Hail to Anson Dorrance, the 800-win man.

He’s has been so good for so long, and so self-effacing, that Anson Dorrance lives below the radar. He has not only built Carolina women’s soccer into a national powerhouse, he is the man most responsible for making the game a phenomenon for the female gender. And he continues to do it while the craze he created has seemingly brought the Carolina program back to the field.

No, the Tar Heels do not dominate like they once did when most every good girl soccer player in high school either signed with UNC or took a long look before going elsewhere. There is such parody in the ACC – heck, we lost to N.C. State this season – that schools once afterthoughts in the game have become powers. Florida State reached Carolina’s level first and most of the rest have followed to the point where the Tar Heels have a much harder time winning the conference and getting a high seed for the NCAA Tournament.

That is all Anson, who has the most wins in college soccer history. He was the USA women’s coach until he had to step down because he was gaining too much of a recruiting advantage at UNC, something USA Basketball should have done with Mike Krzyzewski after he coached our Olympic team once or at least twice. Yet, Dorrance and recruiting chief Chris Ducar still scout, recruit and sign the best players in the country. It’s not a slam dunk for every girl, as it used to be, but the Tar Heels remain the gold standard in women’s college soccer and have sent 33 players on to the Olympic team, the national teams, the professional leagues and the broadcast booth.

Dorrance won his 800th game last weekend by beating plucky Wake Forest, and together with 172 victories he notched as the UNC men’s coach in the 1970s is 28 wins away from a total of 1,000.  Anson won’t reach that plateau this season or next, but the ageless wonder will be around here long enough to do it.

You can bet on it. Great going, Coach.

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