Maryland women’s soccer will not renew head coach Ray Leone’s contract

The University of Maryland will not be renewing the contract of current women’s soccer head coach Ray Leone, per release on Tuesday.

“I’m proud to have coached at the University of Maryland and will always be grateful for having the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to coach at my dream school since I was a kid,” Leone said in the release.

Since his hire in 2016, Leone led the Terps to a 27-60-18 record. Though his team broke through in 2019, qualifying for the school’s first-ever Big Ten Tournament, it was unable to notch a conference win in the last two seasons. Leone had success prior to arriving at Maryland, taking three different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

With the school moving on, the University of Maryland Athletic Department will officially begin a national search for its new women’s soccer head coach. Senior Associate Athletic Director Shawn Flynn will lead the search.

“We will identify the strongest candidates and hire a dynamic leader who will build our program to be nationally competitive,” Flynn said in the release. “I’m confident we will find an outstanding coach and educator who will help our student-athletes excel both on and off the field. I want to thank Ray for his efforts and dedication to Maryland for the past six years.”

Maryland has reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times in its history but has not reached one since 2012. The new head coach will be pinned with the difficult task of competing in the Big Ten and bringing the program back to national relevance. Kerry Dziczkaniec, who served as an assistant under Leone, will serve as the interim head coach for the time being.

“I can honestly say I have given everything I can to bring sustained excellence but I have failed to do that,” Leone added in the release. “I believe it is time for a new voice to lead this program. There is greatness within this team and I know they will show that in the years to come.”