Angela Kelly named Soccer head coach
Dec. 17, 2011 AUSTIN, Texas -- Angela Kelly, who spent the last 12 years at the University of Tennessee building the Lady Vols into a national contender, has been named women's soccer head coach at The University of Texas. The announcement was made Saturday morning by UT Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonsky. Kelly's appointment is effective Monday, December 19 and involves an agreement of five-and-a-half years. She will become the third head coach in the history of the program. Kelly replaces Chris Petrucelli, who was reassigned in the department following 13 years as the Longhorns' head coach. "As administrators we prioritize traits, qualities and credentials that are essential in coaching -- integrity, passion and expertise...an extraordinary ability to communicate and motivate, and a relentless willingness and capacity to work in a next-gear level," University of Texas Women's Athletics Director Chris Plonsky said. "Angela Kelly possesses all of these elements, plus a pedigree in women's soccer that has earned her respect nationally and internationally from players, coaches and the unique community of soccer. I love her hunger to win, her presence, her energy. She has absolute focus on developing elite female student-athletes into champions, personally and competitively. Our entire Texas Athletics family and team look forward to working with her and the staff she assembles to take our soccer program to consistent competitive excellence and to championships." "I am so excited to become a part of such a winning tradition here at Texas," Kelly said. "Our staff will be incredibly invested in the vision of this program and taking Texas Women's Soccer to national prominence. Our first priority is the investment into every single student-athlete's development, in the classroom, on the field, and most importantly as a young lady. "We will hit the ground running on the recruiting front and look forward to reaching out to every Club and High School coach in the state of Texas."
At Tennessee, Kelly took the helm of a program that had never advanced to the NCAA Tournament, had never won an SEC Tournament match and had never collected any league first-team All-SEC honors or seasonal hardware. She eventually led the Lady Vols to four consecutive SEC Eastern Division crowns, three straight SEC regular-season titles and four SEC Tournament titles. She was tabbed SEC Coach of the Year three consecutive seasons from 2003-05. In Knoxville, Kelly led the Lady Vols to a 160-84-20 (.644) mark in 12 years. During her time on Rocky Top, Tennessee reached nine NCAA Tournaments, making five Sweet 16 appearances. Her squads were 10-8-2 in the NCAA Tournament. Six Lady Vols garnered All-America honors during Kelly's tenure, including three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American Keeley Dowling. Tennessee also garnered 43 All-SEC and 22 SEC All-Tournament Team selections under Kelly's watch. The Lady Vols were also exemplary performers in the classroom under Kelly. Over the past 12 years, Kelly's players have earned 142 selections to the Academic All-SEC Team and SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll. During her 12 years, four of Kelly's student-athletes earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Information Directors Association, including Caroline Brown in 2011, and 13 have garnered Academic All-District accolades. Prior to becoming head coach at Tennessee, Kelly served as an assistant coach for the Lady Vols for four yours. She arrived in Knoxville in 1996. She served as a student assistant coach under legendary coach Anson Dorrance at the University of North Carolina. Kelly was a four-year letterwinner for the Tar Heels from 1991-94. She garnered All-America recognition as a senior and was three-year All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer. Playing well in the spotlight, Kelly was a three-time NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team selection. She scored eight goals and registered four assists to help UNC to four consecutive national titles. During her career, the Tar Heels posted a 97-1-1 record, won four ACC regular-season titles and four ACC Tournament crowns. When her collegiate playing career was over, she held the NCAA record for most matches played (99). A durable midfielder, she started 94 games and ended her career ranked 11th in school history with 38 goals, 12th in scoring with 103 points and 18th in assists with 27. She was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Women's Soccer Team in 2002. Kelly also enjoyed a successful international career. She was a member of the Canadian National Team for nine years, making 29 international caps for Canada during her playing career. She started every game in the midfield for Canada at the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden. She also played two seasons in the W-League for the Raleigh Wings, capturing national championships in 1998 and '99. On May 11, 2004, she was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in Vaughan, Ontario. She is just the third woman to be enshrined in the hall. A native of Scotland, Kelly spent her youth in Brantford, Ontario. She earned a bachelor's degree in physical education with an emphasis in psychology from UNC in 1994. |
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