Chris Petrucelli’s move to Texas isn’t entirely unexpected. He was rumored to be up for the UT job since at least the Greensboro final four a month earlier. What’s surprising is that Petrucelli, who replaces Dang Pibulvech at Texas, would leave a Notre Dame program that he led to an NCAA championship for an underachieving Longhorn program that has never played in the NCAA tournament and has only had one winning season. He leaves behind a nine-year record of 175-22-10 (an .870 winning percentage) and six straight NCAA tournament appearances in South Bend, Ind. Last season’s NCAA tournament quarterfinal loss to Portland marked Notre Dame’s worst finish in four seasons. “I’m sad to be leaving such a great place like Notre Dame,” said Petrucelli, who has a multi-year agreement at Texas. “Texas presents me with a great opportunity to build another program. I can only hope we have close to the amount of success that Notre Dame has had.” Petrucelli’s is just the latest of three coaching moves in women’s college soccer. First it was Maryland’s Alan Kirkup replacing Janet Rayfield at Arkansas, then it was South Alabama’s Mark Francis replacing Dan Magner at Kansas. Petrucelli, 36, got the plum job. Next fall, Texas will open a new soccer/track & field stadium that will seat 20,000. The Lone Star State is a hotbed of girls youth soccer talent. “The opportunity to recruit such standout in-state players is a major reason why I am coming to Texas,” Petrucelli said.