University of Wyoming hires Colleen Boyd as head soccer coach

University of Wyoming Director of Athletics Tom Burman announced Monday the hiring of Colleen Boyd as head coach of the Cowgirl Soccer Team. She is the fifth head coach in the program’s history. Boyd joins Wyoming from James Madison University, where she spent three seasons as an associate head coach.

“We are excited to have Colleen Boyd lead the Cowgirl soccer program,” Burman said. “She will bring a renewed energy to the team and brings great enthusiasm to our student-athletes. Boyd brings a tremendous amount of experience in her days as an All-American at Oregon State, a professional player and as an assistant and associate head coach. She will make being a Cowgirl a great college experience for our student-athletes.”

Boyd started her collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at Cal State-Northridge before stops at Arizona State and James Madison. In the summer of 2016, Boyd was selected for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) 30 Under 30 program, an initiative designed to give participants exposure to the Association’s membership, and the opportunity to take advantage of educational offerings, such as diplomas and the NSCAA Convention. Boyd was chosen for the program from a pool of 350 applicants.

“I want to thank Athletic Director Tom Burman and Associate Athletic Director Peter Prigge for the opportunity to lead the Cowgirl Soccer Program and their professionalism during the hiring process,” Boyd said. “For my fiancé and I to be in a place like Wyoming is special for us. Seeing the campus and facilities and meeting the people in Laramie verified that this is an incredible opportunity.”

Boyd was a two-time All-American at Oregon State.  A standout goalkeeper, Boyd also earned All-Pac 12 honors and All-West Region honors. She ended her career with the most shutouts and lowest goals-against-average in Oregon State history. Boyd was a two-time captain and competed in three NCAA Tournaments.

“I got into coaching to create the same experience I had as a student-athlete,” Boyd said. “We want to build a culture that is competitive and feeds off hard work and high energy. Cowgirl Soccer will be committed to excellence on and off the field by producing well-rounded human beings. That starts by getting myself and the program involved in the Wyoming community. I’m so excited for this opportunity and ready to get started.”

After her time at Oregon State, Boyd played two seasons of professional soccer in the WPSL for the Western New York Flash based in Buffalo, New York. Boyd helped lead the squad to the league championship. She also played a season for the Boston Breakers as part of the NWSL.

At James Madison, she helped lead JMU to the Regular season CAA Championship. Boyd helped the Dukes lead the league in regular-season shutouts in her first season, highlighted by Hannah McShea setting the program record for solo shutouts by a junior with seven. McShea was named Second Team All-CAA in her first season as the Dukes’ starting goalkeeper.

At CSUN from 2014 to 2016, Boyd guided the Matador goalkeepers from two shutouts in 2013, the season before her arrival, to a combined 15 shutouts across the next two seasons, while dropping CSUN’s goals-against average from 1.64 in 2013 to 1.12 from 2014-15.

She is a 2012 graduate of Oregon State and is a native of La Cañada, Calif.