Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
A successful player and an experienced coach Kelly Lawrence assumed the role of interim head coach at the conclusion of the 2018 season. She joined the Orange staff as an assistant coach in January 2015.
Lawrence passed her UEFA B Coaching Assessment through the Welsh Football Association in July 2018 and received her UEFA B License in November 2018. She holds the United Soccer Coaches Premier, Advanced and National coaching licenses, in addition to Goalkeeper level I and II Diplomas.
Lawrence was selected for the 2018-19 WeCOACH Mentor Program in August 2018. WeCOACH provides support resources and professional development programs to women coaches at all levels.
Lawrence became a graduate of the 2018 NCAA Women Coaches Academy class #45 in June 2018. The NCAA Women Coaches Academy, hosted in partnership between the Alliance of Women Coaches and the NCAA, is a 4-day educational training available to NCAA coaches of all experience levels, and is designed for women coaches who are ready to increase their individual effectiveness by learning advanced skills and strategies that directly affect their personal and team success.
She was a recipient of the 2017-2018 NSCAA “30 under 30” scholarship program, which is a year long education and mentorship opportunity for select up-and-coming coaches who have made coaching soccer their career choice. Lawrence is also pursuing coaching education through the Federacio Catalan De Futbol and recently completed the TOVO Training Methodology Coaching Course at UCLA through the Total Futbol Academy.
She's also completed the certificate "Periodization in Football" with Raymond Verhijen and the World Football Academy, and she has completed courses, "Principles in Football Braining" and "Pre-season Periodization."
The England native came to Syracuse from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J where her duties included coaching primarily the defensive back line, recruiting, assisting in all areas of team performance and handling day-to-day operations of the team.
She helped guide the Hawks to back-to-back MAAC regular-season championships in 2013 and 2014. Monmouth also won the 2013 conference tournament title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where it faced Penn State in the first round. In 2013, Lawrence led a defensive line that ranked first in the nation in shutout percentage (.762), fourth in goals-against average (0.42) and fifth winning percentage (.857).
During her playing career, Lawrence spent seven years with the English Youth National Teams (U15-U23's) and Great Britain. She helped England to a runner-up finish in the 2007 Women's Under-19 UEFA Cup. She played her youth career primarily for Arsenal Ladies Football club (2001-05) before her last stint in England with Fulham Ladies First Team (2005-06). Lawrence was also a member of the England National Development Program where she spent two years in residency from 2004-06.
She was a four-year starter at Indiana University and became the only player in program history to earn All-Big Ten honors all four years. In addition, she was a three-time all-region honoree and was on the Mac Herman Watch List in 2008. Lawrence won two WPSL national championships, one with Boston Breakers Reserves in 2010 and one with Orange County Waves in 2011.
After retiring from professional play in 2011, she became a Dutch Total Soccer Trainer and also took the role of assistant coach for the Pingry Girls Varsity High School team in New Jersey where she helped guide the team to a State Championship in 2012.
Amidst her coaching responsibilities, Lawrence is currently pursuing a Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine and will graduate in February 2019. She earned her bachelor’s degree in arts, humanities, kinesiology and coaching from Indiana University in 2010.
