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Rebecca Lund 'Becky' Burleigh (born October 13, 1967) is an American soccer coach. She is currently a special advisor for Sporting Club Jacksonville of the United Soccer League.
Formerly also a college soccer player, she is best known for her 26-year tenure as the first head coach of the Florida Gators women's soccer team at the University of Florida, where she led the Gators soccer team to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national championship in 1998. In 2021, Burleigh had a three-month spell as interim head coach of professional National Women's Soccer League team Orlando Pride.
In 1998, in the Gators soccer program's fourth year of existence, Burleigh coached the Gators to their first NCAA national title by defeating the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels 1–0 in the final.Pat Dooley, " Top 25 Gator teams: #5 1998 Women's soccer," Gainesville Sun (June 4, 2009). Retrieved May 3, 2011. The 1998 Gators finished 26–1, their only regular season loss coming to the same North Carolina team that the Gators defeated in the NCAA championship final. Players from her 1998 national championship team included All-Americans Danielle Fotopoulos, Heather Mitts and Erin Baxter.
Burleigh's Gators played in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In conference play, her Gators teams won thirteen SEC championships, and ten SEC tournament titles, leading all other SEC teams since the Florida soccer team began play in 1995. SEC Soccer Record Book, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama (2010). Retrieved May 3, 2011.
Burleigh's later seasons were less successful, and she had losing records in two of her last three seasons as a head coach – the only losing seasons in her career. She announced she would retire at the end of the team's 2020–21 season, which concluded with a 2-0 win over the Miami Hurricanes on April 3, 2021.
As a head coach, Burleigh compiled an overall career record of 513–160–46, with a winning percentage of 0.745. She ranks second in total number of all-time wins among Division I coaches. During her tenure at Florida, Burleigh coached seventeen All-American players. 2010 Florida Gators Soccer Media Supplement , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 5–6, 58–69, 60, 62, 67 (2010). Retrieved May 3, 2011.
In March 2018, Burleigh married Celia Slater.
Orlando Pride
On July 25, 2021 Burleigh came out of retirement to become the interim head coach of professional NWSL team Orlando Pride for the remainder of the 2021 season following the midseason resignation of Marc Skinner. Her first game in charge was on July 31, a 1–1 tie with North Carolina Courage. She coached her first win the following week, a 2–0 victory on the road at Chicago Red Stars. Despite moving up to 4th place as Orlando picked up 12 points in Burleigh's first seven games, the team was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with one game remaining following a 3–1 defeat to Racing Louisville FC on October 16, part of a four-game losing streak. On October 27, it was announced Burleigh had withdrawn herself from consideration for the permanent head coach job and would end her interim tenure following the final game of the season on October 29. The game extended Orlando's losing streak to five to finish the season as Chicago Red Stars won 1–0, leaving Burleigh with a 3–6–3 record during her interim tenure.
Sporting Club Jacksonville
On June 23, 2023, it was announced that Burleigh had joined Sporting Club Jacksonville, an expansion franchise of the United Soccer League, as women's team advisor.
Personal
Burleigh grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where she began to play youth soccer at the age of ten. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in biology from Methodist College (now known as "Methodist University") located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1989. In 1993, Burleigh earned her master's degree in exercise science from Georgia State University located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Coaching record
+ Head coaching record by team and tenure Berry College 1989 1993
Florida Gators June 28, 1994 April 3, 2021
Orlando Pride (interim) July 25, 2021 October 30, 2021
Coaching honors
See also
Categories: 1967 Births, Living People, Sportspeople From Tarpon Springs, Florida, Soccer Players From Florida, American Women's Soccer Players, American Lgbtq Soccer Players, American Lesbian Sportswomen, Women's Association Football Defenders, Women's Association Football Goalkeepers, Methodist Monarchs Women's Soccer Players, American Women's Soccer Coaches, Female Association Football Managers, Berry Vikings Women's Soccer Coaches, Florida Gators Women's Soccer Coaches, Orlando Pride Head Coaches, National Women's Soccer League Head Coaches, Georgia State University Alumni, 20th-century American Sportswomen, Sporting Club Jacksonville
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