Lance Key is in his second season as the head coach of the women's soccer program.
The Cowgirls had a successful first season under Key, going 12-3-2 on the year and advancing to the ASC Championship game.
Key is a familiar name to Hardin-Simmons' fans as he is the former head coach at Trinity University and helped build the rivalry between the two schools that is one of the top rivalries in the sport. The Tigers went 210-21-16 as head coach at Trinity from 2004-2015. He was the national coach of the year in 2009 and 2013.
When he left Trinity, he ranked second all-time in Division III winning percentage by a head coach with an .883 winning percentage.
He left Trinity to go into private business and then he got back in the game as an assistant coach at the University of Texas and then went back to Trinity as an assistant in the men's program. As an assistant in the men's program in two different stints both before and after being the women's head coach, Trinity was 96-6-5 with him on the sideline and he helped the team to the 2003 NCAA Championship.
He has spent the last three seasons as the head coach at the University of Louisiana. He went 25-27-6 in three seasons with Ragin' Cajuns. He took over the program that won two games in the year prior to his arrival and turned them into a 9-8-3 team his first season. They were better in the COVID-19 2020-21 season goings 9-5-1, setting school records for shutouts (10) and goals against average (1.18). UL went 6-10-3 in 2021.
Key led his team to 11 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship Tournaments and coached 21 All-America student-athletes on the pitch while at Trinity. He also had 27 Scholar All-Americans.
He was a standout player in his career at Trinity from 1996-99, earning three All-American honors. He was drafted by the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and played from 2000-2001 before retiring because of injuries. He was the SCAC player of the year as a senior and was inducted into Trinity University's Athletic Hall of Fame as part of its 2015 class.
He has received multiple coaching certifications and diplomas from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He also served on the NSCAA Women's Soccer Advocacy Council in 2016.
In addition to his work at Trinity, Key previously served as an assistant with the San Antonio Scorpions of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, as the director of Trinity Soccer Academy from 2004-16 and the Director of Training at the Classics Elite Soccer Academy (CESA) from 2002-08. He has also been a broadcast analyst for Fox Sports' coverage of San Antonio Football Club broadcasts since 2017.
He and his wife Natalie, have two daughters, Ava and Ela, and a son, Judah. Key earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Trinity in 2000.
