Moses Brown School is excited to announce that Interim Upper School Director Gara Field has agreed to become the head varsity girls’ soccer coach for the 2019 season and beyond. Gara will join Assistant Coach Meg Fifer on the sidelines and is thrilled to have this opportunity to work with our incredibly talented varsity squad.
Gara played Division I soccer at the University of Hartford where her team made two NCAA tournament appearances in the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 respectively. She played for legendary Hartford coach Austin Daniels who won the NCAA Coach of Year award in 1989, and faced formidable college opponents like Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, and Brianna Scurry. Gara captained the team her senior year and earned an NCAA Sportsmanship award for her leadership on the soccer field.
Gara began her coaching career with a two-year stint at Quinnipiac College followed by 10 years of coaching at independent schools, including the Ethel Walker School in CT, New Hampton School in NH, and Pace Academy in GA. During her time coaching high school soccer, Gara’s teams made multiple tournament appearances and won runner-up accolades three times, including a Conference Championship in Georgia. While at Pace Academy, Gara was also named the Atlanta Journal Constitution Soccer Coach of Year.
In addition to coaching soccer, Gara coached varsity girls’ basketball at her alma mater, New Hampton School, where her teams won three New England championship titles and two runner-up finishes in her six years at the helm. Gara was inducted into the New Hampton Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 as a successful coach and stand out three-sport varsity athlete in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse.
When asked what she was looking forward to upon her return to the pitch, Gara said, “I’m inspired by our MB student-athletes and see this as an opportunity to impact the lives of dedicated and hardworking young women in a sport that I’ve loved since I was six years old. Plus, the words of Notre Dame Women’s’ Basketball coach Muffet McGraw resonated with me last week. I’m honored and excited to return to coaching and embrace this team and Quaker Nation on a new level."
Gara plays in a local indoor women’s soccer league with Associate Athletic Director Sarah McShane and Middle School English teacher Mo Nagle.