SIU names new women’s soccer head coach

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - Southern Illinois University announced on Tuesday, May 30 the hiring of a women’s soccer head coach.

According to a release from SIU, Graeme Orr will fill the role.

Orr has spent the last 12 seasons as head coach at Division II West Alabama. A native of Eaglesham, Scotland, he is the only women’s soccer head coach in West Alabama history, having started the program in 2011. Since that time, he has posted an overall record of 115-78-19 and a conference record of 79-44-9.

During his tenure, UWA has recorded 10-consecutive winning seasons and 11-straight postseason appearances.

“Throughout the interview process, Graeme demonstrated a clear vision and blueprint for how you build a successful women’s soccer program,” Tim Leonard, SIU’s director of athletics, said in the release. “Graeme’s experience and soccer expertise, combined with his leadership and communication skills, are the fit we were looking for.”

In addition to team success at UWA, the university said Orr’s squads produced 33 all-conference members, 23 D2CCA All-South Region selections and two conference player-of-the-year winners.

“I am grateful to Tim Leonard and Chancellor [Austin] Lane for this wonderful opportunity to serve Southern Illinois University,” Orr said in the release. “SIU is an institution with rich history and substance. Carbondale is a community with a real authenticity and soul. It’s a privilege to be here working. I know the administration’s vision aligns very much with mine, and we now look to go and deliver on this. I very much look forward to meeting with the players on their return from summer break and can’t wait to get started.”

Before West Alabama, Orr was an assistant coach at North Alabama from 2008-10. The school advanced to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 in 2009, its first NCAA postseason appearance in school history. Along with his duties in Florence, Ala., Orr served as a head coach for the Alabama Olympic Development Program.

Orr graduated from Martin Methodist College in 2007 and was a four-year letterwinner on the men’s soccer team, an all-conference selection and a two-time team captain. He led the squad to both a regular-season and conference tournament championship.

Orr also played for the Albion Rovers in Scotland and completed a SVQ Level 2 in sport & recreational studies. In 2002, he became a soccer coach for East Renfrewshire Council where he worked with children from 3-16 years old.