This article appears in the March 2020 edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Head to USLacrosse.org to subscribe.

Playing in the North Carolina women’s lacrosse team’s Blue-White preseason exhibition in January, something caught freshman Julia Dorsey’s eye — a man standing on the stone promenade behind the goal at Dorrance Field. 

The man, it turned out, for whom the field was named.

Dorsey still gets butterflies around Anson Dorrance, the legendary UNC soccer coach and architect of what Sports Illustrated labeled the greatest college sports dynasty of all-time.

Any time Dorsey visited Chapel Hill for lacrosse, she made sure the trip included a stop in the soccer office. Dorrance got his first look at Dorsey during an ID camp that included a mix of committed players and prospects.

“She impressed us with her athletic platform and also with her experience as a right-sided defender,” he said.

Dorsey not only earned a spot on the soccer team, but also emerged as a freshman starter as the Tar Heels advanced to the NCAA tournament final. The turning point came against rival Duke in October. Dorrance, whose philosophy is to make frequent substitutions, tabbed Dorsey in the 25th minute. 

“Not to toot my own horn, but I was kind of a beast that game,” Dorsey said. “I went in for this tackle that was just a very hard tackle. Anson likes to say I get there fast and angry. He loved that about me. That tackle in that game won me the spot. After that, I started every game.”

Dorsey, the Baltimore Sun’s 2018-19 Female Athlete of the Year at McDonogh (Md.), is the sixth player in North Carolina history to play both soccer and lacrosse. Maggie Bill (2014-18) did it most recently.