Zac Shaw - Women's Soccer Coach - University of Connecticut Athletics

Zac Shaw

Title:
Assistant Coach

Shaw enters his seventh season as an assistant coach at UConn in the fall of 2017. He previously served as the head coach at Rhode Island from 2005-10, earning Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year honors in 2005. During his tenure at URI, Shaw led the Rams to a 48-46-6 record while recruiting Women's National Team members from Iceland, Canada, Finland and Guyana along with 2007 Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year Jessica Babice. Shaw was a finalist for the 2007 NSCAA Northeast Regional Coach of the Year award.

During his UConn stint, Shaw has helped lead the Huskies to three-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a mainstay in the Top 25 the past two seasons. Working closely with the goalies, Emily Armstrong had tremendous success under Shaw. Armstrong was a two-time American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player en route to a 2014 American Athletic Conference tournament title.

Prior to his time at Rhode Island, Shaw spent one season at Florida and one season at Wisconsin as an assistant coach. While at Florida in 2004-05, Shaw helped led the Gators to the SEC Regular Season and Tournament Championship. Florida ended the 2004-05 season with a No. 9 national ranking. At Wisconsin from 2003-04, Shaw recruited a class that finished the 2004 season at 16-5-1 after going 10-9-2 in 2003.

Shaw began his Division I coaching career at Penn State from 1998-2000.Shaw returned to Penn State in 2002. During his time at Penn State, Shaw led the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten Conference Championship all four years while advancing to the NCAA Tournament College Cup in 2000 and 2002. During his tenure at Penn State, Shaw was the top recruiter for notable players Christie Welsh (2001 Hermann Trophy Award Winner, U.S. National Team selection and three-time First-Team All-American) and Joanna Lohman (U.S. U-21 National Team captain and First-Team All-American). Shaw left Penn State in 2000 as a founding assistant coach in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) with the Carolina Courage. He then spent a year with the New York Power before returning to Penn State in 2002. He also spent 10 years as a member of the Region I Olympic Development coaching staff from 1998-2008. Shaw founded and serves as the Director of Coaching for the Rhode Island Lambs Girls Soccer Academy from 2006 while also serving in the same capacity at the Jamestown-Fortuna R.I. Soccer Club from 2006. He began his coaching career at Division III Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., in 1992 before coaching his alma mater, Ithaca College, in 1994.

A First-Team All-American goalkeeper at Ithaca in 1991, Shaw was inducted into the Ithaca College Hall of Fame in 1998. Shaw was named a First-Team NSCAA Regional All-American in 1990 and 1991 while being named Empire Athletic Association Athlete of the year in 1991-92. Shaw earned a bachelor's degree in psychology/neuroscience from Ithaca in 1992 and a master's degree from Penn State in college counseling/college student personnel in 2001. He resides in Rhode Island, with his wife Emily (nee Oleksiuk) a former All-American and member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. They have one son, Oscar, and a daughter, Astrid, born in April 2012.

Zac Shaw Timeline

1992 Assistant Coach - Nazareth College (NCAA DIII)

1994 Assistant Coach - Ithaca College (NCAA DIII)

1998 Assistant Coach - Penn State University (NCAA DI)

1999 Assistant Coach - Penn State University (NCAA DI)

2000 Assistant Coach - Penn State University (NCAA DI)

2000 Assistant Coach - Carolina Courage (Professional WUSA)

2001 Assistant Coach - Carolina Courage (Professional WUSA)

2002 Assistant Coach - New York Power (Professional WUSA)

2003 Assistant Coach - University of Wisconsin (NCAA DI)

2004 Assistant Coach - University of Florida (NCAA DI)

2005 Head Coach - University of Rhode Island (NCAA DI)