08-23-2023, 10:43 AM
Anson Dorrance is a complicated individual who has some amazing accomplishments as a college soccer coach. He has won a men’s soccer championship for North Carolina and, after taking over as the women’s coach, has won 21 national championships for the North Carolina women’s team. He coached the women’s national team to its first world cup in 1991. His college players were for many years the biggest stars on the national team (Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly for example). Dorrance has written books about soccer.
Dorrance’s last national championship came in 2012. His program, however, has not withered away. Since that year, his team continues to make the final four in many years and has three times been the runner up. In 2019, North Carolina lost the championship game to Stanford. That was a disappointment for North Carolina, but the Stanford 2019 team was probably the best to ever grace the women’s college soccer scene. The squad included Caterina Macario, Sophia Smith, and Naomi Girma, all soon to be stars on the women’s national team, as well as several other players who went on to play professionally. In 2019, Stanford scored more goals than any team in women’s college soccer history.
Despite Stanford’s offensive prowess, Dorrance’s North Carolina team held Stanford scoreless for 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. Stanford finally won the game on penalty kicks.
So much for Dorrance’s accomplishments. There are some shadows hanging over the man. In the 1990s, two of his players accused him of sexual harassment. There was extensive litigation, ending up in monetary settlements (no admission of guilt).
Throughout his career as a coach, Dorrance has been known for putting aggressive players on the pitch. Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith said “I’ll go beyond aggressiveness. It’s meanness. Anson has found a way to bring that out of his players.”
In a regular season match against North Carolina, Stanford star defensive back Tierna Davidson was aggressively tackled by a North Carolina player, resulting in a broken leg that effectively ended her Stanford career.
So is the aggressive behavior that Dorrance encourages part of the sport, or is it over the top? You decide.
In the fall of 2019, Stanford visited Chapel Hill for a regular season match against North Carolina. Minutes before the start of the match, Dorrance complained to officials that Stanford’s starting goalkeeper, Katie Meyer, was wearing jewelry in her pierced ears in violation of the rules. Meyer had to be withdrawn from the line up to have the jewelry removed. She entered the game five or so minutes later.
Dorrence was acting within the rules, but what does this action say about the man? The jewelry was presumably studs left in place to maintain ear piercings. It was unobjectionable to the Stanford coaching staff and no prior opposing coach had made an issue of it. You decide.
Dorrance’s recent comments about possible conference realignment suggest an almost visceral hatred of Stanford (Stanford and California should “die on the vine” rather than be added to the ACC conference). I understand that Dorrance may be frustrated by Stanford’s recruiting successes. It is now Stanford, not North Carolina, that has the most national team players. But these sorts of comments do not flatter the man. Would you recommend that an aspiring high school soccer star play for Dorrance?
Happily, Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe has not, and would not, make disparaging comments about the North Carolina program.
Dorrance’s last national championship came in 2012. His program, however, has not withered away. Since that year, his team continues to make the final four in many years and has three times been the runner up. In 2019, North Carolina lost the championship game to Stanford. That was a disappointment for North Carolina, but the Stanford 2019 team was probably the best to ever grace the women’s college soccer scene. The squad included Caterina Macario, Sophia Smith, and Naomi Girma, all soon to be stars on the women’s national team, as well as several other players who went on to play professionally. In 2019, Stanford scored more goals than any team in women’s college soccer history.
Despite Stanford’s offensive prowess, Dorrance’s North Carolina team held Stanford scoreless for 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. Stanford finally won the game on penalty kicks.
So much for Dorrance’s accomplishments. There are some shadows hanging over the man. In the 1990s, two of his players accused him of sexual harassment. There was extensive litigation, ending up in monetary settlements (no admission of guilt).
Throughout his career as a coach, Dorrance has been known for putting aggressive players on the pitch. Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith said “I’ll go beyond aggressiveness. It’s meanness. Anson has found a way to bring that out of his players.”
In a regular season match against North Carolina, Stanford star defensive back Tierna Davidson was aggressively tackled by a North Carolina player, resulting in a broken leg that effectively ended her Stanford career.
So is the aggressive behavior that Dorrance encourages part of the sport, or is it over the top? You decide.
In the fall of 2019, Stanford visited Chapel Hill for a regular season match against North Carolina. Minutes before the start of the match, Dorrance complained to officials that Stanford’s starting goalkeeper, Katie Meyer, was wearing jewelry in her pierced ears in violation of the rules. Meyer had to be withdrawn from the line up to have the jewelry removed. She entered the game five or so minutes later.
Dorrence was acting within the rules, but what does this action say about the man? The jewelry was presumably studs left in place to maintain ear piercings. It was unobjectionable to the Stanford coaching staff and no prior opposing coach had made an issue of it. You decide.
Dorrance’s recent comments about possible conference realignment suggest an almost visceral hatred of Stanford (Stanford and California should “die on the vine” rather than be added to the ACC conference). I understand that Dorrance may be frustrated by Stanford’s recruiting successes. It is now Stanford, not North Carolina, that has the most national team players. But these sorts of comments do not flatter the man. Would you recommend that an aspiring high school soccer star play for Dorrance?
Happily, Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe has not, and would not, make disparaging comments about the North Carolina program.