Daniel O’Hare enters his second season as an assistant coach for the SMU women’s soccer team in 2026, primarily working with the goalkeepers.
O'Hare arrived on the Hilltop in 2025 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
During his time in Nashville, O'Hare led the goalkeeper development program, ensuring technical and tactical growth while also designing and implementing a goalkeeper game model that complements the team's system of play. He also developed customized training sessions in a high-performance environment, utilizing video and data analysis to assess performance and provide tactical insights.
His goalkeepers recorded three of the top 10 lowest GAA in Vanderbilt history under his watch and finished Kate Devine and Sara Wojoelko their careers at Vandy inside the top-5 for the lowest career GAA. Devine and Wojoelko also rank inside the top five in Vandy history in most shutouts in a single season. Under O’Hare’s guidance, both keepers developed into professional players as Kate Devine signed with Breidablik in Iceland, a UEFA Champions League participant, and Sara Wojdelko signed with Washington Spirit in the NWSL after their time at Vanderbilt.
O'Hare's goalkeepers posted a record of 30-14-16, 27 shutouts, 0.92 goals conceded per game, helping lead the Commodores to two NCAA tournament appearances, reaching the second round in 2022, Vanderbilt’s first NCAA appearance in program history and the third round in 2024 after the team defeated the then-reigning national champions Florida State on penalty kicks in the second round. He also played a significant role in Vanderbilt's recruiting efforts, assisting with scouting and student-athlete recruitment, including campus visits.
With his expertise in video analytics, O'Hare is also a Performance Analyst for the US Soccer Youth National Team, providing critical insight for Talent ID's and technical and tactical trends.
Prior to his time at Vanderbilt, O'Hare was at Arkansas State (2017-22), where he spent five seasons as an assistant coach and graduate assistant with the women's soccer program. During his time at Arkansas State, the team won two Sunbelt Regular -season Championships and posted a record of 48-28-12, with 35 clean sheets and 0.88 goals conceded per game. He personally oversaw the development of goalkeeper Megan Mcclure broke all ASU goalkeeper records during her time with the team. Mcclure was named Sunbelt goalkeeper of the year in 2021 and 2022. After Arkansas State, she signed with Vllaznia in Albania, a UEFA Champions League participant.
Holds a USSF ‘B’ License, Statsbomb Analyzing Football Certification, and a USC Advanced National Goalkeeper Diploma.
O'Hare received a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Wesleyan before earning his first master's degree during his time at Arkansas State.
