Mount St. Mary’s names Melissa Sherwood as women’s soccer head coach

Emmitsburg, Md. — Mount St. Mary’s University has named Melissa Sherwood as its new women’s soccer head coach, announced Lynne Robinson, Director of Athletics. Sherwood becomes the eighth head coach in program history.

“We are thrilled to announce that Melissa Sherwood has been named the next head women’s soccer coach at Mount St. Mary’s University,” said Robinson.  “We were impressed with Melissa’s collegiate coaching experience and coaching philosophy. We feel she will be great teacher and mentor to our student-athletes. Melissa’s positive spirit and enthusiasm as well as her proven commitment to student-athlete development, both on and off the soccer field, was evident. We are confident that our women’s soccer program will thrive under Melissa’s leadership.”

Sherwood comes to the Mount after serving as associate head coach at Northwestern State this past season where she helped guide the Lady Demons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005.  Northwestern State won the Southland Conference title and finished the year with a 12-6-2 record.

“I am honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility to lead the women’s soccer program as the next head coach,” said Sherwood.  “I was impressed by the beauty and tradition on campus, and in particular, the outstanding support and leadership shown by President Trainor and athletic director Lynne Robinson.  I am excited to get started on this new journey with the team. The personality they have already expressed, alongside their desire to work hard, together, is admirable.  I would like to thank Lynne, all of the administrators, staff and fellow coaches for making me feel at home during the interview process and extending their warm welcomes upon my appointment.”

Prior to Northwestern State, Sherwood was the head coach at South Carolina State in 2020 after four seasons at the helm of Saint Peter’s.  Sherwood did not coach a game at South Carolina State because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but she did help rebuild the program by recruiting 13 players.

She was the head coach at Saint Peter’s for four seasons, helping lead the Peacocks program to new heights during her tenure.  In 2018, she guided Saint Peter’s to the team’s most wins in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in nearly a decade in her second season after being hired at the age of 27 as one of the youngest Division I head coaches in 2016.  In 2019, she saw Saint Peter’s win consecutive matches for the first time in 25 years.

Sherwood started her coaching career as the head coach at Immaculata High School in New Jersey (2012-15) and on the club scene as the director of female club soccer at Advanced Total Soccer Coaching (2011-14).

As a player, Sherwood competed at England’s top college program (Leeds Metropolitan University) as part of a 10-year playing career with sides such as Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield among others.  Leeds Metropolitan won the BUCS national championship in 2008 and won their conference in every season with Sherwood.  Sherwood played professionally in leagues in Australia (Central Coast Mariners) and the United States (North Jersey Valkyries).