Paul Lawrence is entering his sixth year as Florida Southern’s head women’s soccer coach after taking charge of the program in December of 2016. 

Named the 2022 Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year, Lawrence led the Mocs to the most successful season in program history in fall 2022. Florida Southern garnered its first SSC Regular Season Championship going 12-1-3 during the regular season to eventually host the first ever conference semifinals in school history. Lawrence and the Mocs appeared in the fourth-ever NCAA tournament, and first in 12 years, before beating Mississippi College on Nov. 11, 2022 in double overtime for the program's first NCAA postseason win. After an NCAA second round exit to top-ranked Embry-Riddle, Lawrence completed the 2022 season with 13 wins (most since 2008), eight conference wins (program record), 45 goals (third-most in school history), averaged 2.37 goals a game (second-best), and new school record with nine shutouts in the season, allowing only 15 goals all year. He earned his first Moccasin All-American selection with Morgan Collica named to the D2CCA All-America Third Team in 2022. 

In his first year at Florida Southern, he guided the Mocs to an 8-3-4 overall record and 5-2-3 mark in Sunshine State Conference play. That represented a six-game improvement overall, a jump of six places in the SSC standings for their best regular-season finish in five years, and their first winning season since 2010. The eight wins were also the most by a first-year head coach in team history. The Moccasins increased their scoring output by nearly two goals per game (a difference of 1.71), there was a ten percent drop in goals-against average, and the team’s shutout total more than doubled. It was the Mocs’ best season on offense since 2009, and their best on defense since 2011, Lawrence also returned the Moccasins to the SSC Tournament for the first time since 2013, and had them in contention for the NCAA Tournament as well. 

Since his first year with the Mocs, Lawrence has pushed the teams through a touch SSC conference. The Moccasins had 10 wins over the next two seasons before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the fall 2020 campaign. Rebounding the following year, the Mocs had their first full schedule in the 2021 year in two years. Lawrence led the crew to five wins, including a three win start and a near upset against No. 9 West Florida early in the season. The Mocs their 2021 Senior Night match after two overtimes, with the winning goal under 10 seconds left in the game. 

Lawrence’s teams at Florida Southern have picked up several individual awards as well, with three Moccasins making the All-Sunshine State Conference Women’s Soccer Team in his first year of 2017, and one of them, Alexa Moberley, earning All-South Region honors. The three all-conference selections were the most since 2012, and Moberley was their first all-region performer in three years. Lawrence had one student-athlete named to the All-SSC team in 2018. In 2022, Lawrence had four make the All-SSC Team as well as the program's first SSC Freshman of the Year with Angelina Coelho and second SSC Defensive Player of the Year with Morgan Collica. The Mocs have also excelled in the classroom under Lawrence with 12 women’s soccer players landing on the academic all-district team, and three CoSIDA Academic All-American selections. A league-high 26 players made the SSC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and 10 did so with perfect 4.00 GPAs in 2017 season, with a total of 121 selections to the conference honor roll under Lawrence. 

With his 36-32-13 record at Florida Southern, Lawrence now owns a career record of 71-52-16 in eight seasons as a collegiate head coach. He previously served that role at Knox College in Illinois from 2014-16 where he led the Prairie Fire to a mark of 35-20-3. His final team there was the best in school history, going 19-1-1, winning the Midwest Conference regular-season and tournament championships for the first time, and earning their first bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

That season saw the Prairie Fire set numerous school and conference records and become the first team at Knox College to go through the regular season undefeated since the 1919 football team went 8-0. They outscored their opponents 65-6, and posted 17 shutouts with a 0.28 goals-against average that ranked fifth in the nation in Division III. They also ranked third nationally in shutout percentage (.810), seventh in save percentage (.903), and 23^rd in scoring offense (3.10 goals per game). Knox also earned a top-25 ranking in the NSCAA national poll for the first time in program history, five players earned All-MWC honors, three were named to the All-North Region Team, and Lawrence was selected the MWC Coach-of-the-Year.

When Lawrence was named the head women’s soccer coach at Knox College in January of 2014, the Prairie Fire had not had a winning season in 18 years, not qualified for the conference tournament since 1995, nor won a conference game since 2011. After a 3-14 campaign in his first season, Lawrence guided them to a 13-5-2 record in 2015 and a spot in the conference championship game for the first time ever. Their 9½-game improvement was the third-best in NCAA Division III that year and tied for the ninth-best all-time at that level. One year later, Lawrence led them to their school-record 19 wins and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Lawrence came to Knox College from Northwood University in Michigan where he spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons as an assistant coach under Dean Pappas. He helped the Timberwolves make back-to-back Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournaments and nearly upset undefeated and eventual national champion Grand Valley State in the 2013 GLIAC Tournament. Lawrence graduated from Bournemouth University in 2011. 

