Maryville University of Saint Louis Women's Soccer

St. Louis native Lori Lawson officially assumed the position of head coach for the Maryville University women's soccer team beginning January 1, 2018 and sits in her eighth season as Head Coach of the Saints. She was an assistant coach for the Saints from 2013-15 and was named as the head coach-designate in the fall of 2015. Lawson was a member of the United States Women's National Team which won the 2015 World Cup in Canada. She played in the USA's contest against Colombia during the World Cup and scored a goal in an exhibition game versus New Zealand played at Busch Stadium. In six seasons at the helm, Lawson has led the Saints to a 87-25-26 overall record including banner years for the program in 2022 and 2023. Maryville won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in 2022 on their way to the first NCAA Regional Tournament win in program history with a 1-0 final over Northern Michigan University on Nov. 11, 2022. The Maryville women followed that up and were the 2023 regular season conference champs, finishing with a 10-1-2 record, and again beating seventh-ranked Northern Michigan 2-1 in the 2023 NCAA Regional Tournament, before losing to Grand Valley State in the second round.   2024 represented continued success for the Saints under Lawson, as the team achieved the highest United Soccer Coaches (USC) ranking in program history at No. 8, with an offense that reached as high as No. 2 in the nation in scoring. Maryville once again captured the GLVC Regular Season title and earned hosting duties for the NCAA tournament, where the team defeated GLVC rival McKendree 3-2 in the first round. She retired from the game as a player in 2016 and finished with 106 caps with the USWNT. Lawson, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, most recently played as a midfielder with the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL.    Lawson has previous college coaching experience when she was an assistant women's soccer coach at Washington University in St. Louis from 2010-12. A graduate of Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves, Lawson was ranked by Soccer America as the No. 2 player in the nation. She was a two-time Parade Magazine High School All-America and twice earned All-State honors for the Markers.   In college, she went on to a standout career at North Carolina, completing her eligibility in 2006. For the Tar Heels, she was a three-time All-American and helped the team win the 2003 National Championship. A three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, she scored 30 goals and had 32 assists during her career with the Tar Heels. Lawson earned her degree in sociology from UNC in 2013.   Lawson played two seasons with the St. Louis Athletica of the WPS, served as team captain, and was a WPS All-Star. She also spent two years with the WPS’s Atlanta Beat. Lawson signed with AIK Fotboll Dam and played one season in the Swedish professional league.   In 2002, she was a member of the United States Under-19 World Championship Team and scored nine goals with the U.S. Women’s National Team. She played in four games for the U.S.A. in the 2008 Summer Olympics and scored a goal in a 4-2 victory over Japan in the semifinals. Lawson is married to Caleb Lawson and they have two daughters.

Delabar enters his 17th season as the head women's soccer coach at Maryville University. He joined the Saints in 1999 and since has led them to a 146-138-21 overall record. In just his first year at the helm of the Saints program, Delabar led the women to a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament and regular season championship. It was also the first time in the history of the program that they received a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. In 2002, Delabar took over the Maryville men's soccer program and coached them to a 33-73-6 (.321) record in six seasons. Delabar also coached Maryville's first GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference) All-Conference selection as Lauren Dieckmann was named third-team All-GLVC in 2009, Maryville's first season of competition in the conference. During the 2012 season, the Saints women's soccer team earned the GLVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's Sportsmanship Award. The squad also earned the NSCAA team academic award for the fourth straight year. Under Delabar's guidance, goalie Jena Casagrande earned the team's first GLVC Player of the Week award when she was recognized for her efforts ending the week of Sept. 24, 2012. In 2013, Shannon Foley was Maryville's first All-Conference selection and she repeated her All-GLVC honors in 2014. The Saints also posted their most successful season since joining the GLVC as they won five league games and six overall. Delabar, who is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), brings a vast amount of coaching and playing experience to Maryville. He holds a USSF National "A" coaching license and has also served as an assistant soccer coach at Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. At the high school level he was the head boy's soccer coach at Fort Zumwalt North High School from 1989-98 and has continued to serve as the head girl's soccer coach since 1992. As a student-athlete at Quincy University, Delabar earned All-American honors at goalkeeper, while also helping lead the Hawks to three National Championships. He graduated from Quincy in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in History. Upon graduating, Delabar extended his playing career to the professional level with both the New York Cosmos and the St. Louis Steamers. In 1989, Delabar was inducted into the Quincy University Athletic Hall of Fame, and more recently he was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Soccer Hall of Fame. In the off-season Delabar acts as director of the Maryville Saints Soccer Camps, while also holding a separate goalkeeper's camp. Delabar is a Physical Education teacher at South Middle School in the Fort Zumwalt School District. He and his wife, Alicia, have three children - Mike, Amanda and Anna.

