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The ghost of College Cups past can finally go away.
UNC women’s soccer has a new head coach who took over at the dawn of this season. The Tar Heels have a largely imported team after doing a mega swap in the transfer portal, losing some stars and getting a new group that finally fit together.
Interim coach Damon Nahas will become the head coach, period. Not with a contract for life like Anson Dorrance had, but certainly for long enough to prove the six straight wins in the NCAA Tournament was no fluke.
On the same field where Dorrance had his (and the school’s) 23rd national championship all but won in 2022, Carolina turned the WakeMed Soccer Park all blue. The Heels took a 1-0 lead over Wake Forest on another brilliant goal by Olivia Thomas and held on like they could not do with UCLA, losing in overtime after squandering a 2-0 lead late in that NCAA title game.
The women on his team certainly love Nahas, dousing him with water and chanting “Da-mon! Da-mon!” as they all took turns cradling the national championship trophy. Nahas is not a Carolina graduate who played his college soccer at N.C. State, which has rankled some of the greatest players from the Anson era. But he has certainly earned the title, though no one will ever be beloved like Dorrance.
Goalkeeper Clare Gagne, the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the College Cup and grad transfer from Brown, made seven saves, diving for shots that denied early goals by Wake Forest. She looks like a gallant athlete who was a decorated player at Brown and wanted “the opportunity to continue to push myself to the highest possible level in athletics and academics.” At UNC, she is working toward a master’s degree in public health after helping the Bears win three straight Ivy League championships and earning a degree in health and human biology.
Thomas was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player with a goal in the 3-0 win over Duke in the semifinals and the winner Monday night. The 5-10 sophomore and all around athlete lashed a left-legged shot into the Duke net Friday night and converted a free kick against Wake with a curling right-footed goal inside the far post. Thomas missed some of the season with an injury but returned to play the best soccer of her young life.
“I chose Carolina because of the close relationship I formed with the coaches from the start,” she said. “The environment here is like no other. It’s driven and competitive.”
The College Cup was her golden moment, capped by beating the Deacons with the majestic goal. Off the pitch, she is majoring in chemistry with minors in creative writing and applied science.
No. 23 for the best women’s soccer program is also the number of an equally legendary basketball player for the Tar Heels. Champions, all.
Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
For the most part the women are still student athletes, the way college sport should be.
Congratulations, fine game, and beating dook in the semi’s is the icing!