Wisconsin Soccer Central

UW-Stevens Point, one of the most accomplished programs in NCAA Division III women's soccer history, hired a new coach with an equally impressive career.

Dawn Crow, who won four national championships as a player at North Carolina and has eight years of Division I coaching experience, was named the third coach in Pointers history on Friday.

She succeeds Megan Schmidt (Hartland Arrowhead/UW-Stevens Point), who resigned in November after three seasons and recently was named coach at Division III McMurry (Texas).

"I am extremely excited about this new opportunity to become the head women's soccer coach at UW-Stevens Point," Crow said in a news release. "I have been looking to get back into college soccer, and this was the perfect situation."

Crow takes over a program that once dominated the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Under the direction of Sheila Miech, the Pointers won or shared the first 11 league titles without losing a match, claimed a record 14 regular-season WIAC championships and 15 tournament titles and won 70 consecutive conference matches from 1997 to 2003 – the longest such streak in NCAA history.

However, they're just 13-18-1 in WIAC play since earning a share of their most recent regular-season title in 2010 – that's 10 more losses than they suffered in the league's first 19 years – and finished eighth in the nine-team league in 2013. Last fall, Point was 7-10-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the conference.

"Our goal is to make UWSP relevant again in women's soccer," Crow said. "We're going to recruit at the highest level, both in-state and out of state. Our players are going to be players of high character, people that care about winning and their teammates more than themselves. We want people who are passionate about soccer, and passionate about what comes after soccer."

Crow most recently coached in Texas, serving as the girls coach at Plano East High School in her hometown from 2007 to '13 and with youth teams of Major League Soccer club FC Dallas from 2005 to '14. At Plano East, 30 of her players went on to play Division I soccer.

She started her coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Virginia Commonwealth (1996) and UNC-Wilmington (1997), then was an assistant at Mississippi State in 1998 and Alabama in 1999 and 2000. Crow was the head coach at Duquesne in 2001 and '02, leading the Dukes to a 9-24-4 record, and also was an assistant at Fairfield in 2003.

"We are excited to welcome Dawn to the UWSP athletics family," Point athletic director Daron Montgomery said. "Her coaching and playing experience, coupled with her connections across the soccer landscape nationally, will prove essential in helping re-establish the championship tradition of UWSP soccer."

As a player, Crow was a two-time high school All-American and won a national youth championship in 1991 before playing for the legendary Anson Dorrance at North Carolina – the Tar Heels went 97-1-1 during her career. She went on to play for the Charlotte Speed and the Memphis Mercury in the USL W-League.

"Dawn Crow is a big-time winner, on and off the field," Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association coaching director Jim Launder said. "She will be a great representative of the university and keep up the tradition of UWSP soccer. She has great versatility as a coach and has the ability to take the reins of the UWSP program."

• Three men with state ties are among this year's "15 Top Assistant Coaches" in NCAA Division I men's soccer compiled by College Soccer News: Marquette's Steve Bode (Milwaukee Marquette/UW-Milwaukee), Creighton's Johnny Torres and UCLA's Nick Carlin-Voigt. Bode is heading into his eighth season as an assistant with the Golden Eagles and also coaches at Bavarian SC. "He is a valuable member of the Marquette coaching staff who continues to grow as a coach," CSN wrote. Torres, an eight-year veteran with the Blue Jays, played six seasons indoors with the Milwaukee Wave and one year with Milwaukee Wave United outdoors. Carlin-Voigt, who was an assistant with the UW women's program in 2005 and '06, will start his fourth season with the Bruins in the fall and made the CSN list for the second straight year. Read full article
• Wes Hart (UW), a former Major League Soccer defender who most recently was an assistant at Florida State, was named Alabama women's coach last week. He succeeds Todd Bramble, who left the Crimson Tide to take over at George Mason. Hart played for the Badgers in 1996 and '97 before transferring to Washington, and played six seasons in MLS with the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes.