Alese Woolard enters her third season at the helm of the MSSU women's soccer program after serving four years as an assistant coach on former head coach Trevor Wachsman's staff.

 
Last season saw the Lions start 0-7-1 before they would tie a school record with five straight wins.  In that stretch Southern defeated Emporia State 2-1, conference rival Southwest Baptsist 2-1 (2OT), Fort Hays State 2-1 (OT), Washburn 2-0, and Missouri Western 2-0.  The win over Washburn marked the second straight year that the Lions have won in Topeka against the Lady Blues.  Southern would then win another four straight as the Lions would make their first appearance in the MIAA Post-Season tournament as the number three seed.  Missouri Southern would face sixth-seeded SBU and win in the first round 1-0 and go on to play second-seeded Truman.  The Lions would use a goal in the final seconds to tie the Bulldogs at 1-1 to force overtime and then defeat Truman 2-1 in OT and advance to play Central Missouri for the tournament championship.

In her first year at the helm Woolard led the Lions to a 5-8-5 overall record and tied the school record for ties in the season with five as well as setting a school conference record with the five draws.  The 2010 season also saw three streaks broken.  The Lions scored four goals in a game for the first time with a 4-1 defeat of Emporia State since a 5-1 defeat of ESU on Oct. 2, 2008 and the 2010 season also saw the winless streak at Washburn University get snapped as the Lions won 2-0.  Their last win in Topeka, Kan. was on Sept. 10, 2004, a 1-0 OT win. The final streak broken was a seven year winless draught in Maryville, Mo. as the Lions defeated the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 2-1 on Oct. 2.

Prior to her coaching stint, Woolard enjoyed a solid two-year playing career under former head coach Trevor Wachsman.  Woolard made 14 starts in the net for the Lions and held the opposition scoreless for the final 227 minutes of the 2004 campaign.  She recorded 77 saves and three shutouts in her two years at Southern.  

Woolard also was a four-year softball athlete and was a finalist for the 2004-05 MSSU Female Athlete of the Year. 

In 2005 Woolard had one of the most productive seasons offensively in Lions history leading the team in batting average (.351), runs (40), hits (61), doubles (9), triples (3), home runs (9), RBIs (37), slugging percentage (.592), and on base percentage (.392).  Her nine home runs in that season is still a single-season record for Southern.

Woolard also holds a NSCAA State and Regional Goalkeeping Diploma, as well as an NSCAA Advanced Regional diploma.

Woolard graduated from Southern in 2005 and holds a Master of Education in Workforce Development Education with an emphasis in Adult Education from the University of Arkansas. 

Dimza is in her first season as the assistant soccer coach under Alese Woolard, making the transition from the field to the coaching box after a stellar career.

Michelle started in 69 of her 70 contests for the Lions and recorded six goals with three assists on 86 shots, 39 of which were on goal.  Michelle’s 86 career shots ranks her seventh all-time in Missouri Southern soccer history.  She is a three time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and was a two-timeMIAA Scholar Athlete while earning Honorable Mention All-MIAA in 2009. 

Majored in Pre-Med with finished with a 3.94 GPA she was a member of Alpha Chi Honors Society, a peer mentor and a biology tutor. Michelle was also named the 2011-12 Outsanding Graduate for Missouri Southern.