HARROGATE, Tenn. – Director of Athletics Jasher Cox has named Matthew Carr as the fifth head coach of the Lincoln Memorial University women's soccer program, announced the LMU athletics department Tuesday afternoon.
 
Bringing 13 years of NCAA Division I and II soccer coaching experience to Harrogate, Carr takes over the Lady Railsplitter program after serving as Carson-Newman University's men's and women's soccer assistant coach the previous two seasons.
 
Carr replaces Sean Fraser, who led the LMU women's soccer program the last three seasons from 2017-19 before departing to take over as women's soccer head coach at Division I University of Louisiana at Monroe earlier this year.
 
"First and foremost, I would like to thank Jasher Cox, Dr. Jody Goins and the search committee for their continued support," newly appointed Lady Railsplitter head coach Carr said. "I am honored and humbled by their confidence in me to lead this already very talented program. The level of professionalism and attention to detail through the hiring process was nothing short of first class."
 
No stranger to success in the South Atlantic Conference, Carr helped lead Carson-Newman to two regular season conference titles during his time in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Working alongside women's head coach Simon Duffy and men's leader Stephen Lyons, Carr played an integral role in the Eagles' 2018 SAC women's regular season championship and NCAA Tournament run and the men's 2019 SAC regular season title.
 
"As a staff, we will strive to create a rewarding experience for these exceptional student-athletes, both in the classroom and on the field," continued coach Carr.
 
"Women's soccer is on the national map at LMU and we intend to build upon that," Carr added. "Creating a professional setting that embodies hard work, a growth mindset and the will to succeed will be very visible in everything we do. I am thrilled to be a part of the LMU family and eager to get to work."
 
In addition to helping bring SAC championships to Carson-Newman's soccer programs, Carr mentored and developed a trio of United Soccer Coaches All-Americans in Averi Williams, Magda Mosengo and Jackie Burns following the Eagles' 2018 women's campaign. Coaching a total of five United Soccer Coaches All-Region women's players and 12 total women's All-SAC performers, including eight first-team picks, across his two seasons at Carson-Newman, Carr worked with first-team all-region selections Alex Brandan, Burns, Mosengo and Williams. Prior to the Eagles reaching the 2018 NCAA Southeast Region semifinals, Mosengo was tabbed SAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year as Williams was named SAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Year.
 
On the men's side, Carr was instrumental in training a total of three all-region players and 10 total All-SAC honorees across the last two years. Following the Eagles' 2019 season this past fall, Kensho Yoshikosi and Will Sainsbury-Logan landed spots on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams as seven of Carr's players were selected as All-SAC, including two first-team members. At the completion of Carson-Newman's 2018 campaign, Tobias Solem Karlsen was chosen to the Division II Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA) All-Region Second Team following three Eagles being named All-SAC and Karlsen claiming first-team accolades.
 
"Matthew Carr is a fantastic coach and will be a great fit within the culture of our university," commented AD Cox. "His viewpoints on the student-athlete experience align with the vision, core values and purpose of our department. His hunger for success was a clear indicator that he will continue keeping LMU women's soccer competitive on the field and in the classroom. Matt understands the importance of developing meaningful relationships and has a fresh, modern approach to the sport."
 
In addition to his mentorship on the field, Carr aided Yoshikoshi to the 2019 SAC Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and both Thaylan Silva and Yoshikoshi collected United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region plaudits. In his first season in Jefferson City, Carr oversaw Twan Verweij being named CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-District® First Team and Holly Talbut-Smith earning United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-South Region honors. This past fall, Lira Mathes was recognized as a CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-America® Third Team member and Kristina Markfort was placed on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-South Region Second Team.
 
Prior to Carson-Newman, Carr was a member of the women's coaching staff at fellow Division II Clayton State in Morrow, Georgia, in 2017.  He was also the academy coach for the Southern Crescent Goalkeeper Academy in Atlanta.
 
Carr spent four years as an assistant coach at Division I Kennesaw State from 2012-15 where the former goalkeeper worked closely with the Owls' goalkeepers and backline, using his array of experience as both a coach and former professional player to mold a talented group of defenders.
 
Following his first stint at Kennesaw State in 2010, Carr was hired as the first assistant in VCU women's program history where he helped groom a Colonial Athletic Association All-Conference goalkeeper, who finished the season ranked 25th nationally in goals against average (GAA).
 
Before to his tenure at VCU and Kennesaw State, Carr served as assistant women's soccer coach at Division II University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. While there, he helped lead the Purple Knights to the 2009 East Coast Conference Tournament title and trained goalkeeper Emelie Karstrom, the 2009 ECC Tournament MVP.
 
Spending time on staff at the Atlanta Beat of the Women's Professional Soccer league from 2010-11, Carr worked under the tutelage of former head coach Gareth O'Sullivan. In his role, he worked with the Beat's goalkeepers and reserves, which included numerous U.S. national team members and world internationals.
 
Additionally, Carr coached professionally in Iceland where he served as an assistant for the KR Reykjavik women's club from 2007-09 and the Alftanes Professional men's club in 2007. During his time coaching overseas, Carr worked with several goalkeepers of the Icelandic women's national team.
 
After playing both collegiately and professionally in goal, Carr began his coaching career as an assistant women's soccer coach at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia. With a plethora of youth coaching experience, Carr has served as a youth camp director throughout his career and is an active member of the United Soccer Coaches.
 
A decorated player in his own right, Carr most recently played professionally for the Atlanta Silverbacks FC of the National premier Soccer League. He also spent a stint playing professional soccer in Bessastaðahreppur, Iceland, where he was the starting goalkeeper for Knattspyrna Alftanes in 2009.
 
Perfecting his skills at the collegiate level, Carr received a soccer scholarship at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia, where he helped his team earn a NAIA top-10 national ranking. Carr had the luxury to play alongside some of the top youth national team players from around the globe, including teammates from the Scottish Youth national team, African national team(s) and the English Youth national team. He was a three-year varsity letter winner and two-year captain at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia, while playing club soccer in both the Premier and Classic leagues of Georgia and Virginia.
 
Carr earned his bachelor's degree in biology from West Georgia in 2008, where he helped start the women's soccer program in 2005. Matt currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.