Jr. was a former collegiate head soccer coach. He started the University of North Carolina soccer program in 1947, and became the program's first ever coach. From 1947 to 1976, he coached the North Carolina men's soccer program. He compiled a 174-81-23(.667) record in 30 years with the Tar Heels, boasting a 53-41-16(.555) mark in ACC play. He coached soccer coaching legend Anson Dorrance at UNC.
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in men's NCAA Division I soccer competition. They compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels won the NCAA championship in 2001 and 2011.
Linda Ann Hamilton is an American retired soccer defender and former member of the United States women's national soccer team. She is currently head coach of the women's soccer team at the Southwestern University. Hamilton was inducted into the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2022.
Deborah Kim Keller is an American retired soccer forward and former member of the United States women's national soccer team. She was the collegiate National Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996.
Angela Kelly is the head coach of the University of Texas women’s soccer team. Kelly was previously the head coach of the University of Tennessee women’s soccer team for 12 seasons.
The 2017 ACC women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Atlantic Coast Conference. The defending champions were the Florida State Seminoles, but they were eliminated from the 2017 tournament with a 2–1 quarterfinal loss at North Carolina. North Carolina won the tournament with a 1–0 win over Duke in the final. The title was the 21st for the North Carolina women's soccer program, all of which have come under the direction of head coach Anson Dorrance.
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N. Zola Solamente is an American former soccer player who played as a defender, making nine appearances for the United States women's national team.
The 2019 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2019 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 43rd season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 43rd year head coach Anson Dorrance.
The 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2020 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 44th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 44th year head coach Anson Dorrance.
The 2021 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2021 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 45th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 45th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The 2022 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 46th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 46th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The 2023 North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 47th season of the university fielding a program. The Tar Heels were led by 47th year head coach Anson Dorrance and played their home games at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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