Senior Living

/

Health

San Francisco Chronicle John Shea column

By John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle on

Published in Senior Living Features

Darcy McFarlane grew up in Marin an avid fan of the University of North Carolina soccer program, a perennial powerhouse.

"I remember being obsessed with the team," she said.

McFarlane's mother is from Chapel Hill, N.C., and back in the day, ran cross country for the Tar Heels. So family vacations and holidays often were spent along Tobacco Road and invariably included stops at North Carolina's soccer matches.

So it's easy to see why McFarlane is living the dream. Her sister, Kelly, played soccer four years for the Tar Heels.

Now Darcy, a North Carolina senior defensive midfielder and co-captain, is back in the Bay Area to play in the College Cup, soccer's final four that opens Friday at San Jose's Avaya Stadium.

North Carolina, vying for its 22nd national title, plays West Virginia, and USC and Georgetown meet in the other semifinal. Winners play in Sunday's championship match.

McFarlane's rooting section figures to be huge. Her family from Mill Valley and North Carolina. Her youth soccer coaches. Her buddies from childhood and high school (Branson-Ross). All the folks she said became "converted Tar Heel fans."

McFarlane's teammate, junior Annie Kingman, is from Woodside and graduated from St. Francis-Mountain View. As kids, they played on rival club teams.

"This is so exciting," McFarlane said. "The final four was supposed to be 20 minutes down the road from campus (in Cary, N.C.). When we heard it was going to be in San Jose, there was extra incentive to get back home."

The event was moved out of North Carolina, like a lot of others, in the wake of Gov. Pat McCrory signing a law requiring transgender people to use restrooms at schools and government buildings corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate, also excluding them from antidiscrimination protection.

Because of the anti-LGBT legislation, Charlotte, N.C., lost the NBA All-Star Game, and several major concerts, including Bruce Springsteen's, were canceled.

"I know a lot of people were really upset that events are moving out of state, but I definitely respect what the NCAA did by moving the final four and taking a stand against a bill like that, which is ridiculous," McFarlane said. "It's a huge loss for the economy of the state. Hopefully, it sends a message to make North Carolina a more inclusive place.

"North Carolina's loss is California's gain."

McFarlane played one season with her sister, a member of North Carolina's last national championship team in 2012. Kelly's now in medical school at Harvard and will be in attendance Friday.

It'll be the Tar Heels' first game in the Bay Area for either of the McFarland sisters.

"For this to all be happening is surreal," said their mother, Marilou McFarlane. "It took a lot of stars to line up. I had a sense it was destiny. It's very emotional. For Darcy's college career to end here, hopefully Sunday, is beyond our wildest dream."

 

Marilou runs a sports-technology software startup, and her husband, Craig, is a fire captain in Santa Clara. On Wednesday, he was visited by his daughter and her teammates, who bused to a site where firefighting recruits were being trained.

North Carolina head coach Anson Dorrance called it a "fantastic father-daughter moment for Darcy and her dad. I thought it was really cool for us to be there and be part of this cross-country reunion. From that perspective, it's certainly been positive.

"Obviously, it would've been easier for us to roll out of bed in Chapel Hill and drive 25 minutes over to Cary and compete for the national championship. But that would've been sort of an unfair advantage for us.

"So I like what the committee has done. My gosh, this stadium is absolutely extraordinary."

The Tar Heels have won 21 of 34 NCAA titles since 1982, including nine in a row through 1994. Mia Hamm played on four of those championship teams.

Last year's Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the country until a series of major knee injuries rocked the team. McFarlane tore her left ACL in October and missed the rest of the season, which makes this year's trip to the College Cup sweeter.

She plans to graduate in December with a business major and Spanish minor, and hopes to play for a bit in Europe. She accepted a job in Seattle with Microsoft, where she had an internship.

John Shea is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jshea@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnSheaHey

College Cup

Where: Avaya Stadium, San Jose

Friday: North Carolina (17-3-4) vs. West Virginia (22-1-2), 2 p.m.; Georgetown (20-2-3) vs. USC (17-4-2), 4:30 p.m.

Sunday: Winners, 3 p.m.

(c)2016 the San Francisco Chronicle

Visit the San Francisco Chronicle at www.sfgate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


(c) San Francisco Chronicle

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus