William & Mary women’s soccer adds Grace Barnard to coaching staff

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary women’s soccer head coach Julie Shackford announced the hiring of former Tribe goalkeeper Grace Barnard as an assistant coach. Barnard returns to her alma mater after spending the last four years as the head coach at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Grace back to the Tribe,” Shackford said. “Her experience as a student-athlete at William & Mary gives her an automatic connection to our team and program. Her latest stops as both an assistant and most recently, as head coach of Assumption, make hiring her even that more exciting.  I can’t wait to see what she brings to our goalkeepers, our team, and the soccer community!  We are honored!”

Barnard posted a 29-17-11 record over three seasons (2017-19), including 18 shutouts. In total, she coached 13 Northeast-10 All-Conference selections and 11 All-New England honorees. She led the Greyhounds to the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Championship match.

Barnard saw Kallie Villemaire etch her name in the Assumption record books. Villemaire earned Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year honors, was named the East Region Player of the Year and was honored as an All-American during her career. She set the school record for goals in a season with 20 in 2018 and finished with a Greyhound record 49 during her career from 2015-18.

Prior to taking over the reins at Assumption, Barnard spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College. During her time in Hanover, N.H., the team never finished under .500 while 12 players earned all-conference honors and the team had at least one all-region selection each season. She started her coaching career at Le Moyne where she was an assistant coach for three seasons (2011-14).

Barnard holds a United Soccer Coaches National Diploma, a Goalkeeping Level 1 Diploma and a Soccer Management and Development Diploma, along with a United States Soccer Federation “D” License.

Barnard played for the Tribe from 2007-10, serving as the program’s starting keeper in her final two seasons. Barnard helped W&M to three CAA Tournament appearances and a pair of trips to the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round both times. Barnard started 30 of her 37 career appearances, posting a 1.21 goals against average. She totaled 124 career saves and notched 11 shutouts.