Courtesy: Vermont Athletic Communications
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Kristi Lefebvre, a native of Colchester, Vt., has been named the head women's soccer coach at the University of Vermont. Dr. Robert Corran, Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics at UVM, made the announcement today.
Lefebvre (pronounced lah-fave) had been serving as interim head coach after Kwame Lloyd resigned from his position on October 26.
“We feel fortunate and excited to have Kristi assume the leadership of our women’s soccer program at this important time," said Corran.
Lefebvre recently completed her third season on the UVM women's soccer coaching staff. She was promoted to the first assistant position in 2009 after joining the Catamount program as a part-time assistant in 2008.
"I would like to thank Dr. Bob Corran and Jeff Schulman for their confidence in me to step into the head coaching position. As a Vermont native, I could not ask for a more exciting opportunity than to lead the women's soccer program at the school I grew up proudly supporting," said Lefebvre.
"The values and expectations of the University are consistent with my own, and I am optimistic for the future and direction we are headed. There are several areas that make up the overall experience of a student-athlete, and I am dedicated to ensuring our student-athletes have every opportunity to succeed."
A former University of Connecticut and Colchester (Vt.) High School standout, Lefebvre came to Vermont after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. She was also a member of the FSA SoccerPlus FC staff with Tony DiCicco, the former U.S.
Women's National Team coach, since 2005.
Lefebvre graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2006 after an outstanding four-year career with the Huskies. She helped UConn win three Big East Regular Season titles and two tournament championships in her four years.
The Huskies also advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times, including an appearance in the Final Four and national championship game in 2003.
Lefebvre served as a team captain as a senior and earned team MVP honors that year. She was also named to the NSCAA All-Northeast Region and NEWISA All-New England teams in 2005. She closed out her career ranked among the all-time leaders in games played at UConn with 93 appearances.
Prior to her collegiate career at Connecticut, Lefebvre played locally at Colchester High School. She was the Gatorade Player of the Year and Vermont Player of the Year twice and was named to the all-state first team all four years. Lefebvre also earned NSCAA/adidas all-America honors twice during her scholastic career.
Lefebvre also played for one of the top club programs, the Bethesda (Md.) Fury, prior to beginning her collegiate career. She won three state championships, two regional championships and one national championship in 2001 with the Fury. Prior to joining the Fury, Lefebvre played locally with the Far Post and Nordic Club programs.
She was a member of the Region 1 ODP Team from 1998-2002, and a U.S. National Team Pool player from 1998-2001 at the U-14, U-16, and U-19 levels. She also was named to the U.S. U-16 Youth All-American Team in 2001.
Lefebvre continued her playing career following her graduation from UConn. In 2006, she led the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League to the Eastern Conference Regular Season Championship, and served as captain of the SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds of the Women’s Premier Soccer League
(WPSL) from 2007-2008.
"Kristi has very strong technical and interpersonal skills, tremendous credibility within the state and across the women’s soccer community, and a passion for the game, each of which are keys to moving the program forward. She and our women’s soccer program each have a very bright future and we look forward with much optimism as she steps into her new role,” said Corran.
Lefebvre holds several coaching credentials including a USSF "A" License and an NSCAA Premier Diploma, the highest coaching badges awarded by each organization. She is also a member of the Region 1 Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff.