University of Vermont Women's Soccer

Lefebvre has guided UVM to the America East Playoffs in four of her five seasons, including a pair of trips to the semifinals. Last season (2015), Lefebvre directed the Catamounts to eight wins, the most in a decade, and a third place finish in the America East standings. Vermont hosted a playoff game for the second time in program history and second time in Lefebvre's tenure. The Catamounts also earned their highest seed in the America East postseason (No. 3) and posted a 1-0 shutout win over No. 6 UMBC in the quaterfinal round. The match was also the first night game at Virtue Field since the facility opened in the spring of 2012. Three Catamounts earned America East honors as Sarah Martin and Niki McFarland were named to the all-conference second team and Casey Garfinkel was an all-rookie selection. Lefebvre (pronounced lah-fave) spent three seasons as an assistant coach in the program. She was promoted to the first assistant position in 2009 after joining the Catamount program as a part-time assistant in 2008. In her first season at the helm of the Catamounts (2011), UVM earned a berth to the America East Tournament for the first time in five years.  Vermont tied for fourth in the final America East standings, but due to tiebreakers earned the No. 6 seed and fell to No. 3 Albany in double-overtime in the quarterfinals.   In 2012, Vermont returned to the league playoffs and advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since the field expanded in 2001.  The Catamounts earned the No. 4 seed in the America East Tournament, after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll, and hosted a conference playoff game for the first time in 16 years.  UVM advanced to the semifinals with a penalty kick shootout win over Albany at Virtue Field. In 2013 she guided the team to six wins and freshman McFarland was named the America East Rookie of the Year.  She became the first Catamount to earn the honor in 17 years and just the second overall. A former University of Connecticut and Colchester (Vt.) High School standout, Lefebvre came to Vermont after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. She was also a member of the FSA SoccerPlus FC staff with Tony DiCicco, the former U.S. Women's National Team coach, since 2005. Lefebvre graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2006 after an outstanding four-year career with the Huskies. She helped UConn win three Big East Regular Season titles and two tournament championships in her four years. The Huskies also advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times, including an appearance in the Final Four and national championship game in 2003. Lefebvre served as a team captain as a senior and earned team MVP honors that year. She was also named to the NSCAA All-Northeast Region and NEWISA All-New England teams in 2005. She closed out her career ranked among the all-time leaders in games played at UConn with 93 appearances. Prior to her collegiate career at Connecticut, Lefebvre played locally at Colchester High School. She was the Gatorade Player of the Year and Vermont Player of the Year twice and was named to the all-state first team all four years. Lefebvre also earned NSCAA/adidas all-America honors twice during her scholastic career. Lefebvre also played for one of the top club programs, the Bethesda (Md.) Fury, prior to beginning her collegiate career. She won three state championships, two regional championships and one national championship in 2001 with the Fury. Prior to joining the Fury, Lefebvre played locally with the Far Post and Nordic Club programs. She was a member of the Region 1 ODP Team from 1998-2002, and a U.S. National Team Pool player from 1998-2001 at the U-14, U-16, and U-19 levels. She also was named to the U.S. U-16 Youth All-American Team in 2001. Lefebvre continued her playing career following her graduation from UConn. In 2006, she led the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League to the Eastern Conference Regular Season Championship, and served as captain of the SoccerPlus Connecticut Reds of the Womens Premier Soccer League (WPSL) from 2007-2008. Lefebvre holds several coaching credentials including a USSF "A" License and an NSCAA Premier Diploma, the highest coaching badges awarded by each organization. She is also a member of the Region 1 Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff. "Kristi Lefebvre is an excellent hire by UVM. She has a wonderful soccer pedigree; has played the game at a very high level and is an excellent student of the game. Her ability to motivate and relate to her student-athletes will not only help on the soccer field but she will be an invaluable mentor for them in life. I fully expect UVM Women's Soccer to become a force in the region." "For me there are so many good things about Kristi being hired as the next women's soccer coach at UVM. Beyond all of her magnificent playing achievements, both as a high school player at Colchester and then at UConn, Kristi brings a personality that will engage the community in supporting the next phase of women's soccer at UVM. Her soccer knowledge is exemplary while her work ethic and competitive spirit will drive the program forward. In addition, she has all the necessary people skills to deal with the various constituencies (i.e. players, administrators, fellow coaches, parents and the local soccer community) that the modern coach is now confronted with. I am very excited to see Kristi put her "stamp" on the Catamount women's soccer program. For me she is the correct choice at the correct time and is a terrific fit for the University." WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT KRISTI LEFEBVRE Tony DiCicco, Former USA Women's National Team Coach ('96 Olympic Gold, '99 World Cup Champions) and Head Coach Boston Breakers (WPS) David Saward, Middlebury College Head Men's Soccer Coach

I just finished my second season with UVM, which was a record breaking year. We reached the conference championship game for the first time in UVM history, and finished our season with 9 wins.