Amanda Caryl Cromwell (born June 15, 1970) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, and former head coach of

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

in the National Women's Soccer League. Cromwell was previously the coach at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

from 1999 to 2013, where she won five tournament and eight regular season championships. UCF made 11 NCAA Tournaments under her watch.2010 UCF Knights Women's Soccer Yearbook
/ref> She was later head coach of the

UCLA Bruins women's soccer The UCLA Bruins women's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of California at Los Angeles. The team is a member of the Pac-12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team won its first n ...

team for nine seasons. Cromwell played for the Virginia Cavaliers from 1988 to 1992, where she captained the team to the 1991 NCAA Final Four. From 1991 to 1998, she was a member of the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

, which earned third place in the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament featured 12 women's national teams from si ...

and the gold medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. After departing the national team, Cromwell played for the Maryland Pride, Tampa Bay Xtreme,

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

, Atlanta Beat and San Jose CyberRays. From 2002 to 2006, Cromwell served as a member of the

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is an American government organization that aims to "promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become Physical activity, physically active and participate in sports". ...

, after being appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Early life

Cromwell was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on June 15, 1970. She graduated in 1988 from Annandale High School in

Annandale, Virginia Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

with a bachelor's degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. During her tenure with the Virginia Cavaliers, Cromwell helped lead the team as captain to the Final Four in 1991. That season she finished as a finalist for the Hermann Trophy and Women's Collegiate Soccer Player of the Year. She was a four-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection, and three-time All-South Region team selection. Cromwell was also a two-time NSCAA All-American and a Soccer America MVP, and was voted the team's MVP in 1989. As a freshman in 1988, she was named Soccer America's Freshman of the Year and the Cavalier's Rookie of the Year. Cromwell was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team.

Professional career

Upon graduation from Virginia, Cromwell joined the United States women's national soccer team. While on the team, Cromwell earned a bronze medal during the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden, and a gold medal during the 1996 Summer Olympics. During her time on the national team, she earned 55

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

. Between her tenure on the national team, and after she left in 1998, Cromwell played professionally in the United States and abroad. Between 1997 and 2003, she played for the Maryland Pride, Tampa Bay Xtreme,

, Atlanta Beat and San Jose CyberRays. In 1994, she played for the Hammarby Soccer Club in Sweden, making eight appearances under

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Pia Sundhage Pia Mariane Sundhage (, born 13 February 1960) is a Swedish football manager and former professional player. She is the head coach of the Brazil women's national team. As a player, Sundhage played most of her career as a forward and retired a ...

. In 2010, Cromwell was inducted into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

UMBC Retrievers

Cromwell served as an assistant coach at her alma mater from 1992 to 1994, before becoming the head coach of the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

(UMBC) Retrievers women's team from 1996 to 1997.

UCF Knights

In 1999, Cromwell became the head coach of the

UCF Knights women's soccer The UCF Knights women's soccer program represents the University of Central Florida in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I. The Knights compete in the American Athletic Conference (The American) through the 2022 season, af ...

program. After taking the helm, Cromwell helped to resurrect a program that only reached the NCAA Tournament twice in the previous ten years. She led the Knights for 13 seasons, with only 1 losing record, and led the team to 10 Tournament appearances, including five straight through 2011.

UCLA Bruins

In 2013, Cromwell became the head coach of the

program. Eight months after becoming coach, she led her team to the program's first-ever NCAA Championship. Cromwell's 2013 Bruins finished the season with a 22–1–3 record and went unbeaten over their last 21 games. They gave up just one goal during the NCAA Tournament and only eight goals all season, leading the nation in goals against average (0.296). In addition to winning the national championship, the team won the Pac-12 title and tied the school record for most victories in a season. Cromwell was named Soccer America's Coach of the Year, the first-such honor for a UCLA women's soccer coach.

Orlando Pride

On December 7, 2021, Cromwell was announced as head coach of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team

, her first head coaching position at a professional club. In becoming the Pride's third permanent head coach, Cromwell had to divest her investment stake in 2022 expansion side

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natal ...

. On June 7, 2022, it was announced Cromwell and along with her assistant coach Sam Greene had been placed on

administrative leave Administrative leave is a temporary leave from a job assignment, with pay and benefits intact. Generally, the term is reserved for employees of non-business institutions such as schools, police, and hospitals. The definition of administrative leav ...

on the recommendation of the NWSL and NWSL Players Association joint investigation team following alleged "retaliation in violation of the NWSL Policy to Prevent and Eliminate Workplace Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying." Her contract was officially terminated on October 10, 2022, after the league found both Cromwell and Greene had engaged in retaliatory conduct.

Sports diplomacy

Cromwell has also been an active participant in the

Sports Diplomacy Politics and sports or sports diplomacy describes the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political International relations, relations. Sports diplomacy may transcend cultural differences and bring people together. The us ...

Sports Envoy program for the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

. In this function, she has traveled to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Bolivia, Costa Rica,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, where she worked with Lauren Gregg, Jay Miller, Tracy Noonan, and

Briana Scurry Briana Collette Scurry (born September 7, 1971) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper, and assistant coach of the Washington Spirit . Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cu ...

to conduct basketball clinics and events that have reached in excess of 2650 youth and women from underserved areas. In so doing, Cromwell helped contribute to Sports Diplomacy's mission to empower girls and women through sport while promoting youth empowerment.

Career statistics

International goals

: ''United States score listed first.''

Head coaching record

Honors

Player

;United States * FIFA Women's World Cup third-place:

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Head coach

;UCF Knights *

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Div ...

regular season (3): 1999, 2001, 2002 *Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament (4): 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 * Conference USA regular season (4): 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 *Conference USA Tournament (1): 2012 ;UCLA Bruins * Pac-12 Conference regular season (4): 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021 *

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...

(1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

;Individual *''Soccer America'' Women's Coach of the Year: 2014 *Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year: 2020

References

External links

*
WUSA player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Amanda Living people 1970 births American women's soccer coaches UCF Knights women's soccer coaches UCLA Bruins women's soccer coaches People from Virginia University of Virginia alumni Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer players Soccer players from Washington, D.C. Women's Olympic soccer players of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer American women's soccer players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Washington Freedom players San Jose CyberRays players Women's association football midfielders United States women's international soccer players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics UMBC Retrievers women's soccer coaches Annandale High School alumni Orlando Pride coaches National Women's Soccer League coaches