GoHeels Exclusive: A Family Affair

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Brianna Pinto wants nothing else, nor do many girls soccer players her age.

A young North Carolina fan, she decorates the Carolina Blue walls inside her bedroom with posters of Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. She wants to be like them, compete like them. Perhaps above all, Pinto desires to play for him, Anson Dorrance, the architect of the greatest dynasty in college sports.

The daughter of two former Tar Heels – Hassan and Meleata, who played soccer and softball at UNC, respectively – she's heard stories about Anson's greatness for almost her entire life. He recruited Hassan as the men's soccer coach before switching to the women's team full-time in 1989. Anson never coached Hassan. But they maintain a close relationship.

Pinto's mother and brothers, Hassan Jr. and Malik, also love Anson. Naturally, she does, too.

So almost a year after Anson starts recruiting her, Pinto commits to Carolina. She's only in the ninth grade. How can one make a college decision so soon? But this is her dream. And you can't fault her for chasing it.

Finally, her time arrives. Pinto's no longer the wide-eyed admirer of Dorrance and the Tar Heels. She's now 18. She's coming off the bench Sunday afternoon at Finley Fields South, the team's temporary home, in the second game of the season against Ohio State. It's her first. She just rejoined the squad on Wednesday after playing with the U.S. U-20 National Team at the FIFA World Cup in France.

Yet she fits in seamlessly. She and Emily Fox, who also played for the U.S at the U-20 World Cup, show an instant chemistry that Dorrance later praises. And after Rachel Jones draws a foul just outside the penalty area in the 37th minute, Pinto takes the free kick.

Pinto, relaxed and confident, lines up. The whistle then blows, and without any hesitation, she bends the 20-yard shot into the upper right corner of the goal.

The goal marks the first of her career. But it proves even more significant. Although Bridgette Andrzejewski adds another in the second half, Pinto's goal ultimately represents the game-winner in a 2-0 victory, the 1,000th of Dorrance's distinguished career.

"It means everything," said Pinto of scoring in the historic win. "I've wanted to play for this program my entire life, and I remember coming out here as a kid and watching Anson coach. He was fantastic then, and he's fantastic now. And I can't wait to build my career alongside him."

Perhaps Pinto's promising career features a national title.

All but two classes have won one since Dorrance founded the UNC women's soccer program in 1979. Overall, the Tar Heels have claimed 22 national championships. Their 21 NCAA crowns pace all women's NCAA Division I sports programs.

Carolina has also captured 21 of the 30 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championships since the first event in 1988. Before then, it won the initial ACC title in 1987, when a round-robin format at the end of the regular season determined the champion.

Competition certainly helps breed this success. But as Pinto will learn, if she hasn't already, Dorrance's main priority remains character development.

"Anson is a such an awesome coach," Annie Kingman said. "But he's more than just a soccer coach; he's a life coach for all of us, and he makes being a part of this program so incredibly special. Every day, I'm just so thankful to be here, especially as a fifth-year.

"This win is all for him. Every win is for him because he's taught us so much, and I'm just so lucky to be a part of it."

Even after all this time, Bill Palladino feels the same.

He spent three years as an assistant coach for Dorrance with the UNC men's soccer program from 1977-79. Palladino then became an assistant for the women's team in 1980. Since then, he's helped shape the program. Specifically, he's specialized in developing defensive schemes.

Several times during his 38-year tenure, Palladino's received head-coaching offers from other Division I schools. But he's turned them all down. He's stayed loyal to Carolina. He's remained devoted to Dorrance.

With the men's and women's teams, they've won 846 games together. But they never kept track. The relationships they formed mattered more.

"We've had a great time hanging out together and just coaching incredible human beings who are great soccer players but also great people," Palladino said. "The wins are great, and if we didn't have those, it probably wouldn't be as pleasant. But the fact that we've had the opportunity to work with those people, those kinds of players and individuals, has been fantastic."

Eventually, those players leave. They continue "living on a never-ending ascension," just as Dorrance instructs. And he remains invested in everything they do. Perhaps nothing about his job brings him more joy than hearing from them.

So unsurprisingly, after the Gatorade showers and commemorative jersey presentation, Dorrance appears happiest Sunday when he spots Crystal Dunn and Heather O'Reilly.

"The man of the hour," shouts Dunn, before offering Dorrance a few more compliments. But in a matter of seconds, Dorrance shifts the conversation from his latest milestone to the exploits of Dunn and O'Reilly, members of the National Women's Soccer League Shield-winning North Carolina Courage.

Similar exchanges surely occurred before this one. Several other former Tar Heels are in town for alumni weekend. Dorrance emphasized their attendance more so than the win when he spoke with reporters moments earlier. But he still took some time to reflect.

"I'm certainly not taking credit for any of this," said Dorrance, who recorded 172 wins as the UNC men's coach and has 828 with the women's team. "We all know what this means, that I've been coaching a long time with a lot of wonderful players on both sides of the gender divide. And all of a sudden, the number ends up 1,000. Honestly, that surprised me.

"But obviously, I'm very proud, proud to represent this great University and proud, actually, of the way we played today."

Dorrance insisted that his players didn't need to play for him, like Kingman said they did. "As long as they're kicking everyone's rear-end in, play for whatever you like," Dorrance said.

But Pinto never wanted anything else, other than to play for, and win with, him.

"We wanted to get the 1,000th win as soon as possible," she said. "It's an honor for him, and I'm super excited because it's an incredible accomplishment. Not many coaches can say they've coached to 1,000 wins."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Bridgette Andrzejewski

Emily Fox

Rachel Jones

Annie Kingman

Brianna Pinto

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