CALGARY – The University of Calgary's women's soccer team will usher in a new era in the fall of 2011.

Wayne Giles, Dean of Kinesiology, announced Wednesday that Matthew Shepherd will be the first full-time women's soccer coach in Dinos history, effective immediately. He replaces Robin Slot, who resigned last fall after 17 seasons with the program, winning a conference title in 2005 and the CIS championship in 1998.

A native of Junee, New South Wales, Shepherd joins the Dinos with significant experience at all levels in the sport and will work to further develop the University of Calgary's program.

“We welcome Matthew to the University of Calgary,” said Giles. “Two years ago, we identified women's soccer as one of our core programs and have been working toward the hiring of our first full-time coach since that time. I am confident that Matthew's technical skill, his vision, and his commitment to recruitment and development of student-athletes will help the Dinos take the next steps toward becoming an elite program.

“We also extend our thanks to Robin Slot for his many years of tireless work on behalf of the Dinos women's soccer team and for laying the foundation which we are confident Matthew will build on.”

“The opportunity to coach women in a university environment is something that really appealed to me,” said Shepherd. “I like building, I've had the opportunity to do that before, and I look forward to helping advance this program to the next level.

“This program has been established for some time, and it has a history of success despite not having a full-time coach. This is a new path forward, and we'll be trying to get back to those successes. It starts with keeping the best Calgary players in Calgary, and that will require building relationships and making this program a more attractive proposition for local players.”

A former semi-professional player in Australia and the United Kingdom, Shepherd began his coaching career in 1997 with the University of New South Wales women's team, winning a silver medal at the Australian University Games. He then coached UNSW's men's team before moving to Canada, where he was a high school teacher in Vancouver and coached B.C. provincial teams from 2002-04.

In 2005 he moved to Saskatoon, where he was Director of Coach and Player Development in Saskatchewan's national training centre. In addition to coaching, he oversaw the provincial teams program as well as led several coaching development initiatives.

Shepherd returned to Australia in 2007 to direct the women's national training centre in Victoria, where he was responsible for the development of the state's best 13- to 17-year-old females. He was the first head coach of the Melbourne Victory in the Australian national women's league, leading that team from 2008-10 before making his permanent return to Canada. He joins the University of Calgary from the Prairies' national training centre, where he has served as a staff coach since relocating to Calgary last year.

Shepherd holds a Bachelor of Sport Science degree from the University of New South Wales, along with an education diploma from the University of Technology in Sydney. He is an 'A' license coach in the Canadian Soccer Association.

Shepherd will be at the controls as the Dinos enter their 28th season of Canada West competition this fall.

University of Calgary Dinos
WOMEN'S SOCCER COACHES
Neal Nevitte (1984-86)
Eugene Horak (1987)
Keith Pritchard (1988-93)
Robin Slot (1994-2010)
Matthew Shepherd (2011-)

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