Sept. 26, 2007
One of the greatest netminders in Baylor and Big 12 Conference soccer history, Dawn Greathouse can still be found out on a soccer field coaching young women at the University of Notre Dame who are in shoes she once filled.
As a teen, Greathouse played for the Allen High School soccer team where she was named the Player of the Year by the Dallas Morning News. She was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Umbro All-American goalkeeper and was a member of the under 16 and 17 national team; but, her career as a soccer athlete had only begun.
"I didn't really choose to be a goalkeeper," Greathouse said. "The keeper on my club team quit and my coach asked me to jump in. I really believe it is the most challenging position on the field because you can't make mistakes. You can either be the hero or the goat in one single moment. It's such an amazing feeling being able to make a save that can win the game."
Greathouse went straight into a starting role on the Baylor women's soccer team and started in all 21 games of her freshman year. She recorded 93 saves, eight shutouts and one goal. Moving into her sophomore year, she started strong until she tore her anterior cruciate ligament and was unable to return to the field. However, she was ranked nationally for a GAA of 0.69, had 10 combined shutouts, only allowed two goals during Big 12 play and was named part of the Big 12 all-conference first team. Her efforts as part of the 1998 team gave Baylor its first Big 12 championship title in any sport.
"I would probably have to say that my sophomore year stood out the most," Greathouse said. "That was the year that we went undefeated in Big 12 conference play, won the regular season title and made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's history. I think that was the year that was the year that all other programs in the country really started to respect us."
In her junior year, Greathouse started in all 22 games and recorded 108 saves. She set a Baylor record for 13 saves in one game and was selected for the all-Big 12 second team. During her senior year she led the conference with 133 saves and nine shutouts.
After graduating from Baylor in 2001with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Fitness, Greathouse went to play for the WUSA team for two seasons. She initially played for the Washington Freedom as a reserve goalkeeper, but was later traded to the San Jose CyberRays.
"I truly enjoyed each moment I was allowed to play in the WUSA," Greathouse said. "It was such a privilege to be able to play with the best players in the world on a daily basis. Everyday I walked out to training I thanked God for the amazing opportunity to do something I loved the best in the world."
For the last five years, Greathouse has been an assistant coach for the Notre Dame women's soccer team. She has trained various goalkeepers, including Erika Bohn, and was able to see the success of the 2006 season where Notre Dame led the nation in 19 shutouts and finished third nationally.
"One of the best moments so far for me as a coach, would be when we won the National Championship in 2004," Greathouse said. "During the game, with a tie score and only five minutes left UCLA got a penalty kick. Erika [Bohn] was actually the worst at dealing with penalty kicks out of the three keepers I had. She came up with a huge save that allowed the game to go into overtime and ended up saving two more penalty kicks in the shootout and one in the sudden death. To see a player who struggled at the beginning of the year with little confidence and help her work he way back up to being the player I knew she could be and see the smile on her face was one of the best feelings I think I'll ever have as a coach."
Greathouse plans on staying at Notre Dame, but eventually looking for a head coaching job sometime in the future.
"I truly love it here," Greathouse said. "I am blessed to work with an incredible staff that includes former Baylor head coach Randy Waldrum. Everyday I get to go to work alongside and learn from one of the best and then I get to go out and train some of the best players in the country."
Greathouse still holds the Big 12 and Baylor record for career saves with 397. She also remains the Baylor record-holder for most career wins (49) most career minutes played (7160) and most career shutouts (27). Greathouse also hold single-season record for Baylor including most saves (133), most minutes played (2021:32), most shutouts (9), lowest goals-against average (0.69) and fewest goals allowed (12).
