Zac Shaw joined the Rochester women’s soccer coaching staff for the 2018 season as the teams 1st Assistant Coach.
In the 2018 campaign, Shaw helped the Yellowjackets finish with a 9-8-1 record and qualify for the NCAA Division III Tournament. UR had four All-UAA selections and three All-East Region honorees from the United Soccer Coaches.
Shaw came to the River Campus after spending seven years as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Connecticut. While at UConn the Huskies won two American Athletic Conference championships, the American Athletic Conference Tournament twice and were consistently ranked nationally. The UConn the staff was voted Conference Staff of the Year in both 2015 and 2016 and the program was honored with the NSCAA's Team Academic Award for a 3.81 team GPA in 2011.
Prior to working at Connecticut, Shaw spent six years as the Head Coach of the women’s soccer program at the University of Rhode Island. He was voted Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 and guided the Rams to two runner-up finishes in the A-10 regular season and another in the conference tournament.
Shaw also worked as an assistant coach at a number of other Division I programs, including Florida (2004-05) which won the SEC Tournament while he was there, Wisconsin (2003-04), and Penn State (1998-2000, 2002) which won the Big 10 Championship and Big Ten Tournament twice during his time there and twice advancing to the Division 1 College Cup. After graduating college, he got his first taste of coaching at two Division III programs at Nazareth (1992-93) and Ithaca (1993-94).
Zac played collegiately at Ithaca College from 1988-91 and earned a number of accolades playing for the Bombers. He was a 1st Team NSCAA All-American in 1991, also earning Empire Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Player of the Year honors, Empire Athletic Association Team Sport Athlete of the Year and the ISAA Division III Goalkeeper of the Year in 1991. In total, Shaw earned three All-Empire Athletic Association accolades and two All-Region honors and was elected to the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Shaw played professionally for the Buffalo Blizzard of the NPSL in 1996 and 1997 and with the Atlanta Ruckus and Rochester Rhinos in the A-League in 1996. On an international level, he played in Belgium for four teams from 1993 to 1996, including stints at 1st Division teams Club Brugges and KV Oostende.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Neuroscience from Ithaca College in 1992.
Shaw is married to former US Women's Soccer National Team player Emily Shaw (nee Oleksiuk) and they have four children; Oscar (9), Astrid (6), Mabel (2) and Casper (6 months). They currently reside in Brighton.
