Aaron McGuiness was announced as the fifth HPU women's soccer head coach on July 8th of 2022.
A Big South Championship returned to High Point in year four, marking the first title for Head Coach Aaron McGuiness. HPU finished the season 5-10-5 overall and 3-3-2 in conference play, doing just enough to bring the trophy back to High Point University. The Panthers got hot at the right time, defeating No. 5 Gardner-Webb University 3-0 in the quarterfinals before knocking off No. 1 Radford University 2-1 to advance to the championship match for the second straight season. The finals set up a 2024 rematch with No. 2 USC Upstate, where HPU claimed the Big South title by advancing on penalty kicks, 7-6. HPU earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament and was selected to face top-ranked University of Virginia in the first round. The Panthers fell 5-0 to the Cavaliers, bringing a historic run to a close. Four Panthers were named to the Big South All-Conference Teams: Bella Burr was honored with First Team All-Conference and a spot on the All-Academic Team, while Kasey Resker was named Second Team All-Conference. Joellie Giquinto was named to the All-Freshman Team, and Sabba Haghgoo was tabbed Honorable Mention All-Conference.
McGuiness in year three led HPU to a 9-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-1 record in the Big South. HPU had a first round bye in the Big South Tournament, matching up with Radford University in the semifinals. The Panthers advanced to the Big South Championship game after defeating the Highlanders 3-2 in overtime on a goal scored by Megan Garmey. HPU went on to face USC Upstate in the championship game but fell 3-0 which ended their season. HPU won a record four major Big South Awards. Of those,
Alex DePerno was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year,
Sabba Haghgoo earned Big South Freshman of the Year, while
Aubrey McKessy was tabbed Big South Newcomer of the Year and
Tessa Carlin was awarded Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Panthers had three First Team All-Conference: Carlin, DePerno, and Haghgoo; two Second Team All-Conference: McKessy and
Lindsey DeHaven; two on the All-Freshman Team: Haghgoo and
Kari Powell; one tabbed Honorable Mention:
Meg Roden; and one on the All-Academic Team: Carlin.
Year two for McGuiness saw a 6-5-7 overall record and a 4-1-3 record during conference play. The Panthers made the Big South Tournament in Matthews, N.C., but fell to USC Upstate 2-0 in the first round. Six Panthers were named to Big South All-Conference teams. HPU had three players named to the Big South First Team as
Fain Buete,
Lindsey DeHaven and
Alex DePerno were honored, while
Tessa Carlin was tabbed to the Big South Second Team as well as named the Big South Newcomer of the Year.
Megan Garmey garnered Big South Honorable Mention accolades and was named to the Big South All-Academic Team; meanwhile,
Meg Roden was tabbed to the Big South All-Freshman Team.
In his first season as HPU head coach, McGuiness led the Panthers to a 5-10-3 overall record and a 4-4-1 record during Big South Conference play. HPU missed the conference tournament but had four Panthers named to All-Conference teams. Sam Gerhart, Alex DePerno, and Morgan Hairston were named to Second Team All-Conference, while Lindsey Dehaven was tabbed Honorable Mention.
McGuiness came to HPU after spending five seasons as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University. With McGuiness the Rams have posted a 45-18-5 overall record, he as also coached 17 A-10 all conference players during his tenure at VCU. In his first season he was a part of a 16 win season for the Rams where VCU went to its second A-10 Tournament Championship game. In 2021, VCU won the A-10 regular season championship and tied a program record with nine straight wins with McGuiness as an assistant.
McGuiness has head coaching experience; he spent four seasons as the head coach of the Thiel College women's soccer team.
He knows what it is like to be a student-athlete, he was a four-year starter and a two-year captain at Shenandoah. He was twice named All-USA South Conference honorable mention. He is also played professionally, he was a member of the Palm Beach Soccer Club in the Brisbane Premier League from 2001-2005. He was a starter on the team that won the Brisbane Premier League regular season and placed as the runner-up in the Queensland Cup.
McGuiness is originally from Tweed Heads, Australia.
What They're Saying About McGuiness
"Aaron has been an integral part of our program's success over the past four seasons and he deserves the opportunity to lead a program of his own. I am very happy to see this next step in his career come to fruition and I think he will make High Point University very proud." -Lindsey Martin, VCU Head Coach
"Congratulations to Aaron on being named head coach at High Point University, this is a fantastic hire! Aaron is an exceptional person, great tactical coach, and very driven recruiter. I am excited to watch them compete this fall, HPU is in great hands!" -Mike Melton, Associate Head Coach, United States Naval Academy
"I am thrilled that Aaron has been given this wonderful opportunity. It is great to see his hard work and dedication to his career and family be rewarded, especially since he is a genuine and good person. He will be a strong mentor to the women of High Point Soccer and he is committed to serving the best interests of his student-athletes. I look forward to seeing his leadership find success on and off the field for his new program." -Rob Marinaro, Kent State Head Coach
I am ecstatic for Aaron McGuiness and his new role ahead. He is maticulase with detail and will undoubtedly bring his knowledge and passion to lift the program at High Point to new heights. Congrats Aaron!- Jenny Ruiz-Williams, UNLV Head Coach
