Crystal Pate, a former assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern and standout goalkeeper at Samford, joined the UAB women's soccer staff in the summer of 2009.
Pate got her start in coaching by serving as a volunteer assistant coach for head coach Todd Yelton at Samford in 2005, then went on to spend the next three seasons as an assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern.
During her time with the Panthers, she concentrated on working with the goalkeepers and helped guide the team to 32 wins from 2006-08. Over the past two years alone, the BSC goalkeepers have held opponents to less than one goal per game under Pate's guidance.
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Pate was a stellar goalkeeper at Samford, emerging as one of the top players in the Ohio Valley Conference. A three-time All-OVC selection, she was honored as the OVC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
In addition to league honors, Pate was also named to the first-team All-Southeast Region by SoccerBuzz in 2004 and 2005. Additionally, she earned first-team Scholar All-South region and third-team Scholar All-America honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2004.
A native of Richmond, Va., Pate graduated from Samford in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in education. The former Crystal Royall recently married J. Gary Pate.
