Play2Dream partnership with UNC lays groundwork for investment in local soccer

UNC recognized the foundation’s contributions to the program by renaming its soccer and lacrosse venue to Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.

Kate Clark, Staff Writer • October 11, 2026

The Play2Dream Stadium sign sits above Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

Generosity has shaped North Carolina women’s soccer from the start.

When former head coach Anson Dorrance started the program in 1979, few people believed that women’s sports deserved varsity teams. Since then, the Tar Heels have won 23 national championships and have been a leading force in driving investment in women’s soccer at the collegiate and international level.

Now, the team is looking to give back to the Chapel Hill community. In June, UNC renamed its soccer and lacrosse venue to Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium. Play2Dream is a private family organization founded in 2009 by Kathleen Welsh and Gary Loveman, parents of two former UNC women’s soccer players, that helps provide fitness opportunities to underserved youth through playgrounds, community spaces and sports.

When designing her playgrounds, Welsh makes it a point to let the kids be a driving force in the projects. She lets local kids vote on the design and colors. For example, a playground she designed at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston incorporates 60 different animals into its design.

That attention to detail in cultivating a fun, welcoming environment carries into the women’s soccer team’s building and locker room — both of which Welsh helped design. She added a disco ball so players could dance and get hyped before games, as well as a kitchenette so players could make and store meals to replenish calories after games and practices, rather than relying on snacks. Of course, the entire building is accented in Carolina Blue.

For head coach Damon Nahas, the renaming of the stadium — and the official partnership with Play2Dream — has been a long time coming.

“It goes way back to when the stadium was being built and even before that, to their generosity supporting the program,” Nahas said. “So, we were thrilled.”

Nahas believes that the partnership represents far more than a name change, and also represents an opportunity and responsibility to connect UNC soccer more deeply to the broader Chapel Hill and soccer communities. He pointed out how closely the program’s values already align with the foundation’s focus on building experiences beyond the soccer field, and is eager to sit down with the family in person to shape what comes next.

“The soccer is what brings us together, but there’s a greater mission involved in all of this,” Nahas said.

Nahas said while he will facilitate the collaboration, the women’s soccer players — through the team’s leadership council — will ultimately drive the partnership. So far, the ideas remain broad, with the main focus being on working with and mentoring young girls.

Welsh’s vision builds on that mentorship focus. She would like to see the team go to communities where most children cannot afford to play at expensive clubs and teach those children basic soccer skills.

“There’s a lot of kids who are very talented, and even if they’re not talented, just giving them something to do instead of getting into trouble, giving them a way to figure out how to be mentally and physically healthy,” Welsh said.

Another idea she had was using the crowds at games for book drives, where fans would be given a UNC T-shirt for donating books. In the long term, she envisions a UNC-themed playground that could bring families to games and other campus spots, like the library.

Beyond Chapel Hill, Welsh is a frequent donor to The Wish Project, a nonprofit organization based in Massachusetts that provides gifts, school supplies and basic necessities to families in need.

Last Christmas, Welsh sponsored 105 children, buying everything on their wishlists. Additionally, when she noticed that children needed something to do while their families shopped for clothing at the organization’s warehouse, she coordinated with staff to set up a play pen with toys and books in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

“She almost touches on every part of the agency,” Crystal Stewart, project manager at The Wish Project, said. “It’s amazing, we love her so much.”

Welsh remembered a conversation she had with Dorrance where she pushed back when he said that the early players had nothing, and had to fight for everything.

“You’re wrong, because they had you,” she recalled telling him. “They had somebody who gave them a place to play, a place to be their best and go beyond what they thought they were capable of.”

Now, through Play2Dream, Welsh and the Tar Heels hope to continue that legacy of generosity, offering children a place to play, grow and chase their dreams, whether or not they ever wear Carolina Blue.

From the source @dthsports | [email protected]

Joey Forgione is the 2026-2027 deputy photo editor. Joey is a sophomore studying advertising and public relations.