ANDERSON, S.C. - After a pair of seasons at the helm of the Anderson University women's soccer program, Ciaran Traquair has stepped down to become the head coach at Division I The Citadel, as announced by Director of Athletics Bill D'Andrea on Tuesday.
In his two seasons with the Black and Gold, Traquair finished with a 21-14-2 overall record, including a 12-9-1 mark against South Atlantic Conference opponents. Hired on March 8, 2014, Traquair took over a Trojan squad that closed the previous season with just five victories and missing the postseason. In his first year with the Black and Gold, he led the Trojans to an appearance in the SAC Championship and saw three players earn all-conference honors, including the program's first-ever SAC Freshman of the Year winner in Lyssa Engle.
"We are very appreciative and proud of the job Ciaran has done," said D'Andrea. "He has been an outstanding coach."
Building off the momentum in 2014, Traquair guided Anderson to its most successful season in program history as the Trojans closed the year with a 14-4-1 overall record and remained in the hunt for a conference title throughout the year. Traquair also saw Anderson's second trip to the SAC Championship semifinals after advancing on penalty kicks against Lenoir-Rhyne in the quarterfinals.
In addition to his team's success, Traquair's recruit, Idoia Agirre, strung together one of the best seasons by a Trojan in program history. Agirre became Anderson's first All-American, landing on the D2CCA All-American Second Team list, as she closed the year ranking sixth in the country and leading the SAC in total goals (22).
Traquair came to AU after spending a pair of seasons at Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. where he turned around a 0-19 team to a nine-win club the following year, marking its most wins in 12 seasons. Traquair also has coaching stints at Young Harris, where he spent three seasons and at his alma mater, Shorter.
"I am sad to leave this group of players and want to thank all of them for their commitment and dedication to AU soccer over the past two years," said Traquair. "This group has achieved so much already and will go on to take this program to new heights in the near future. I want to thank Nancy Simpson for brining me to AU and Billy D. for his leadership over the past six months. AU is a special place with some outstanding individuals and I am thankful to have been part of it all. My staff has excelled in making this program competitive in the southeast region and I want to wish everyone associated with the program the very best of luck in the future. My family and I are excited about this new opportunity in our lives."
D'Andrea is expected to announce a new head coach for the
program later in the week.
