High Point University

High Point University Dept of Athletics
833 Montlieu Avenue High Point, NC 27268

Division 1 North Carolina Southeast

Private Small National competitor

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Coaches

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Aaron McGuiness

Aaron McGuiness was announced as the fifth HPU women's soccer head coach on July 8th of 2022.

McGuiness comes to HPU after spending five seasons as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University. With McGuiness the Rams have posted a 45-18-5 overall record, he as also coached 17 A-10 all conference players during his tenure at VCU. In his first season he was a part of a 16 win season for the Rams where VCU went to its second A-10 Tournament Championship game. In 2021, VCU won the A-10 regular season championship and tied a program record with nine straight wins with McGuiness as an assistant.

McGuiness has head coaching experience; he spent four seasons as the head coach of the Thiel College women's soccer team.

He knows what it is like to be a student-athlete, he was a four-year starter and a two-year captain at Shenandoah. He was twice named All-USA South Conference honorable mention. He is also played professionally, he was a member of the Palm Beach Soccer Club in the Brisbane Premier League from 2001-2005. He was a starter on the team that won the Brisbane Premier League regular season and placed as the runner-up in the Queensland Cup.

McGuiness is originally from Tweed Heads, Australia.

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Kate Ward

Kate Ward joined the High Point University women's soccer staff as an assistant coach in August 2022.

Prior to HPU, Ward served as an assistant coach at UTEP beginning January 2019. In 2019, Ward helped coach the team to its first C-USA tournament berth and the program’s first double win total in three years. During her time at UTEP, Ward also helped guide four All C-USA players on the field.

Before her time at UTEP, Ward served as a graduate assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University. She assisted the coaching staff with film analysis, recruiting administrative support and worked with a team that made two appearances in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.

Ward is the current captain of the US Deaf Women’s National Team. During her time with the team, Ward has represented the United States at five international tournaments. She has helped the team win two DIFA (Deaf International Football Association) World Cups (Turkey 2012, Italy 2016). She was also a part of the USA team that won three gold medals at the Deaflympics (Taiwan 2009, Bulgaria 2013, Brazil 2022).

Ward was recently nominated for an ESPY in the category of Best Athlete with a Disability, Women’s Sports after the team’s gold medal win at the Deaflympics in Brazil in May of 2022.

She holds multiple leadership roles within the disability soccer world, including with organizations such as FIFA, US Soccer, United Soccer Coaches, and USA Deaf Soccer, as she works to continue to make the game inclusive and accessible for all.

Ward played four years for Appalachian State University and graduated in May 2016 with a bachelor of science in cellular molecular biology with a 3.7 GPA. She earned a master’s in education in sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in December 2018.

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Tori Collar

Tori Collar joined the High Point University women's soccer staff in August 2022 as an assistant coach.

Prior to HPU, Collar worked with the Charlotte Eagles, a non-profit, faith-based soccer organization for almost 4 years. While with the Eagles, she was the Goalkeeper Director of the Charlotte Eagles Soccer Club coaching boys and girls ages 10-18 years old. Additionally, she was the Goalkeeper Coach and Ministry Director for the Charlotte Lady Eagles WPSL team, helping the Lady Eagles become Regional Finalists in 2019 during their inaugural year of the WPSL, Carolina Conference Champions in 2021, and Regional Semi-Finalists in 2022. During her time with the Eagles, she assisted the head coach in recruiting, travel, and other administrative tasks. While with the Eagles, Collar also trained goalkeepers from schools such as Mississippi St., the University of Louisville, the University of Illinois, the University of Cincinnati, and UNC Charlotte. She also served as the Club Finance Manager and previously worked as an Executive Assistant.

Prior to working with the Eagles, Collar completed her Bachelors degree in Sport Management through Liberty University, graduating in December 2016. She played for five years at Liberty University, but as her last season began in the fall of 2017, she suffered a spinal injury in a car accident four games into her red-shirt senior year. While this ended her college soccer playing career, she went on to complete a Masters of Business Administration in May 2018 through Liberty University.