Soccer adds Keeley Dowling to coaching staff
Dec. 22, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas – Keeley Dowling, a three-time All-America and former assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, has been named a women’s soccer assistant coach for the Texas Longhorns, head coach Angela Kelly announced on Thursday. “We are very pleased about adding Keeley to the staff,” Kelly said. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching the sport. Currently she is one of the best professional defenders in the country, but she’s choosing to put her efforts towards being a collegiate coach and we couldn’t be any more excited to have her.” “Texas is an unbelievable place to be a student-athlete,” Dowling said. “I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of everything that is Texas. I’ve worked with Angela for four years and I’m sold on her investment into the student-athlete and her ability to develop talent at the highest level while maintaining an incredibly high standard of moral and ethical integrity. I can’t wait to get started and meet the team.” Dowling arrives in Austin after serving as assistant coach for four years at Tennessee. In her four seasons in Knoxville, Dowling helped guide the Lady Vols to two NCAA Tournament appearances and one SEC Tournament title. The Carmel, Ind., native also has three seasons of pro playing experience in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). She was the eighth overall pick of the WPS Allocation Draft in October 2008 and earned a starting spot on defense. In 2009, she helped Sky Blue FC to the WPS title, scoring the eventual winning goal during a 1-0 semifinal victory. The effort earned the team an opportunity to visit the White House in the summer of 2010 to be honored by President Barack Obama. Dowling played in 19 games, including 18 starts, in 2009 and 20 games, including 18 starts, in 2010 for Sky Blue in FC. In 2011, she signed with Atlanta Beat, starting all 11 games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear. For her career, she has played in 50 games, including 47 starts.
Dowling started her coaching career as an interim assistant coach in the 2007 NCAA Tournament when then Lady Vols assistant coach Jen Laughridge Grubb gave birth to her first child on Nov. 13, 2007. Dowling served as interim assistant coach from the opening rounds of the tournament through the end of Grubb’s maternity leave. Dowling earned three consecutive All-America selections during her playing career at Tennessee (2001-04), helping the Lady Vols to their first Sweet 16 in 2002. During her career, UT amassed a 63-22-6 overall record. She was twice named Central Regional Player of the Year (2003-04), earned back-to-back SEC Defensive Player of the Year awards (2003-04) and became UT’s first soccer All-American, picking up honors from four different organizations during her playing career. She was a four-time All-SEC selection and a two-time National Player of the Year semifinalist. She also excelled in the classroom, earning Academic All-SEC honors on three occasions. During her career, Dowling tallied 25 goals, 15 assists and 65 points in 89 games, all starts. She still stands in three Tennessee top 10 lists for careers matches played, matches started, points and goals. Possessing a wealth of international playing experience, Dowling served as a captain on the U.S. Under-19 National Team and earned a gold medal at the FIFA World Championships in 2002. Two years later, she helped the U.S. Under-21 team to a gold medal in the Nordic Cup. She was one of 35 players selected to compete for a spot on the national team roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal in 2007 and she also completed for a roster spot for the 2008 Olympics. She did not make the final roster but signed a contract with U.S. Soccer in March, earning an automatic invitation to any national team tryouts for the next year. Dowling spent one season as a student assistant coach under Kelly before playing for the United Soccer League’s Carolina Hawks and professionally in Sweden. Dowling earned her bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in exercise science in December 2005. |
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