Daisy Simms returns for her second year as a graduate assistant coach with the West Liberty University women’s soccer program this season.
Simms teamed with veteran head man Barry Christmas a year ago to lead the Lady Hilltoppers on a stirring late-season run. West Liberty finished strong down the stretch to earn the right to host an MEC Tournament game for the first time in school history.
Not only did WLU host rival Fairmont State in the contest, the Black and Gold won in thrilling fashion on penalty kicks for the program’s first-ever post-season victory.
A native of Portsmouth, England, Simms came to the hilltop after serving as an assistant coach at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, Iowa. She also coached at Bayou Academy while attending Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss. and was on the staff at development camps in Tennessee and California through a club affiliation.
A talented midfielder who began playing soccer at the age of 4, Simms played for Portsmouth Ladies FC in the Southern Premier League and for the county of Hampshire in England before coming to the United States in 2012.
She played one season at the University of Science and Arts in Chickasha, Okla. before transferring to Jacksonville (Texas) Junior College. She was an All-Region selection at Jacksonville, setting school single-game records for most goals scored (5), fastest goal and fastest hat trick.
Simms moved on to NCAA Division II Delta State (Miss.) only to see her promising career cut short by injury before she was able to take the field for the Lady Statesmen. She graduated from Delta State in 2016 with a degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation and is pursuing a master’s degree in Professional Studies at West Liberty.