• SSC Coach-of-the-Year: 2022
• MWC Coach-of-the-Year: 2016

As a head coach at two institutions, Lawrence has produced quality student-athletes at both institutions including five all-Americans, three conference Player of the Year honorees, a Defensive Player of the Year award winner, and 31 all-conference selections. He has also coached 11 all-region/all-district honorees and a pair of Region Player of the Year winners.

AT FLORIDA SOUTHERN (2017-present):

• SSC Tournament Championship Appearances (1): 2017
• SSC Regular Season Championship (1): 2022
• D2CCA All-America (1): 2022 - Morgan Collica (3rd)
• United Soccer Coaches All-South Region (3): 2017 - Alexa Moberley; 2022 - Tatum Albrecht (2nd), Caitlyn Lowery (2nd). 
• D2CCA All-South Region (3): 2022 - Morgan Collica (1st), Caitlyn Lowery (2nd), Lindsey Meyer (2nd)
• All-SSC (10): 2017 - Anna Griessler, Juliana Guida, Alexa Moberley; 2018 - Gaelyn Crowder; 2022 - Morgan Collica (1st), Caitlyn Lowery (1st), Lindsey Meyer (1st), Jenny Staten (2nd)
• SSC Freshman of the Year (1): 2022 - Angelina Coelho
• SSC Defensive Player of the Year (1): 2022 - Morgan Collica
• SSC Players of the Week (7): 2017 - Jess Goedde (Sept. 4), Chloe Hamm (Oct. 2), Helena Norstrom (Oct. 9); 2018 - Tori Routt (Oct. 15); 2022 - Caitlyn Lowery (Oct. 24), Jenny Staten (Sept. 26, Oct. 24)

AT KNOX (2014-16):

• NCAA Tournament Appearances (1): 2016
• MWC Tournament Championships (1): 2016
• MWC Regular Season Champions (1): 2016 
• All-North Region - NSCAA (3): Kayla Brown, Yvette Rodriguez, Sierra Daniger
• All-MWC First Team (3): 2016 - Kayla Brown, Yvette Rodriguez, Sierra Daniger
• All-MWC Second Team (6): 2015 - Sydney Fretwell, Bryssa Montez, Yvette Rodriguez, Jen Crary; 2016 - Angelica Gamez, Jenna Milligan  
• Prairie Fire Performer of the Week (4): - 2014 - Alyssa Stepanian; 2016 - Alex Robertson, Kayla Brown, Angelica Gamez 

In addition to his team's successes on the pitch, Lawrence's squads have flourished in the classroom by winning multiple CoSIDA all-America and all-district honors, as well as a bevy of other national, regional, and conference academic achievement awards.

AT FLORIDA SOUTHERN (2016-present):

• CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (4): 2017 - Juliana Guida; 2018 - Caitlin Quaempts; 2019 - Caitlin Quaempts; 2022 - Morgan Collica
• CoSIDA All-District (12): 2017 - Jess Goedde, Anna Griessler, Juliana Guida, Helena Norrstrom; 2018 - Caitlin Quaempts; 2019 - Caitlin Quaempts; 2021 - Caitlyn Lowery; 2022 - Courtney Chomko, Morgan Collica, Brooke Lowery, Jenny Staten, Haley Thomassy
• D2ADA Academic Achievement Award (36): 2017-18 -  Brittany Butler, Dominique Cirnigliaro, Alex Daley, Alex Diamandis, Jess Goedde, Anna Griessler, Juliana Guida, Paige Koetter, Izzy Loyd, Helena Norrstrom, Caitlin Quaempts, Delaney Riggins, Megan Styron, Kaitlyn Svopa; 2018-19 - Taylor Cherry, Gaelyn Crowder, Anna Griessler, Cali Larson, Candace Metcalfe, Rachel Peck, Caitlin Quaempts, Juliana Rossini, Kaitlyn Svopa, Amy Volk; 2019-20 - Erin Cagle, Taylor Cherry, Cali Larson, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Candace Metcalfe, Rachel Peck, Caitlin Quaempts, Juliana Rossini, Tori Routt, Kaitlyn Svopa, Amy Volk; 
• United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award (1): 2017-18
• United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American (1): 2022 - Caitlyn Lowery
• SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll (143): 2017 - Leah Borders, Brittany Butler, Taylor Chitty, Dominique Cirnigliaro, Gaelyn Crowder, Alex Daley, Alex Diamandis, Haley Eckel, Jess Goedde, Anna Griessler, Juliana Guida, Chloe Hamm, Kylie Harris, Paige Koetter, Izzy Loyd, Candace Metcalf, Alexa Moberley, Helena Norrstrom, Elanee Otto, Rachel Peck, Caitlin Quaempts, Delaney Riggins, Juliana Rossini, Megan Styron, Kaitlyn Svopa, Becca Watson; 2018 - Tatum Albrecht, Erin Cagle, Taylor Cherry, Gaelyn Crowder, Diana Griessler, Chloe Hamm, Kylie Harris, Cali Larson, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Kendall McNab, Candace Metcalfe, Jessica Mirsky, Alexa Moberley, Rachel Peck, Zoe Perez, Caitlin Quaempts, Juliana Rossini, Haley Rounsifer, Victoria Routt, Kaitlyn Svopa, Amy Volk, Becca Watson; 2019 - Tatum Albrecht, Eric Cagle, Erika Casadevall, Taylor Cherry, Courtney Chomko, Kimberly Ciarcia, Haley Eckel, Jill Kinstler, Cali Larson, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Alexis Madrid, Claire Maple, Candace Metcalfe, Rachel Peck, Caitlin Quaempts, Juliana Rossini, Tori Routt, Jennifer Staten, Grace Stec, Kaitlyn Svopa, Amy Volk, Jacquelyn Wantlin, Kailin Willey; 2020 - Tatum Albrecht, Erin Cagle, Erika Casadevall, Courtney Chomko, Sophia Coon, Paige Copeland, Haley Eckel, Madison Hald, Meghan Kriney, Cali Larson, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Alexis Madrid, Claire Maple, Candace Metcalfe, Rachel Peck, Zoe Perez, Juliana Rossini, Victoria Routt, Grace Spader, Jennifer Staten, Grace Stec, Elizabeth Vizcaino, Amy Volk, Olivia Walker; 2021 - Tatum Albrecht, Frankie Benson, Elena Brkic, Erin Cagle, Erika Casadevall, Courtney Chomko, Paige Copeland, Claire DuRee, Haley Eckel, Meghan Kriney, Cali Larson, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Claire Maple, Ella Oh, Rachel Peck, Zoe Perez, Tori Routt, Jenny Staten, Grace Stec, Haley Thomassy, Amy Volk, Olivia Walker; 2022 - Jasmin Adames, Frankie Benson, Malia Brost, Courtney Chomko, Morgan Elliott, Heidi Harris, Alison Jenkins, Lillian Kern, Maris Kern, Jordan King, Meghan Kriney, Emma Lloyd, Brooke Lowery, Caitlyn Lowery, Madison Male, Lindsey Meyer, Justine Moreau, Bianca Moreau, Jenny Staten, Haley Thomassy, Anita Vera, Olivia Walker

AT KNOX (2014-16):

• Academic All-Midwest Conference (12): Greta Berger (2014), Theresa Birzer (2014), Jia Curry-Bild (2014), Madison Dana (2014), Callie Ellis (2014), Sarah Kobernat (2014), Jacqlynn Milligan (2014), Shea Pierce (2014), Margo Stanger (2014), Sarah Texter (2015), Courtney Dramm (2015 & 2016) 
• United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award (1): 2016-17

• Member: NCAA Division II Regional Advisory Committee (South Region)
• Member: Bevo Francis Award Committee

In addition to his time at Knox and Northwood, Lawrence spent one year at Alma College where he was an assistant varsity coach and head junior varsity coach under Jeff Hosler. He helped the Scots win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship with the best record in school history (18-4-1) and qualify for the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Prior to moving to the United States, Lawrence worked as assistant men’s soccer coach and goalkeeping coach at Bournemouth University before taking on his duties at Alma College. While studying at BU, he was also involved with video analysis for English professional soccer club AFC Bournemouth.

Lawrence currently holds a USSF C License, NSCAA Premier Diploma, NSCAA Goalkeeper III Diploma, as well as various USSF and English FA coaching licenses.  He was a member of the Region II ODP staff as part of the girls' youth selection camp in July of 2013.

Lawrence lives in Lakeland with his wife Maria, and two daughters, London Olivia and Sydney.