Assistant coach Amanda Raso, who works primarily with North Dakota's goalkeepers, is in her second season on the UND staff in 2019.
Under her tutelage in 2018, the University of North Dakota finished in the top-15 nationally in save percentage (3rd) and goals against average (15th) with clips of 0.57 and 0.89, respectively.
Led by goalkeeper First Team All-Summit League selection Olivia Swenson, the Fighting Hawks posted nine shutouts and only allowed 10 goals during the season, surrendering their first goal of the season over 550-minutes into the season (six matches). Swenson was also named to the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, honoring her for her achievements in the classroom and on the field.
Raso came to Grand Forks after having spent the past three seasons as the top assistant coach at Fort Lewis College, her alma mater, in Durango, Colo. She helped lead the SkyHawks to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Championship Tournament appearances in each of her three years on staff and tutored 2015 RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year Caitlyn Espinosa.
“Amanda is a coach who will be a great role model to our student-athletes. She is a joy to be around, engaging and energetic, and will be a huge asset to all of our athletes. We welcome Amanda to UND Soccer, the University of North Dakota and the Grand Forks community,” said UND Head Coach Chris Logan at the time of her hiring.
Logan continued: “Our program has a wonderful environment, culture and atmosphere here at North Dakota and I am extremely grateful not only to work with an incredible group of student-athletes, but with an extraordinary staff. It was imperative that we bring in an exceptional person to complement this approach and with Amanda we have this in abundance.”
Prior to her coaching stint at Fort Lewis, Raso spent the 2014 campaign as a graduate assistant with Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, and coached the 2014 Lonestar Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. She has also coached for the New Mexico Olympic Development Program as well as numerous youth soccer programs including Durango High School, Durango Youth Soccer Association and the Greater Wichita Falls Soccer Association.
Raso has earned her National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Diploma, the NSCAA Level 1 and 2 Goalkeeper Diplomas, and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) D License.
Raso was a four-year letterwinner and two-year starter at Fort Lewis and graduated ranked second in school history winning percentage (.744), third in wins (26), fifth in shutouts (11) and seventh in games played (43), minutes played (3,614) and saves (126). She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Fort Lewis in 2014 and a master’s degree in sport psychology from Lock Haven University in 2016.
