Lisa Cole (born May 14, 1973) is an American soccer coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of the

Antigua and Barbuda women's national football team The Antigua and Barbuda women's national football team, nicknamed ''The Benna Girls'', is the national women's football team of Antigua and Barbuda and is overseen by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, a member of the CONCACAF and th ...

and the Head of Women's Football Development at the

Antigua and Barbuda Football Association The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association is the governing body of football in Antigua and Barbuda. They control the Antigua and Barbuda national football team. Association staff Competitions The ABFA oversees the administration of Antigu ...

. She is most known for being the former head coach for the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

Early life

Cole graduated from

Kentridge High School Kentridge High School is a (senior) high school that is located on in Kent, Washington. It is the second-oldest and second-largest high school by area (while the largest by population) in the Kent School District. It primarily serves student ...

in Kent, Washington and attended

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ame ...

from 1993 to 1997, where she competed in four years of collegiate women's soccer. A goalkeeper in her playing days, Cole held the school records for most saves in both a season and career as of 2012. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education and a minor in Coaching.

Coaching career

International

Cole has served in multiple international coaching roles. In 2018, she assisted the

US Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

U17 Women's National team during their August trip to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

in preparation for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. From 2015 to 2017, Cole most notably served as the Head Coach of the Papua New Guinea U20 Women's National Team in their run up to and during the 2016 FIFA U20 Women's World Cup. Papua New Guinea did not have a national team program prior to her being hired for the position and the team drew Sweden, Brazil, and North Korea in World Cup Group A. While finishing 0–3 in Group A, the team scored their only goal of the tournament against eventual champion North Korea. In August 2019, she was hired as the

's Director of Women's Football and Senior Women's National Team head coach.

Professional

Cole coached in both the

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS) and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) women's professional leagues as an assistant and head coach. From 2008 to 2010, she served as the First Assistant for the Boston Breakers (WPS) under Head Coach,

Tony DiCicco Anthony D. DiCicco Jr. (August 5, 1948 – June 19, 2017) was an American soccer player and coach and TV commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994 to 1999, during which time the team wo ...

. She took over as Head Coach of the club prior to the collapse of WPS in 2012. In the interim years between WPS and NWSL, the Boston Breakers joined the

Women's Premier Soccer League Elite The Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite) was a women's semi-professional soccer league created by the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) to support the sport in the United States, both from continued interest by WPSL teams in profess ...

(WPSL-E) and Cole coached the team to a first place regular season title with an 11–3–0 record and the best season in franchise history. Cole was instrumental in the establishment of the NWSL and served as Head Coach for the Breakers in 2013 when they finished fifth during the regular season. After returning from international duties in Papua New Guinea in 2017, Cole joined the

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

as an Assistant Coach to

Vera Pauw Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch football coach and former player. She currently manages the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She has managed several national women's football teams, including Scotland, Netherland ...

. In June 2018, Cole then moved to the Washington Spirit under her current position as the professional team scout.

Semi-Professional

Prior to the establishment of WPS, Cole served as First Assistant for the SoccerPlus CT Reds in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). ...

(WPSL) under Tony DiCicco. The Reds won the U23 National Championship in 2007 and in 2008 were the East-North Division Regular Season Champions.

Collegiate

Cole started her NCAA Division I Women's Soccer coaching career as an Assistant at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

in 1997. During her time there, the Ole Miss Rebels advanced to the 1999

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

Tournament Final and finished as SEC Western Division Regular Season Champions. From 2000 to 2003, Cole was an Assistant at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

under Head Coach Len Tsantiris. In her tenure there, Cole coached the 2002

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Goalkeeper of the year and helped the team to reach the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Final (2002), Sweet 16, (2001), and Elite 8 (2002). The

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...

were also Big East Tournament Champions in 2002. Cole's first role as Head Coach was for the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

from 2003 to 2005. During that time, she compiled an overall record of 32–24–7. She coached the team to the

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

(A10) Tournament Semi-Final (2003) and Final (2004). In 2004, her team won the NSCAA Team Merit Award and she coached the A10 Rookie of the Year, a First-Team NSCAA/Adidas Academic All-Region Player, and an ESPN Academic All-American. Cole's most recent collegiate coaching role was as a Volunteer Assistant from 2005 to 2006 at Florida State University under Head Coach Mark Krikorian and alongside Erica Walsh Dambach (the current Head Coach for Penn State Women's Soccer). While at Florida State, the women's soccer team competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Playoffs and made the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Final Four.

Youth

Cole has extensive youth coaching experience. In addition to her current role with the Washington Spirit Girls DA Program, Cole is the Technical Director fo
Centre Soccer Association
a non-profit community soccer organization in State College, PA. She has been a member of the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) staff since 2002, and has served as a member of both the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association and Rhode Island Youth Soccer Association Coaching Education Staff. Throughout her career she has worked with the Washington, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Connecticut state ODP programs and has served as a coach on multiple ODP Foreign Tour including those to Germany (2006, 2007), Brazil (2006, 2007), and England (2002). In 2006, Cole also spent time volunteering in Brazil with Cross-Cultural Solutions working in orphanages and teaching soccer (futbol) in schools.

Sports Administration

Cole was the Director for the SoccerPlus Education Center from 2006–2008, a non-profit organization that provides and participates in educational programs, seminars, community outreach events and individual mentoring on and off the soccer field. She has been a member of

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

(formerly the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 3 ...

) for over 20 years and is very active within the organization. She has served on the Board of Directors, as chair of th
NSCAA Women's Committee
(now named the Women's Membership Group), and as the Advocacy Council Chair. She is also a member of the United Soccer Coaches Coaching Academy and primarily instructs advanced goalkeeping courses.

Coaching Licenses and Diplomas

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Lisa 1973 births Living people American women's soccer players Women's association football goalkeepers National Women's Soccer League coaches Boston Breakers coaches American women's soccer coaches Pacific Lutheran University alumni 21st-century American women Houston Dash non-playing staff Women's national association football team managers