Academy Directors

Ray Leone

One of the most successful coaches in women's soccer, Leone carries a wealth of coaching experience with 17 years as a collegiate head coach. Leone guided the Crimson to a 10-3-5 record in just his second year at the helm, leading Harvard to its first Ivy League championship since 1999 and first berth in the NCAA tournament since 2004.  The Crimson went 5-1-1 in the Ivy League and entered the NCAA tournament on an eight-game unbeaten streak.  Leone also guided six Crimson to All-Ivy League honors, including Melanie Baskind, Harvard’s third Rookie of the Year in a row, and first-team selections Lizzy Nichols and Katherine Sheeleigh.  For his efforts, Leone was tabbed the Northeast Region Coach of the Year by Soccer Buzz

 He came to Harvard after a six-year stint at Arizona State, where he posted a 60-45-4 record. Leone's successes at ASU were not limited to the playing field. His teams perennially achieved the school's highest grade point average among its 22 varsity programs. In 2005 the Sun Devils placed a school record 11 student-athletes on the Academic All-Pacific-10 Conference team. In all Leone coached nine All-Pac-10 honorees while guiding the team to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and a school-record No. 9 national ranking in 2004. 

Prior to heading the Sun Devils, Leone coached at Clemson from 1994-2000. He spent five years as an assistant and one as co-head coach before being named head coach for the 2000 season. A season that saw Leone named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year as the Tigers won a school-record 19 games en route to the ACC regular season championship and a spot in the national quarterfinals. In his seven years at Clemson, the Tigers finished among the nation's top 15 teams each year with 20 all-league selections.

Leone has not limited himself to coaching at established schools, having started two collegiate programs prior to working at Clemson. He started the program at Creighton in 1989, and within five years guided the Blue Jays to a top-five regional ranking. His coaching career started at Berry CollegeGa.) in 1986, and he has the notoriety of being the only coach in collegiate soccer history to take a first-year program to a national championship game. The next season, 1987, Leone's team won the NAIA national championship as he earned national coach of the year honors.

Katie Shields 

Shields serves as Leone's Assistant Coach at Harvard University. Collegiately, was a four-year starter for the Crimson and turned in one of the top careers in program history before graduating with a degree in government. In the goal, Shields was a four-time All-Ivy League selection, including first team accolades following her senior campaign of 2005. That same year, she was selected to the NCSAA First Team All-Northeast Region after allowing just eight goals, the second-lowest total in school history.

Her 11 total shutouts recorded in 2005 rank as the most in a single season in Harvard history. In the Crimson annals, Shields concluded her career ranked second all-time in minutes played (4,145), third in total saves (272) and fifth in save percentage (.863). Shields also helped the team to an appearance in the 2004 NCAA Championships. Her .909 career save percentage ranks third all-time in Division I women's soccer.  

Prior to her return to Harvard, Shields held assistant coaching jobs at Arizona State and UC Irvine. Shields is also a  Director for Tony DiCicco's Soccerplus Goalkeeper School.


Tracey Leone

With over 17 years of coaching experience at both international and collegiate levels, Leone's impressive credentials on the bench make her one of the top mentors in the business. A three-time national champion as a student-athlete at North Carolina, Leone also has been a part of three World Championship teams. In 2003, she became the first American to win a World Championship as both a player and as a head coach, bringing home the first in 1991 as a member of the US Women's National Team and the later as the head coach of the US Under-19 National Team. Leone, who is a USSF `A' Licensed Coach, has spent the past four years as a member of the US Women's National Team coaching staff, serving as the head coach of the Under-19 squad from 2000-03 before serving as an assistant coach of the US Olympic Team at the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece. Prior to her stint with the US National Team Program, Leone spent six seasons on the sidelines at Clemson, serving as the program's head coach from 1994-97 and then as the co-head coach with her husband in 1998 and 1999. Leone brought the Tigers to the Division I level in 1994 and then guided them on a historic run that included an appearance in the NCAA tournament, marking the first time a program advanced to the national tournament in its first varsity season of NCAA Division I competition. For her efforts, Leone was selected as the 1994 South Region Coach of the Year. During her tenure with the Tigers, her squads strung together a streak of 57 consecutive weeks in the national rankings while making six NCAA appearances in as many seasons. In the post-season, Clemson would reach the Sweet 16 in 1998 and twice advanced to the Elite 8 (1997 and 1999). Upon her departure from the Tiger program following the 1999 campaign, Leone had compiled a record of 89-39-4 and an impressive .690 winning percentage. Prior to assuming the coaching duties at Clemson, Leone spent seven years as a member of the Olympic Development Program (1993-00) where she was named the Nebraska Director of Coaching and was a member of the Midwest and South Region Olympic Development Staff. Her duties also included a stint as an assistant coach with the Under-21 National Team and as the head coach of the Under-17 South Region Team. Her first collegiate coaching stint came in 1991 as she was named an assistant coach for the women's program at Creighton with husband Ray serving as the program's head coach. On the coaching staff for three seasons (1991-92) and the recruiting staff in 1993, Leone was a major contributor to the success the Bluejays found in 1993 when they earned a place in the national rankings on the strength of a 14-3-2 (.789) season. The team's win total was a school record at the time and was equaled one year later. In her playing days, Leone spent four years as a member of the US Women's National Team (1987-91) which culminated with the Americans winning gold at the 1991 World Championships. Prior to her time with the national team, Leone was a stand-out at North Carolina where she earned All-America honors while helping her team to three NCAA titles. Her play also earned her a place among the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) All-Time Top 50 players in women's soccer history. Leone graduated from UNC in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a North Carolina Teaching certificate for grades K-6.

Tracey Leone Career Highlights:

  • Three-time NCAA National Champion
  • Three-time NCAA All-America Second-Team Selection
  • 1991 Gold Medalist in the World Championships
  • Top-50 Players of All-time in ACC History
  • 2003 Gold Medalist in the U-19 World Championships - Head Coach
  • 2004 Gold Medalist in Greece Olympic Games - Assistant Coach
  • First American to win World Championship as a Player and a Coach  

 


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