Lauren Gregg


Lauren Gregg is an American soccer coach and retired soccer player who played as a defender for the United States women's national soccer team. She was the first-ever female assistant coach for any of the United States' national teams and was head coach of the United States women's national soccer team in 1997 and 2000. As head coach of the women's soccer team at the University of Virginia from 1986 to 1995, Gregg was the first woman to lead a team to the NCAA Division I Final Four and to be named NSCAA Coach of the Year.
Gregg is a physician, as well as the co-author of The Champion Within: Training for Excellence.

Playing career

Gregg attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill from 1979 to 1982 where she played for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team. In 1982, she helped North Carolina win the first National Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
Gregg earned one cap for the United States women's national soccer team in 1986.

Coaching career

Gregg was the head coach for the women's soccer team at the University of Virginia from 1986 to 1995. During her tenure, she led the team to the NCAA Final Four in 1991 and seven consecutive NCAA tournament bids from 1988 to 1994. In 1990, she was named the NSCAA Coach of the Year becoming the first woman to receive the honor. She was also the first woman to lead a team to the NCAA Division I Final Four. She was an assistant coach for the United States senior national teams that won the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cups and gold at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Gregg served as head coach for the United States under-21 women's national soccer team and guided the team to Nordic Cup championship titles in 1997 and 1999. She was interim head coach for the senior national team in 1997 after Greg Ryan was fired and again for three games in 2000 after Tony DiCicco stepped down.