Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

Laura Burnett-Kurie '08 returned to her alma mater to lead the William Smith soccer program into the 2025 season. A two-time All-American as a player for the Herons, she returns to Cozzens Field after spending the last 13 seasons as the head coach for Gustavus Adolphus.

Burnett-Kurie guided the Gusties to seven winning seasons, compiling a 100-107-21 record. She mentored 38 All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selections, nine United Soccer Coaches All-Region picks and an All-American. Burnett-Kurie was voted the 2015 MIAC Coach of the Year by her peers after engineering the biggest single season turnaround in program history. She led Gustavus to a 13-7-1 record, an 11-win improvement, finished second in the MIAC regular season standings, won the MIAC Championship Tournament and earned an NCAA tournament bid.
 
Burnett-Kurie's Gusties were also among the top performers in the classroom. In 2024, the team posted a 3.81 GPA, the highest in Division III women's soccer. In 2022 and 2023, Gustavus had the second highest team GPA in the country. Burnett-Kurie's teams have won 13 consecutive United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards, while her players have earned 149 MIAC All-Academic honors and 13 Academic All-District Awards from College Sports Communicators.
 
In addition to her coaching duties, Burnett-Kurie also served as the director of intramural sports and previously was an instructor in the Health and Exercise Science Department at Gustavus.
 
Burnett-Kurie's coaching resume also includes stops at Redlands and Gettysburg as an assistant coach.
 
As a student at William Smith, Burnett-Kurie earned a bachelor's degree in psychology while starring on the pitch for the Herons. A high-scoring forward, she produced 102 career points on 42 goals and 18 assists, graduating fourth on the program's goals and points lists. She was just the fifth Heron to reach the 100-point plateau. Burnett-Kurie led William Smith to a 56-13-8 record during her four seasons, advancing to the postseason each year. During her senior year, she had seven goals and seven assists as the Herons went 17-1-1 and won the Liberty League Championship Tournament for the first time. Burnett-Kurie was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America third team after her junior and senior seasons.
 
Following graduation, Burnett-Kurie played one season for the Adirondack Lynx of the Women's Premier Soccer League. She received All-Eastern Conference honors after guiding the Lynx to the playoffs.