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 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.
Although Dorrance likes to attribute his success to luck, his legacy is due to a system – the Cauldron of competition. It is designed to develop a mantality is unsurpassed.
After each exercise, Dorrance sends an email ranking listg players from start to finish in every drill and the entire session. He frequently questions his players about core values and the game itself. His most successful graduates have said They get used to losing every day.
“The competition is like a competition on the surface of the sun,” says Dorrance said.
And as All-time NCAA Championship LeagueHe has proven in all Division I sports that this structure works.
But after the January meeting, Cunningham’s question began to resonate.
In Novemberthe Tar Heels’ hopes of returning to another College Cup ein the quarterfinalster gave up a 3-0 lead in the second half at Brigham Young University. In the following weeks 21 players left the team, nine transferred and eleven became professionals.
Although the coach did not mention any details about the past season last Monday, emphasized that in order to preserve his reputation, he could not leave the program after the loss in the NCAA tournament.
So, 11 days before the start of the season, the head coach received his last “beat them to death” 5:1 victoryin a friendly match against the USL’s DC Power Soccer Club. A weeeewwwww He later announced his resignation.
Accorder Nahas, the previous assistant head coach, knew Dorrance would retire in his own way, much as he had done throughout his career.
So, last Sunday afternoonhe called the team together for a final meeting to share the news.
Although the players had no idea about his rRetirement, jUnior defender Tessa Dellarose didn’t mention her shock, just her endless gratitude. Dorrance had earned this kind of retirement four days before the season started.
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“He built this program at UNC from the ground up, but he also built women’s soccer from the ground up,” said Dellarose.
And although Dorrance has attracted attention through his competitiveness, he let his emotions run wild on Monday.
He thanked his family, friends and colleagues who were there with him and who made his career possible. As he became emotional, he paused and collected himself.
As he said his final goodbye, Dorrance shared one of his favorite quotes.
“What do you do when your life exceeds your dreams?”
After a career spanning four decades, this quote means more than ever. Through his complex system, he has created a place for himself in college sports that is unique and untouchable.
“This is how I feel,” Dorrance said. “And I guess now I’ll find out.”
