Email coach
Karen Ferguson-Dayes
With 200 wins (200-183-41), Karen Ferguson-Dayes is the winningest coach in Louisville history. She took a struggling soccer program at the University of Louisville and molded it into a top-25 program.
In 2000 when she was named the eighth head coach in program history, the situation that Ferguson-Dayes inherited with the Cardinals was the challenge of her career. The program has just one winning season in the previous 15 years.
Nobody believed the process of turning the Louisville women's soccer program into a winner is one that would occur overnight, but after three seasons at the helm, Ferguson-Dayes guided the Cardinals to their first winning season in 11 years with a 12-4 record in 2004.
Ferguson-Dayes' appointment and success here at Louisville has not gone unnoticed, she has guided the Cardinals to not only their first NCAA Tournament berth, but multiple trips and her teams continue to rewrite the record book year after year. She has also seen the Cardinals through the transition into the nation’s toughest soccer conference in the ACC and into their new state-of-the-art facility at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.
IN THE ACC
In the 2022 season, Ferguson-Dayes tallied career win No. 200 as the Cardinals defeated NC State on the road, 1-0, on Oct. 20. She guided the Cardinals to six wins during the 2022 campaign, including a 3-2 win over #23 Memphis on a neutral field. The Cardinals did not allow a goal in five of their six wins and tallied seven clean sheets on the season. Ferguson-Dayes say defender Sarah Hernandez finish her career in the record books as she finished with 82 games played, second-most in program history.
Following the fall portion of the 2020 season, Emina Ekic was named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC, while Gabby Kouzelos was named Third Team All-ACC. It marked the first time that a Louisville player has earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors. The last time a Louisville player was named conference offensive player of the year was in 2013 when Christine Exeter took home the honors in the Cardinals' lone season in the American Athletic Conference.
Ekic was selected by Racing Louisville FC with the fifth pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, becoming the first UofL player to be selected in the NWSL Draft.
In 2019, the Cardinals finished fourth in the ACC with a record of 5-3-2, and made their sixth NCAA Championship appearance with an overall record of 13-5-2. The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Cardinals had three players earn All-ACC honors in 2019. Emina Ekic was named a first team All-ACC selection for the second straight year and her third straight year of earning All-ACC honors. Redshirt junior Gabby Kouzelos was named a second team All-ACC selection while senior Brooklynn Rivers earned third team All-ACC honors for the second straight year. Ekic was named a second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches association for the second straight year.
In the fall of 2018 the Cardinals finished tied for fifth in the ACC with a record of 6-4, and made their fifth NCAA Championship appearance with an overall record of 12-7-0. Emina Ekic was named a second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches association. She became the seventh All-American in school history and the first Cardinal to earn All-American honors since Christine Exeter was named a third team All-American in 2011. Ekic is also the first Louisville player to earn second team honors, with the previous six selections earning third and fourth team honors.
During the 2017 season, Ferguson-Dayes guided the Cardinals to another winning season while then freshman Emina Ekic garnered numerous awards. Ekic was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Cardinal to earn a major ACC award. Ekic also earned all-region, All-ACC and All-ACC academic awards. The Louisville native led the Cardinals in scoring seven goals and three assists.
During the 2016 season, Ferguson-Dayes added another first for the Cardinals, pulling an upset over the top ranked team in the nation, North Carolina. The overtime win was the biggest win in school history.
IN THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC
In 2013, Louisville earned its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance after finishing second in the AAC with a 7-1-0 record and a 12-5-2 overall record. The Cardinals had two players earn American Athletic Player of the Year honors with Corral and Exeter earning midfielder and offensive player honors for the second time in their careers.
IN THE BIG EAST
The fall of 2005 meant the first foray into the BIG EAST, a conference that Ferguson-Dayes had spent seven years in as a player and assistant coach. With the jump into one of the elite conferences, it was expected that the Cardinals might stumble in making the jump, but under the guidance of Ferguson-Dayes, the team notched double figure wins for the second consecutive season. Three team members were honored by the BIG EAST, led by junior Jamie Craft, a first-team selection who was also named to two difference All-Region teams.
The 2006 squad became the first in school history to earn a national ranking, peaking at 15th in the nation. It was also the first team to advance to the coveted plateau that is the NCAA Tournament. Success was not limited to the field, as the team set marks in the classroom with the second-highest team GPA, a record number of Red and Black Scholars and members of the AD Honor Roll, as well as the first Academic All-American in school history (Amy Seng). Six players earned All-Region honors, three found their name on the All-BIG EAST squads and two players were named All-American (Jamie Craft and Joanna Haig), just the second and third such honored in Cardinal history. Craft moved on to a career in professional soccer, enjoying a solid season with the W-League Boston Renegades.
In 2007 a trip to the BIG EAST semifinals was a new plateau of success for the program, as were the five players honored on All-BIG EAST teams. In tying the school record with 13 wins and advancing to the NCAA's for the second consecutive season, the team collectively posted a 3.416 GPA in the classroom.
