GoHeels Exclusive: Anson Dorrance Preseason Q&A

UNC Associate Athletic Communications Director Dave Lohse sat down with UNC head coach Anson Dorrance in the preseason to talk about the 2018 season, the upgrade in Tar Heel women's soccer facilities, the upcoming 2019 campaign and the overall health of the program as it enters its 41st season of varsity action in 2018. Here are highlights of the conversation. Dorrance also provided insight on each of the 32 players on the Tar Heel women's soccer roster in 2019.

Lohse: Now that you are a few months removed from its conclusion, what are your impressions of the 2018 season.

Dorrance: "I loved 2018 for all the right reasons. We had an absolutely wonderful team. We had a great run at the ACC championship and the NCAA championship. There but for the grace of God we could have been champions of both. It was an extraordinary group who was exceptionally well led and I want to give a shout out to Taylor Otto and Julia Ashley who were both wonderful leaders, possessing completely different styles in their leadership approach, but absolutely brilliant leaders. I loved being a part of their lives and also watching them lead and guide this fantastic team to two finals.
"We were a group that got better and better. The watershed moment for us was the weekend out in California when we took two hits. From that time on we got back to work, became grittier, tougher and more effective and then went on a great run, going undefeated in the ACC until the ACC championship final. In this conference that's extraordinary especially when you think about the fact FSU finished seventh in the ACC and went on to win the national championship. For us to go through that same conference undefeated and winning the ACC regular season championship was a remarkable accomplishment. So I am very proud of that run. It could have gone our way. I thought in the final we were a tad better but not so remarkably better than we deserved to win. FSU took advantage of a break they got, got the goal they needed and then they locked it down and we could not get one back.
"I was very proud of the run, especially the incredibly exciting moment in the semifinal when Brooke Bingham wins the ball in the back, gives it to Fox who penetrates off the dribble, who then finds Julia Ashley who then finds Pinto who gives it back to Julia who gives it to Dorwart and now all of a sudden Julia Ashley is finishing inside the box. It was one of the greatest goals scored in UNC soccer history. Not just for the importance of the goal which gets us into the final but also the crowd that was there watching. The atmosphere and everything about that goal exemplified the great run we had getting to both championship games. So looking back for me it was an absolutely fabulous season. It was interesting after we didn't win it I had so many people wanting to commiserate with me about the fact we didn't win it. I don't look back at that championship loss or the ACC final loss as needing commiseration. I thought the team achieved its potential. We could have won either one but the nature of a soccer game as anyone knows is that you might win because of some good luck, you might lose because of some bad luck. But it wasn't for lack of effort or commitment or any reason except it's the nature of the game sometimes. So I am very proud of last season. I think it's a great foundation for us going into next year where we return a lot of the star cast and hopefully next year's team has the potential to be even better."

Lohse: Talk to me about the excitement you possess with the completion of the new Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium on campus where the old Fetzer Field stood. You will play your first scrimmage there on August 6 and your first regular season game on August 22 against Indiana.

Dorrance: "If we were moving into an ordinary new stadium I think we could mute our excitement. But this thing is absolutely spectacular in every respect. Obviously we had to carve the new stadium out of the existing topography. We went through all these evolutions about how we were going to pay for it. At first, in the original plans, we were going to level everything and even build a futsal court into one side of the stadium because obviously I think futsal is a key to our sport's development. And then all of a sudden I found out if we were to level the concrete on the original stadium side that was going to cost us a fortune. If we were going to rebuild the McCaskill Soccer Center which was originally going to be leveled and build a futsal court over there that was going to be a bit of an issue. And then came the construction of the IPF, the indoor practice facility, which is a facility all of us are going to be able to use, but it is primarily a part of the football training complex, caused further evolution in the project. That sort of changed the shape of the stadium and how we were going to construct it. So all of a sudden we were left with the fact McCaskill was going to stay and the future for that building is going to be wonderful. It's going to be a Hall of Fame building for all four sports that play there. What they ended up building is absolutely spectacular. It's not the classic mirror where you cut the stadium in half where each side looks exactly like the other. Now every side of the stadium is completely different and in my opinion it elevates the quality of the stadium because now it has this interesting look. It's almost artistic in a very positive way as opposed to a sterile look. Of course if we'd built a sterile stadium it would have been an improvement on the old stadium. What ended up happening with us having to make all these adjustments was that all of a sudden what we have left is spectacular. We have the largest section of the stadium being on the original side which is obviously a more gradual incline away from the field. And on the other side next to the IPF it's more a radical vertical climb which brings the people at the top of that side closer to the field than the opposite side. We have two rows on the new building side and then we have an open end zone where we can hold various functions in that end zone. I've been to some lacrosse games in the spring and I can't believe how incredibly attractive the stadium is. I think the construction of the concourse around the whole stadium gives it breathing room. The concourses are wide and it's so easy to get from one side of the stadium to the other side. The amenities in this thing are absolutely extraordinary. For me this is beyond excitement. What it looks like, the design our architects came up with, the construction and to where we are and where we are going to go, I'm thrilled with everything about it."

Lohse: Talk about how things went for you and the program in the spring semester 2019. I know you had some numbers challenges having graduated a huge class last year but what were your impressions.

Dorrance: "Despite having a miniscule roster because of the graduation of a large 2018 senior class we did some good things. We also lost Emily Fox to the U.S. full team – of course that's a very positive way to lose a player – and we lost Zoe Redei as she studied abroad in England. But we brought in a couple of grayshirts in January in Maggie Pierce and Hollie Klanke, two kids who will certainly get into the playing mix next fall. We ended up playing a couple of college teams for a half and ended up beating both of them. We played the North Carolina Courage to a 2-0 defeat which is fabulous given some of the results they've had this year. We went up and tied the Washington Spirit on one of their home fields last spring. A lot of players got better. Taylor Otto took a nice jump. Morgan Goff took a nice jump. You can see players jumping which is my expression for players getting better. So for me in every respect the spring was absolutely fabulous."

Lohse: Talk to us for a little bit about the challenges you face with your 2019 schedule.

Dorrance: "The schedule is good. Obviously if we don't play Duke in the regular season we want to play them earlier in the year. We have a home and home with them this year. This might be the way to do it. I think it's good for both programs. We might also set up this relationship with NC State as well. Because with the new stadium I think something that is critical is to fill the stadium. We love having a quality team like Duke on our schedule twice. We're playing Washington and Portland and the reason for that is we want to be able to recruit out West. We want to be able to recruit in California which is why we went to Santa Clara and Stanford last year. We also want to be able to recruit players from the Northwest like Maddy Schultz. We want to make sure that is part of our routine. Washington and Portland will be tremendous West Coast challenges for us. In the Duke tournament we will play a couple of fine soccer programs in LSU and UNLV. We have Wake Forest in our non-conference schedule because we wanted to play another excellent local team. They are coming to us because their home schedule was filled up and it helps our non-conference schedule against an elite opponent. Wake is going to be very good next year. Arkansas is going to also be a challenge. Then we have the conference schedule and it is what it is. It's the best conference in America. It's going to challenge us and I think for all those positive reasons we are going to develop as a team."

Players Mentioned

Julia Ashley

Brooke Bingham

Emily Fox

Morgan Goff

Taylor Otto

Maggie Pierce

Zoe Redei

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