Lexi Gentry joins the Saints coaching staff after a stellar playing career spanning 2020-2024.  She led her Saints’ teams to a career record of 54-21-18 and she was an integral part of these Saints teams helping them make it to three straight NCAA tournaments from 2022-2024. Gentry was a member of multiple All-GLVC teams, All District teams, All Midwest teams, and was a two time All American as well.  She is third all-time in game winning goals, fifth all-time in assists, and sixth all-time in career points after having started 91 of 92 games in her career.  Gentry grew up in San Diego, CA, she attended Mt. Carmel HS, and she played club soccer for the Rebels SC. She is a two-time graduate of Maryville, most recently earning her Masters in Strategic Communication. Outside of work with Maryville, she coaches club soccer with St. Louis Development Academy.

Maryville University men's soccer hired Roosevelt Peters as the program's new assistant coach for the 2024 season. He comes to Maryville University after spending the last three seasons as an assistant men's soccer coach at Oklahoma Wesleyan University of the NAIA.   Peters is originally from Abuja, Nigeria, where he represented the National team at the U13 and U15 levels in international competitions. He also attended the Pre-Olympic Camp for Nigeria.   He is coming off a 2023 campaign where he assisted OKWU in winning both the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships. The program posted an overall record of 17-2-5 and appeared in the NAIA National Tournament semifinals. Additionally, he and the entire staff were awarded the NAIA Men's Central Staff of the Year.   In three seasons with the Eagles, Peters helped them to three conference regular season championships, three conference tournament championships, and three NAIA National Tournament appearances while being ranked in the NAIA's Top 25 in all three campaigns.   Before his time at Oklahoma Wesleyan, Peters was named the youngest head coach in NAIA history at Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla. He spent two seasons as the men's and women's head coach and led a rebuilding process for a program that had only one player on the men's team and four on the women's squad. Within a year, the men at Bacone had 26 players and the women grew to 16 players. Both programs achieved their first wins in over two years after hiring Peters.   He sharpened his coaching by participating in the UPSL Division 2 with Side FC 92 in the summer of 2020, while also serving as head coach for Muskogee Soccer Club U19 (currently the WSA South 02 boys). Peters helped guide the team to a runner-up in the second division of the Oklahoma Premier Championship.   Peters also coached the 2010 boys at Northeast Oklahoma Futball Club (NEOFC) Owasso in 2021. He went on to win the Red River, National Premier League (NPL) U13 Division 2 Championship in the 2022-23 season. Peters was later promoted to Program Director. He also served as an adjunct coach at various high schools in Oklahoma, including Bartlesville Girls, Oologah Boys, Oologah Girls, and Edison Preparatory Girls.   Peters earned his MBA in Organizational Leadership in 2023 from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and a bachelor of science in Business Administration from Bacone College in 2019. He also holds a USSF C National Coaching License and will be pursuing his B shortly.   Peters is the son of James Peters, a renowned FIFA and CAF Coaching Accessor and Instructor who has coached at the highest level with the Nigerian National teams.

Ian McReynolds enters his tenth season as an assistant coach for the Maryville University women's soccer program, where he plays a key role in player development with a primary focus on goalkeeper training and performance. McReynolds also serves as the Lou Fusz Soccer Club Graphic Design Lead and Juniors Goalkeeping Coach, one of the region’s premier youth soccer organizations.  A native of Florissant, Mo., McReynolds is a 2011 graduate of McCluer North High School and a 2015 graduate of Webster University. As a high school player, he was a four-year varsity starter, team captain, and earned first-team All-Conference, third-team All-Metro, and second-team All-State honors. He helped lead the North Stars to two Conference Championships, a Final Four appearance, and a quarterfinal finish in the Missouri Class 3 state tournament. McReynolds began his college playing career at Greenville College before transferring to Webster University for his senior season, where he helped his team go undefeated in conference play without conceding a goal, earning two weekly awards in the process. He continued his playing career with several local amateur and semi-professional clubs, including the St. Louis Lions (PDL), St. Louis Shockwave (PASL), and F.C. Maritza (UPSL). Alongside his collegiate and club coaching work, McReynolds has previously coached in the SLSG system and remains deeply committed to goalkeeper education and development at all levels of the game.