The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Keeley (Dowling) Hagen recently completed her eighth season as an assistant coach for the Texas soccer program. Hagen, a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America honoree as a defender at Tennessee, joined the Longhorn staff in December 2011, after serving for four years as an assistant coach for the Lady Vols.
The Longhorns posted a 13-5-3 overall record with seven shutouts in 2018 while the UT defense tied for the second-fewest goals allowed in a single season (16) and posted the third-lowest goals-against-average (0.74) in school history. Texas started the year unbeaten over its first 11 matches at 9-0-2, won its first 10 home matches and climbed as high as No. 6 in the Soccer America and Top Drawer Soccer polls. Hintzen earned the program’s first Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year accolade after leading the league in assists (nine) and points (29) while rating second in goals (10). Midfielder Julia Grosso picked up the Longhorns’ third-straight Big 12 Freshman of the Year accolade, while midfielder Haley Berg joined Hintzen and Grosso on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams.
The 2017 campaign was one for the Longhorns record books as UT registered a 14-4-3 overall record and got off to the best start in school history while advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 for only the fourth time in program history. Texas’ defense posted a school-record-tying 11 shutouts (all by new single-season record-holding goalkeeper Nicole Curry), led by the efforts of Curry and All-Region defender Atu Mshana. Along the way, Texas was the last undefeated and untied team in all of NCAA Division I women’s soccer while equaling school records with an 11-match winning streak and a 13-match unbeaten skein to open the campaign. UT also reached a high of seventh in the national polls before finishing at No. 14. Texas was also remarkably clutch in extra time, managing a school-record-tying five OT victories.
Injuries provided the major storyline of the 2016 season as both leading scorers from 2015 (Alexa Adams and Mikayla Flores) were lost during the year to ACL tears. Flores went down just 22 minutes into the season opener against Seattle while Adams was lost on Sept. 30 against Oklahoma State. In all, eight major roster contributors combined to miss nearly 70 total matches of action while the Longhorns struggled to an 8-9-1 mark and a 1-6-1 record in Big 12 action. Close matches also didn’t go UT’s way as the Burnt Orange & White went just 2-8 in one-goal contests and 0-3-1 in overtime. The year was highlighted by the efforts of rookie forward Hintzen, who earned Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and Second Team honors.
Despite being picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches, the Longhorns managed an 8-6-4 overall record in 2015 and a third-place conference finish in the regular season. Along the way, Texas posted six shutouts, allowed just 18 total goals, earned a berth in the annual Big 12 Championship and scored high-profile road victories at No. 14 UCLA and No. 17 Texas Tech, marking the first time since 2002 that the program had achieved such a feat. Individually, senior netminder Abby Smith earned NSCAA All-Central Region honors and broke the school’s career shutout record with 30 blankings, while freshman forward Adams led the way with six goals and four assists in reaping All-Big 12 Second Team honors.
During the 2014 campaign, Hagen help direct Texas to an 11-8-4 overall record, a berth in the Big 12 Championship semifinals and back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Headed by an experienced backline, boasting a trio of seniors in Brooke Gilbert, Whitney Jaynes and Julie Arnold, and one the top goalkeepers in the nation in Abby Smith, UT’s defense posted 10 shutouts, just one from equaling the program single-season record of 11 established back in 2008. Among the shutouts were high-profile blankings of No. 6 Texas Tech (W, 1-0), No. 9 West Virginia (T, 0-0, 2 OT – Big 12 Championship semifinals) and No. 25 Arkansas (T, 0-0, 2OT).
From an individual standpoint, Gilbert proved a threat not just on the defensive end of the pitch during 2014, but also on the offensive end, totaling four goals and dishing a pair of assists for 10 total points to rank fourth on the squad. Fellow senior defensive stalwarts Jaynes (one goal, three assists) and Arnold (first career goal) and sophomore defender Isabelle Kerr (one assist) also contributed as part of a combined 15 different Longhorn players that totaled points during the season.
