By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Another big story kicked aside Anson Dorrance’s grand retirement plan for his last game.
After Carolina lost 4–3 at BYU in last season’s NCAA quarterfinals with a chance to make the College Cup, Dorrance had a conversation with Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham early this year that provoked a lot of thought.
“One thing he said to me that resonated in January of this year,” said Dorrance, who posed for a photo with the current players Monday after his press conference. “He said, ‘Anson, you’ve got to protect your legacy.’ And I thought about that, and the more I thought about it, the more I was thinking that he’s absolutely right.
“I didn’t want my last game to be up three-zero against BYU, and we give up four goals in the second half, and we are eliminated from attending the Final Four,” Dorrance said. “I wanted my last game to be beating this professional team to death.”
It almost worked out perfectly. In an exhibition game on Aug. 4, Carolina rolled to a 5–1 victory over DC Power, a first-division pro team.
But, by the time Dorrance told Cunningham that he was retiring on Friday, that was the same afternoon Lee Roberts became Carolina’s permanent chancellor.
“He was going to tell the team on Friday,” said Damon Nahas, who UNC named interim head coach. “He told me, ‘I’m going to be in the stands rooting for you against Davidson.’ When we found out, we saw the conflict, then we had to push it back. That was just based on circumstance.”
To avoid “competing news cycles,” Steve Kirshner, UNC’s senior associate athletics director for sports information, asked Dorrance if he’d mind waiting a couple of days. So, Dorrance was back on the sidelines for the 3–0 win over the Wildcats, told his players the news on Sunday and the news broke later that day.
Nahas had known this day would come for a while.
The transition should be smooth since Dorrance has been more of a CEO in recent seasons. Many times last season, Dorrance credited Nahas for certain lineup changes, moves or halftime adjustments.
Nahas has been doing much of the heavy lifting for a while, handling recruiting and the bulk of the coaching. All of that wasn’t by accident.
“He intentionally went about things in a way without it really being a test because Anson doesn’t look at it like that,” said Nahas, an assistant under Dorrance for eight seasons.
“I think he put me in a position for him to evaluate and assess,” Nahas said. “I think what he thought before I came here, this would come to fruition. And he’s given me all the platform. I think I’m prepared for it. It’s about figuring out what’s the next steps. The only difference is how do you readjust some of the responsibilities to be able to help and we have an amazing staff to do so.”
It’s a tough transitional season for Carolina, which lost 21 players from last season, with 11 turning pro and nine transferring. In addition, three others who were expected to be freshmen this season instead turned pro. UNC has welcomed four freshman, five transfers and two other newcomers.
“For me to honor him is to keep the core values the way he has it, the core of what he’s built with the program,” Nahas said. “We always talk about a fusion of our ideas and our energies. And my responsibilities are to carry that on, trying to eliminate that pressure from the players. They’re going to feel it, and they’re going to from the outside. I can promise you, I’m not going to work any harder. I’m not going to have any more focus, because I’ve given my full attention and focus, and my responsibility is to continue that.”
He said Dorrance always kept the players first and he’ll continue to do that. All the elements that helped make Carolina a dominant program, including the “competitive cauldron,” will remain. With the cauldron, everything players do in practice is tracked and the players are ranked.
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“I think people run from the element of truth sometimes, and I think that still is something that’s going to drive the program,” Nahas said. “But every year we tweak it. The concept of it won’t change. There might be some additions to it. There might be some modifications to it based on what we think is going to be in the next stage of development. But as far as it being a part of it, 100%.”
Cunningham said that there will be a national search for a head coach after this season, and that doesn’t bother Nahas. He knows Cunningham has a decision to make.
“I respect his position,” Nahas said. “Someone asked me, ‘Do I think they’ll feel pressure in hiring me?’ I hope not. I hope if I’m hired for anything officially, that I’ve earned it. I hope that I prove myself and will continue to. If I’m fortunate to lead these women beyond this time, and whatever the timeline that he sets, I’ll be extremely honored and prepared, and I’m thankful for that.”
His first step in proving he deserves the permanent job will be the 9 p.m. ET Thursday season opener at Denver.
UNC schedule
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 5 | Wednesday | 6 p.m. | vs. South Carolina (exhibition) |
| 12 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Fairfield |
| 20 | Thursday | 6:30 | at Arkansas |
| 23 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Michigan State |
| 28 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at Shebourne FC in Dublin, Ireland (exhibition) |
| September | |||
| 3 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Arizona |
| 6 | Sunday | 10 a.m. | at Arizona State |
| 10 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. California |
| 13 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. NJIT |
| 17 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Duke |
| 20 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Alcorn State |
| 25 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia |
| October | |||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Clemson |
| 18 | Sunday | 3:30 | at Wake Forest |
| 23 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Stanford |
| 29 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. SMU |
| November | |||
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Louisville |
| 8, 12, 15 | Sunday, Thurs, Sun. | ACC tournament | Semifinals, final in Cary |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | ||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun | First round | |
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | |
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | |
| December | |||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | |
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