Haig established five school records, and finished the season third in the nation in save% (0.893) and fifth in GAA playing in Ferguson-Dayes' defensive brand of soccer.
Prior to a disappointing 2009 season where injuries limited the Cardinals' success on the field, the 2008 season served as a learning experience for a team that featured only three seniors. Even with the loss of All-American goalkeeper Joanna Haig and three other key starters, UofL advanced to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament for the third straight season and won nine games overall against one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
Seniors Jessica Mello and Shannon Smyth earned Third Team All-BIG EAST honors and were joined by senior Mallory Lampson as NSCAA Academic All-Region selections.
In 2010, the Cardinals were led by Exeter, who was selected as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, and Uremovich, who was named to the league's All-Rookie Team. U of L opened the season with a school record seven straight wins, which included victories over No. 13 South Carolina and rival Kentucky, and then closed the season by advancing to the BIG EAST Championship for the fifth time in six seasons.
The 2011 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, she has coached three All-Americans including Christine Exeter in 2011, Joanna Haig in 2007 and Jamie Craft in 2006 and a pair of Academic All-Americans in Haig (2007) and Amy Seng (2006). She also coached multiple player of the year winners as Exeter was selected as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 while Charlyn Corral was BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year in 2012. The superlatives are nearly too numerous to list completely. Needless to say Ferguson-Dayes has been the most successful coach in UofL women’s soccer history and is one of the top coaches in the nation.
During the record-setting 2011 season, the Cardinals also advanced to their first ever BIG EAST Tournament title game and ended the season ranked 24th overall in the final NSCAA coaches’ poll. Along with Exeter’s league honors, Jennifer Jones was a Third Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2011 while Erin Yenney was named to the conference’s All-Rookie Team. Louisville earned an at-large berth into the 2011 NCAA Championship and was selected as a host for the first time in the post-season tournament. The Cardinals delivered on the opportunity to play in front of the home fans earning a dominating 2-0 victory over Dayton for the program’s first ever NCAA Championship win. They followed that with an impressive 2-0 road triumph over No. 5 Memphis in the second round before falling to ninth-ranked Florida State in the Sweet 16.
In 2012, Louisville had four players earn All-BIG EAST honors with Corral, who was also an NSCAA All-Region honoree, leading the way with her First Team selection. Midfielder Angelika Uremovich was named Second Team All-BIG EAST while Exeter and goalkeeper Chloe Kiefer earned Third Team honors.
A season after leading Louisville to its best season in school history with a school record 14 wins, a first ever BIG EAST National Division title and its first ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2011, Ferguson-Dayes led the Cardinals double-digit wins for the third straight season and the seventh time.
YOUTH SOCCER
Achieving at a high level is not something new for Ferguson-Dayes, who has previously worked as the ODP Girls 1993 age group head coach and the Region II liaison for the US Soccer National Teams in charge of tracking and following the progress of members of the US Soccer Youth National Team system. She served as an assistant coach of the USA U-21 team for their 2004 season.
During the summer of 2003 she served as an assistant coach for the U-19 Adidas Youth Team and she has also served as the head coach of the Region II 87 girls' team, which competed in the Adidas ESP event and the November Interregional event in Boca Raton, Florida.
In 2003 she worked with the Region II girls U-15 team, and accompanied the team to numerous interregional events.
EARLY IN HER CAREER
Prior to accepting her position at Louisville, she was the assistant coach at the University of Connecticut for three seasons. The Huskies were 60-12-2 during the three years she spent as an assistant, advanced to the final eight twice (1998 and `99), and were national runner-up in 1997.
A 1993 graduate of UConn, Ferguson-Dayes coached under and played for legendary soccer coach Len Tsantiris who has not missed the NCAA Division I soccer tournament during his tenure.
Before coaching at UConn, Ferguson-Dayes served as an assistant at Boston University during its first two seasons of soccer where the team was an astonishing 24-7-2 overall.
STELLAR PLAYING CAREER
In her playing career at UConn as a midfielder, she was named first team All-America in `91, `92 and `93. The Huskies were 63-24-3 during her four-year career and she tallied 53 points (18 goals and 17 assists.)
In 1990 as a freshman, the Huskies competed in the national semifinal where she was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team. Soccer America Magazine selected her as a Team MVP in 1992, an award given to 11 players nationally.
Ferguson-Dayes' playing career was not limited to the collegiate level. She played for the U.S. National Team in 1992 and 1993.
While at UConn, she was involved in the Connecticut Olympic Development Program and served as staff coach in Region One. Ferguson-Dayes holds an NSCAA Advanced National Soccer license, as well as a USSF B license.
A native of Holbrook, N.Y., and a graduate of Sachem High School, Ferguson-Dayes is married to Hylton Dayes and the couple has one son, Brandon.
show more