Ball State University Athletics
Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- larnold@bsu.edu
- Alma Mater:
- South Alabama, 2014
- Phone:
- 765-285-8302
- Years at Ball State:
- 2ns season in 2017
Lauren Arnold was named an assistant coach for the Ball State soccer program in April 2016. As part of her role, she works with the BSU goalkeepers.
In her first season on staff, Arnold helped guide the Cardinals to the MAC regular season championship. Ball State finished the year 14-3-3 overall and 9-1-1 in league play, reaching an all-time high of No. 40 in the NCAA RPI in the process. Arnold helped coach the Cardinals to a school-record 10-game unbeaten streak, including a road win at ACC opponent Louisville for Ball State's first victory over a Power 5 team in a decade.
Arnold came to Muncie after two seasons as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb in the Big South Conference. She worked primarily with the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ goalkeepers and defense during her time in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
Her playing career included collegiate stops at Clemson and South Alabama in addition to high school all-America recognition and a three-year run with the U.S. Youth National Team.
Arnold mentored Gardner-Webb goalkeeper Krista Chauvin, who ranked second in the Big South in saves in 2014 and was named the league’s defensive player of the week three times. Freshman Keeley Brown took over as the GWU goalkeeper in 2015 and registered five shutouts under Arnold’s guidance.
A native of Hoover, Alabama, Arnold played two years at both Clemson (2010-2011) and South Alabama (2012-2013). She led ACC in saves during her freshman season with 87, a total that was high enough to place her sixth on Clemson’s career saves list after just one year.
Arnold played in 28 games over two seasons with the Tigers before transferring to South Alabama. There she was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference Team in 2012 and helped the Jaguars win the league championship in 2013.
During the summer of 2012, she played for the Gulf Coast Texans of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) and helped her team to a national championship.
Arnold was one of the nation’s top prep players at Spain Park High School outside Birmingham, where she was the Gatorade Alabama player of the year, an ESPN high school all-American and the No. 1-rated recruit in the South region by Top Drawer Soccer in the class of 2010.
She guided Spain Park to the 6A Alabama state championship as a senior and helped her club team, Birmingham United 91 Elite, to back-to-back state cup titles.
Arnold graduated from South Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2014 and is currently working on her master’s in sports pedagogy.
She holds both USSF and NSCAA licensure and also spent time working with the North Carolina Olympic Development (ODP) staff.
