Former Duke Blue Devil standout and Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) player Allison Lipsher has been named assistant coach at East Carolina University according to an announcement from head coach Rob Donnenwirth Monday.

"I am very excited to have Allison join our staff," said Donnenwirth. "She will be an integral part of our goalkeepers' development. Allison has had a great playing career at the collegiate and professional level and also has experience as a coach at the Division I level. She will be a great role model for all of our student-athletes and will provide great insight on what it takes to get to the next level."

Lipsher has spent three years on soccer's biggest stage playing for the Boston Breakers (2009-10) and Atlanta Beat (2011) in the WPS. While with the Breakers, she played in 11 games, starting in 10 and led all goalkeepers in minutes played with 928 allowing six goals in 11 games and recorded a league fourth-best five shutouts. In Atlanta, Lipsher started seven games, collected 47 saves and had one shutout. Currently she has secured a roster spot in the Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL) Elite with the Western New York (WNY) Flash playing alongside US National Team members Megan Klinginberg and Lori Lindsey.

Following a stellar career at Duke, she led Ajax America to the 2008 WPSL National Championship where she was named to the WPSL All-Tournament Team. Lipsher also played professionally for the New Castle Jets (2010-11) and Sydney FC (2011-12) of the Australia Women's League.

"I am so excited to join the ECU women's soccer program," Lipsher stated. "As a young coach the experience that is held within the staff is incredible and after meeting a few of the girls and getting a small taste of the level of the program, I couldn't consider myself more fortunate for this opportunity."

Prior to her appointment at ECU, Lipsher served as an assistant coach at the University of Arizona where she worked with the goalkeepers and mentored 2011 Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention goalie Ashley Jett, who started 19 games in goal and recorded a pair of shutouts against Texas Tech and Oregon during her senior season.

A graduate of Duke University, Lipsher played four seasons for the Blue Devils, where she played from 2004-07. She finished her career ranked second on Duke and fourth on the ACC career charts in shutouts (33). Her career 0.87 goals against average and 265 saves ranked first and second, respectively.

As a freshman, Lipsher was named an ACC All-Freshman and Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region All-Freshman selection in 2004. By her senior year, she set the Blue Devil record with 603:33 straight minutes without allowing a goal during the 2007 season, when she helped lead the team to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

In 2010, Lipsher volunteered at Tufts University where she oversaw work with the goalkeepers prior to becoming a member of the Wildcats' staff in 2011.

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