Karen Elizabeth Dayes (; February 13, 1972) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player and current

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who played as a

sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) perciform fish of the family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 26 species in two genera. One species (''Pempheris xanth ...

or midfielder, making two appearances for the United States women's national team.

Career

Ferguson-Dayes played for the Sachem North Flaming Arrows boys' team in high school. In college, she played for the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

from 1990 to 1993. She was an All-American in 1991, 1992, and 1993, and was included in the NCAA All-Tournament Team in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. She was a '' Soccer America'' MVP in 1992, and was included on the ISAA National Senior Recognition Team in 1993. Ferguson-Dayes was included in the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

All-Northeast Region in 1991, 1992, and 1993, as well as the NEWISA All-New England in all four seasons. In 1994, she won the UConn Outstanding Senior Athlete Award. In total, she scored 17 goals and recorded 17 assists in 89 appearances for the Huskies. Ferguson-Dayes made her international debut for the United States on August 14, 1992 in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

match against Norway. She earned her second and final cap for the U.S. on March 14, 1993 in a friendly match against Germany. Ferguson-Dayes later began coaching, working as an assistant for the Boston University Terriers and the

, her alma mater. In 2000, she was appointed as the head coach of the

Louisville Cardinals women's soccer The Louisville Cardinals women's soccer team represent University of Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The team has never won the ACC regular season championship, but has won both the B ...

. She is the most successful coach in program history, and was selected as the Big East Coach of the Year in 2011. While at Louisville, she also served as the assistant for the U.S. under-21 national team in 2003 and 2004, as well as the under-15 national team in 2005. She has also served as the coach of various regional youth selections and training programs, and holds a

U.S. Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a ...

'B' license. She was inducted into the Sachem Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003, as well as the New York State High School Girls Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018.

Personal life

Ferguson-Dayes is a native of Holbrook, New York, and was married to

Hylton Dayes Hylton Dayes is the head men's soccer coach at the University of Cincinnati. He has coached the Bearcats since 2001, and has compiled an 80–73–21 mark there. Career He played his college soccer at Wright State University, where he was a fo ...

in 2008. She gave birth to a son, Brandon, in December 2008.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

Interview with Louisville Women Sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson-Dayes, Karen 1972 births Living people People from Holbrook, New York Soccer players from New York (state) American women's soccer players American women's soccer coaches United States women's international soccer players Women's association football sweepers Women's association football midfielders UConn Huskies women's soccer players Louisville Cardinals women's soccer coaches Boston University Terriers women's soccer coaches UConn Huskies women's soccer coaches