Senior Gillard steps further into leadership role in final year

(Photo: Hazel Foubert/WCSN)

In the ever-changing landscape of college sports, it becomes increasingly difficult to find great team leaders. Arizona State soccer briefly felt that sentiment. Longtime captain Lucy Johnson graduated last year, and head coach Graham Winkworth needed someone new to step in.

Senior defender Grace Gillard may have only joined the team a year ago, but she came with a resume packed with leadership credentials.

Before coming to Tempe, Gillard played two years at Syracuse, stepping into the starting lineup as a freshman. Prior to that, she was already a veteran of the sport.

Gillard, who hails from Bedford, England, played for Arsenal Women’s Soccer Club and England’s Youth National Team. She captained all three teams.

It might seem like leadership is in her blood, but she says it’s nurture over nature.

“You’re not naturally born a leader,” Gillard says. “You develop those skills through different teams and changing teams.”

Gillard’s leadership skills might not have been something she was born with, but the game of soccer sure was. Gillard’s father, Ken, played professional soccer in England with Northampton Town from 1992-94. The left back also suited up for several semi-professional teams, including Chesham United and Hitchin Town. In addition, he represented his home country of Ireland on the under-21s team in the early-90s.

Just like her father, Gillard has had to deal with a lot of changing teams, especially this year. 15 of the 26 members of last year’s squad are no longer with the team. That type of turnover can ruin a team.

Yet, the Sun Devils have prevailed so far this year, going undefeated in their non-conference schedule, and Gillard has been a big reason for it. Mainly because she hasn’t left the field.

Gillard leads the team with 668 minutes played through eight games; she’s used to cardio, totalling the most minutes of any field player on the team last year. In addition, her stout defense has helped the Sun Devils to nine clean sheets during her time in Tempe.

Her terrific endurance and tenacious defense were exactly what Coach Winkworth was looking to add after the 2023 season. And lucky for him, Gillard was looking to move on from her previous school, Syracuse, as she entered her name in the transfer portal.

Gillard and Winkworth already had a connection, both being from England. The coach said he was glad to get Gillard to Tempe as a junior, but would have tried earlier had he known she was interested in going overseas.

“I didn’t know she wanted to come to America,” Winkworth said. “I would have recruited her as a freshman, years ago.”

But as soon as Gillard entered her name in the transfer portal, it was clear she was coming to Tempe.

“It was a no-brainer for us,” Winkworth said.

Gillard herself was aware of Winkworth as a coach, but has grown to love him since coming to ASU.

“Graham in particular is a very passionate man,” Gillard says. “He really gets us into it. [He] really gets us hyped for the games.”

The next game Gillard and her team play – trying to defend their spotless record – is against No. 10 BYU on Thursday, September 18. The game will be a terrific test of how Gillard will lead her team through a tough Big 12 schedule.