Melissa Barnes Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 3rd Year Alma Mater: Furman (2002)

Barnes, a former Furman goalkeeper, joined the Lady Paladin staff prior to the 2005 season following one year at the University of South Dakota.

She has helped guide Furman to an impressive 25-16-3 overall record and 13-4-3 Southern Conference mark since joining the program as an assistant. The Lady Paladins have managed to advance to the SoCon Tournament finals in each of Barnes' two seasons as an assistant coach.

"Melissa Barnes was a tremendous player and leader as a student-athlete at Furman and will be a great addition to our program as an assistant coach," said head coach Andrew Burr. "She brings with her a wealth of soccer knowledge and will be particularly helpful in working with our goalkeepers."

Barnes, a native of Prospect, Ky., played in and started 80 matches in goal for the Lady Paladins from 1998-2001 and was recently named to the Furman Women's Soccer All-Decade Team. The South Oldham High product earned All-Southern Conference honors three times, was a two-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll pick and earned 1998 Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region Freshmen Team honors.

During her four years at Furman, Barnes guided the Lady Paladins to a 66-21-1 overall record and 33-3 Southern Conference mark. Barnes helped the Lady Paladins claim three SoCon titles and earn two NCAA Tournament berths. The four-year starter holds the Lady Paladin career record for saves (342) and ranks second on the all-time ledger with 23 shutouts and first with a 1.15 goals against average.

Barnes, who graduated from Furman in 2002 with a B.A. in Spanish, served as head varsity girls' coach at Spartanburg Day School in 2002 and 2003 before joining the University of South Dakota coaching staff in 2004 helping USD to a school best 15-9 mark and NCAA Tournament appearance. Barnes, a member of the South Carolina Region III Olympic Development Program staff, also worked with Burr and the Lady Paladin program as a volunteer assistant during the 2002 campaign.