Texas registered an impressive 12-6-2 record in 2013, going unbeaten at home in the friendly confines of Mike A. Myers Stadium (9-0-1) for the first time since 2008 (6-0-4). UT managed eight wins over its last 12 contests and went 5-2-1 in league play, rating third in Big 12 play and marking its first top three conference finish in seven years. Despite an impressive resume, however, the Horns failed to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament Field of 64.
Defensively, the 2013 season was one of the finest campaigns in school history. Texas allowed just 16 goals over 20 matches and posted eight shutouts, marking the second-fewest goals permitted in a single year in program history.
In her initial season on the Forty Acres in 2012, Hagen helped Texas continue its string as the only current Big 12 Conference member to make the league’s postseason tournament every year of its existence. The Longhorns locked up the No. 4 seed to the event, its highest since finishing the regular season in second place in 2007.
During the campaign, UT earned its first victory over a ranked opponent since Oct. 22, 2010, with a 1-0 victory over No. 22 Oklahoma State on Oct. 5. To begin the league season, Texas shut out Iowa State and Oklahoma, marking the first time since Oct. 10-15, 2010, that the Longhorns had blanked consecutive Big 12 Conference opponents. In league action, Texas allowed just five goals versus Big 12 foes in tying for the conference lead in that category.
During her time as an assistant coach in Knoxville, Hagen helped guide the Lady Vols to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and one Southeastern Conference Tournament title.
The Carmel, Ind., native played three seasons of professional soccer as she suited up for Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). She was the eighth overall pick of the WPS Allocation Draft in October 2008, heading to Sky Blue FC and earning a starting spot on defense. She joined a roster that included U.S. Women’s National Team members Christie Rampone, Heather O’Reilly and Natasha Kai. In 2009, Hagen helped Sky Blue FC to the WPS title, scoring the eventual winning goal during a 1-0 semifinal victory. The effort earned the team an opportunity to visit the White House in the summer of 2010 to be honored by President Barack Obama.
During the 2009 campaign, Hagen played in 19 games, starting 18. A year later, she appeared in 20 games with 18 starts for Sky Blue FC. In 2011, she signed with Atlanta Beat, starting all 11 games before suffering a season-ending ACL tear. For her career, she played in 50 games, including 47 starts.
In addition to the WPS experience, Hagen played for the United Soccer League W-League’s Charlotte Lady Hawks and professionally in Sweden. While with the Hawks, Dowling was named to the 2005 W-League All-League Team as well as the All-Central Conference Team.
As a player for the Lady Vols, Hagen earned three consecutive NSCAA All-America selections (2002-04), becoming the first All-America honoree in program history. She helped Tennessee to its first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance in 2002 and to a four-year record of 63-22-6 (.725 winning percentage).
The 2003 and 2004 Soccer Buzz Central Region Player of the Year also earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors during those two campaigns. In addition to the NSCAA accolades, Hagen picked up All-America honors from four organizations during her playing career. She was a four-time All-SEC selection, a two-time Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy semifinalist (2003-04) and a two-time Soccer Buzz Player of the Year finalist (2003-04). She also excelled in the classroom, earning Academic All-SEC honors on three occasions.
At the end of her four years, Hagen had tallied 25 goals, 15 assists and 65 points in 89 games, all starts. She still rates in four Tennessee career top-10 lists: matches played, matches started, points and goals.
After spending the 2005 campaign as a student assistant coach, Hagen started her full-time coaching career as an interim assistant in the 2007 NCAA Tournament when Lady Vols then-assistant coach Jen Laughridge Grubb gave birth to her first child. Hagen served as interim assistant coach from the opening rounds of the tournament through the end of Grubb’s maternity leave.
Possessing a wealth of international playing experience, Hagen served as a captain on the U.S. U-19 Women’s National Team and earned a gold medal at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002. Two years later, she helped the U.S. U-21 team to a gold medal in the Nordic Cup.
Hagen was one of 35 players selected to compete for a spot on the national team roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal in 2007 and competed for a roster spot for the 2008 Olympics. She did not make the final roster, but signed a contract with U.S. Soccer in March, earning an automatic invitation to any national team tryouts for the next year.
Hagen received her bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in exercise science from the University of Tennessee in December 2005. She also earned her United States Soccer Federation "A" license in 2019.
