North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance — the all-time Division I leader for NCAA championships by a coach in any sport (21) — is retiring after 45 seasons leading the program, the school announced Sunday.
Dorrance, 73, led UNC’s women’s program to a record 22 national championships — the first of which came in 1981 before the NCAA oversaw women’s soccer — and ended his career with a 934-88-53 record. He was also the United States women’s national team’s coach from 1986 to 1994, including in 1991 when the U.S. won the first women’s World Cup.
“As many of you know I modeled our program after Dean Smith’s basketball program, and retiring at this time is a credit to his thinking, as well,” Dorrance said in a statement. “He would re-evaluate his tenure, not after the season, but after he had time to re-charge his batteries prior to the next season. When he didn’t, he retired. After last season I initially was excited about the chance to bolster our roster, which we most certainly have done, but as preseason training camp went on, I realized I didn’t have the same energy it takes to give 100% to this year’s team.
“The players and staff, the university, Carolina athletics and our great fans deserve more, and the respect I have for the…
