Melissa Fawcett joined the Haverford Women’s Soccer program prior to the the 2021 season. An experienced goalkeeping coach, Fawcett came to Haverford after a nine-season stint as the Goalkeeper Coach for Gwynedd Mercy University. 

With the Griffins, she coached the keepers in the technical, tactical, physical, and mental components of soccer and was instrumental in recruiting goalkeepers to the program. 

Before coming to Gwynedd, Fawcett was the assistant coach for the Hope Academy South Africa Leeuwkop Prison men’s team in addition to working with the U19 South African women’s national team from 2007 to 2010. Fawcett was the goalkeeper coach for Eastern University for the 2008 season when they made it to the NCAA Elite Eight. She also coached the Cedarville Youth Soccer High School team as an assistant from 2000 to 2004 and as the head coach from 2005 to 2006, where they enjoyed winning seasons every year.

Fawcett holds a NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) National Diploma as well as a NSCAA Goalkeeping Level 3 License and a SAFA (South African Football Association) Introductory License and a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma.

Fawcett played at Division II Cedarville University in Ohio from 2000 to 2003 where she still holds seven school records for goalkeeping, including most shutouts in a season and career games started. After college, she played for Trophy Sports FC in Dayton, Ohio, as a goalkeeper from 2004 to 2006.

In 2007, Fawcett moved to Pretoria, South Africa, to pursue a professional soccer career. She played a season with the Mamelodi Sundowns as a starter and three seasons with Pretoria Tuks as a starter in the Vodacom Women’s League before moving back to the USA.  She played for the Buxmont Torch in the WPSL for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In 2013, she was the assistant coach specializing in goalkeepers for the Buxmont Torch. She was the head coach for the WPSL Buxmont Torch for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Currently, she is the goalkeeper coach for the U13 Philly teams in the Pennsylvania Olympic Development Program.

She graduated from Cedarville University with a B.A. in Criminal Justice in 2004 and from Gwynedd Mercy University with a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in strategic management  in 2016.