Jul 16, 2008
Michael Lawrence Tabbed as Head Men's Soccer Coach
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant coach Michael Lawrence has been promoted to head coach of the Bison men's soccer program, it was announced today. Lawrence has been an assistant coach at Howard the past four seasons.
"This is a wonderful opportunity," Lawrence said. "I intend to help develop a culture for the men's soccer program that embraces excellence in the classroom and on the field."
This past year, the team earned its first ranking in a Division I poll in nearly a decade after entering the NSCAA/Adidas North Atlantic Regional poll midway through the season.
Under Lawrence's tutelage, five Bison booters earned all-conference honors last year as Lamar Hyde, Emile Innocent, Joel Senior and Michael Okoh were named to the all-conference first team. Guilherme Fonseca was named to the second team as a junior.
A two-year letterwinner at Howard, Lawrence was a prolific scorer and was named the Mid-Continental Conference (MCC) Rookie of the Year in 1996. He helped the Bison to a pair of regular season league championships and a tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 1997. Lawrence has played professionally in Belgium and Germany, and for FC Galaxy of the Jamaican Premier League (1999). In 2000, Lawrence was a member of the Hampton Roads Mariners (Virginia Beach US A-League).
Lawrence has gained a wealth of experience working with various colleges and high schools. Prior to HU, he spent three years as the assistant coach at Shepherd College. From 1998-99, he was the assistant women's coach at Trinity College. He also had stints at Wakefield High School (Arlington, Va.), T.C. Williams High School (Alexandria, Va.) and Bishop Carroll High School (Washington, D.C.) While at Wakefield, Lawrence helped the Warriors to its first National District appearance and its first appearance in the Northern Virginia Regional Playoffs.
Off the field, Lawrence has served as a consultant for the DC Scores and was also a coordinator for the Olympic Development Program in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He is also the owner, CEO & Executive Director of Soccer Operations for the Continental Soccer School.
http://www.howard-bison.com/sports/msoc/2008/news/Michael_Lawrence_Tabbed_as_Head_Coach