McGuire hired as Women's Assistant Soccer coach at Texas
AUSTIN, Texas -- After a successful four-year stint as the head women's soccer coach at Mississippi State, Neil McGuire was hired as an assistant women's soccer coach at The University of Texas by head coach Chris Petrucelli on Tuesday, July 20. McGuire takes the place of former Longhorns assistant coach Tony Capasso, who resigned his position earlier this summer to pursue other soccer opportunities. "We are very excited to have a talented person like Neil joining our staff," Petrucelli said. "He's proven himself to be a quality coach at the Division I level and will add a great deal to our program." "I am thrilled at becoming a member of Coach Petrucelli's coaching staff at The University of Texas, and am looking forward to helping him in any way that I can to further the progress of the Longhorns soccer program," McGuire said. "Coach Petrucelli is a coach that I have a great deal of admiration for and I look forward to learning from him." Averaging nine wins per season while the head coach of Mississippi State from 2000-2003, McGuire not only aided the Bulldogs program in establishing single-season school records for overall wins and conference victories with 13 and five, respectively, during the 2001 campaign en route to being tabbed the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Coach of the Year, but also claimed the first-ever women's conference title in Mississippi State athletics history by securing a share of the 2001 SEC Western Division Championship. In fact, he took the reigns of the program coming off a 4-16 season in 1999 and within two years improved the Bulldogs' fortunes by eight and one half games. Notably, McGuire has served as a head coach during his career for five seasons as he also held that post at Iowa Central Community College in 1996 and currently boasts a head coaching mark of 60-47-7 (.557). A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, McGuire followed a prep career by earning an associates degree in physical education with an emphasis on coaching from Telford College in Edinburgh before making his way to the United States in 1992. Once in the U.S., McGuire attended Augusta State University (Ga.) and not only completed a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1997, but also became the first player in school history to earn four consecutive first-team All-Peach Belt Athletic Conference honors as well as Jaguars' MVP laurels. Additionally, McGuire was not only a three-time NSCAA All-Region selection who received the distinction of an NSCAA All-America nomination in 1992, but was also a regular on the Augusta State Academic Dean's List, a two-time PBAC Presidential Honor Roll member (1994-95) and the recipient of the prestigious Tommy Werrick Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in 1995. Following his collegiate playing career, McGuire was hired on as head coach of both the men's and women's soccer programs for one season at Iowa Central Community College. Under his guidance, the women's team finished the season as regional champions with a 9-3-1 overall mark and featured the nation's leading scorer, while the men's team won the regional championship on the strength of a 15-4-1 record and a No. 14 national ranking. With such success, McGuire then accepted his first Division I coaching job as an assistant at Iowa State in 1998. Under the tutelage of head coach Kathy Klein, he learned different aspects of coaching and helped lead the Cyclones to an 11-8 record and an appearance in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. After his one season in Ames, Iowa, McGuire was then hired on by the Arizona State athletic department in the fall of 1998 as an assistant coach. While in Phoenix, he served as the Sun Devils' head goalkeeper coach and oversaw team compliance and academics. He was also involved in practice organization and recruiting efforts while aiding ASU in posting a 13-6 record and a 5-4 mark in the Pacific 10 Conference. From there, he accepted the head coaching position at Mississippi State on Jan. 25, 2000, and guided the Bulldogs for four seasons while also earning a master's of education degree with an emphasis in sports administration in 2003. In terms of playing professionally, McGuire was a member of the Falkirk Football Club in Scotland before joining on with the Des Moines Menace Professional Soccer Club while at Iowa State and the Arizona Sahauros Professional Soccer Club while at Arizona State. McGuire is married to the former Jesica Dwyer and the couple has one daughter, Kelyn Elise.
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