Coaches

Shawn Burke

Shawn Burke enters his 10th season at the helm of the women’s soccer program after leading the squad to its eighth straight MAC Tournament appearance, second MAC Championship title and second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022. In his nine seasons at the helm in Buffalo, the Bulls have produced an overall record of 95-50-25, including a 54-25-18 mark in league play. Burke has turned UB into a dominant home team as the Bulls own a 60-11-11 record at UB stadium under his guidance.


Individually, UB has produced 44 All-MAC selections and has placed 20 student-athletes on All-Region squads. Burke has also produced the first four Division 1 All-Americans in program history, in second team selections Marcy Barberic and Emily Kelly and third team honorees Jackie Hall and Hannah Callaghan. UB has also seen seven players awarded MAC Player of the Year during his tenor.


Off the pitch, the Bulls have excelled in the classroom as UB has earned 78 All-MAC Academic selections, 11 MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes, nine COSIDA/CSC Academic All-District selections, five Scholar All-Region selections and four Academic All-Americans (Jackie Hall, Gurjeena Jandu, Emily Kelly, Leah Wengender).


Burke led Buffalo to a historic season in 2022 as the Bulls claimed its second regular season MAC Championship, second-ever MAC Tournament Championship and second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bulls set a new program record with a 17-game unbeaten streak and recorded 14 shutouts on the season, tied for the most in program history.


For his efforts, Burke was awarded the MAC Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 15-2-4 overall record to go along with a 7-0-4 MAC record. UB finished the historic season with an 11-0-1 home record, tying the 2014 squad for the program record for home wins. He helped the Bulls earn two other specialty awards as freshman Ellie Simmons was named Defensive Player of the Year and fifth year Emily Kelly earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors.


In 2021, Burke guided the Bulls to a 13-4-3 record and their second straight appearance in the MAC Tournament semifinals. UB recorded 34 goals on the year, good for second-best in the Burke era. The Bulls received several individual recognitions, highlighted by Barberic earning a spot on the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy Award Watch List. Four Bulls earned All-MAC recognition and a trio of Bulls were named to United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region teams. UB placed a program-record 12 student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC team.


Burke navigated the Bulls through an unprecedented 2020 spring season as UB went 6-1-1, including ending the season on a seven-game unbeaten streak. Buffalo scored 17 goals and finished with a final RPI of 37 while recording a 0.63 goals against average and a program-best .813 winning percentage. The Bulls received several individual recognitions including a historic Second Team All-American honor for Marcy Barberic as well as three All-Midwest region selections and a league-best five All-MAC recognitions, highlighted by the Offensive (Barberic) and Defensive (Hannah Callaghan) Players of the Year. UB also placed nine student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC team.


Burke made a lasting imprint on the UB women’s soccer program as he led the squad to a regular season MAC Championship, first-ever MAC Tournament Championship and first-ever NCAA appearance in 2014. The Bulls broke many school records including shutouts in a season (14) and unbeaten streak (14). The defensive-minded Bulls finished the historic season with an 11-0-1 home record, breaking the program record for home wins and recording the first unbeaten home mark since 1995.


For his efforts, Burke was awarded the MAC Coach of the Year award and All-Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year after leading his team to a program-best 16-3-3 overall record to go along with a perfect 9-0-2 MAC record, just the third unbeaten MAC regular season in conference history.


Burke finished the 2014 campaign tied for the NCAA lead in wins (16) for a first-year head coach and he had the highest winning percentage (.833) out of all first-year head coaches in the country. He helped the Bulls earn a sweep in all MAC major awards following the season as UB won Offensive Player of the Year (Katie Roberts), Defensive Player of the Year (Jackie Hall), Freshman of the Year (Laura Dougall) and Coach of the Year (Burke). The 2014 UB Bulls became the first program in MAC history to sweep all four major awards.


Prior to taking over as head coach at Buffalo, Burke served five years as assistant coach, with his tenure highlighted by his first recruiting class in 2011 which helped the Bulls jump 200 spots in the RPI rankings from the previous season, the biggest jump of any team in the country, and resulted in a MAC semifinal appearance.


Burke was a standout player at Mercyhurst College from 1998-2002, winning five straight GLIAC Championships. In 2002, Burke was named Great Lakes Conference Defensive Player of the year. He was also a three-time first-team All-Conference and two-time All-Region player selection. In his final year of play at Mercyhurst, Burke helped lead the Lakers to the Division II Final Four and the school’s first and only #1 national ranking.


Burke graduated from Mercyhurst in 2002 with a degree in elementary education and graduated in May of 2013 with his Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University at Buffalo.


He holds a USSF “A” license as well as a US Soccer National Goalkeeping. Burke also holds a National Youth License.


Burke currently resides in Amherst with his wife Taylor, daughter Henley and son Kai.

Brianne Casey

Brianne Casey enters her fifth season with the Bulls after being hired by head coach Shawn Burke in June of 2019.


Casey helped lead the Bulls to a historic season in 2022 as the Bulls claimed its second regular season MAC Championship, second-ever MAC Tournament Championship and second ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Under her guidance, fifth year Emily Kelly cemented herself as the best goalkeeper in program history as she earned MAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors, recording a 15-2-4 overall record, 14 shutouts, 65 saves, a 0.43 goals against average and an .878 save percentage. She is UB’s all-time winningest goalkeeper with 54 wins and holds the school record with 35 career shutouts.


The Bulls set a new program record with a 17-game unbeaten streak while the UB backline recorded 14 shutouts on the season, tied for the most in program history. The Bulls received several individual recognitions, highlighted by Kelly and Hannah Callaghan who were named USC All-Americans. Six Bulls earned All-MAC recognition and five were named to USC All-Midwest Region teams. Off the pitch, Kelly and Leah Wengender were named USC Scholar All-Americans and the Bulls tied a program record placing 12 student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC team.


In 2021, Casey guided the Bulls to a 13-4-3 record and their second straight appearance in the MAC Tournament semifinals. Under her watchful eye, senior Emily Kelly continued to be a force for UB between the pipes as recorded a 13-4-3 overall record, seven shutouts, 28 saves, a 0.97 goals against average and a .759 save percentage. As a whole, the UB defense recorded eight clean sheets and a goals against average of 0.96. The Bulls received several individual recognitions as four Bulls earned All-MAC recognition and a trio of Bulls were named to United Soccer Coaches All-Midwest Region teams. UB placed a program-record 12 student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC team.


Casey helped guide the Bulls to a 6-1-1 record in an unprecedented 2020 spring season. Under her guidance, junior Emily Kelly continued to excel in net, recording four shutouts, a 0.61 goals against average, 28 saves and a .848 save percentage. Buffalo ended the season on a seven-game unbeaten streak, set a program-record with a .813 winning percentage and had a league-best five players recognized on All-MAC teams.


In her first season in Buffalo she helped guide the Bulls to a 9-8-3 overall record and a 5-4-2 conference mark in 2019. She worked primarily with the UB goalkeepers, including sophomore Emily Kelly who was a mainstay between the pipes for the Bulls, compiling a 9-8-3 overall record with a 1.06 goals against average, 87 saves, a .798 save percentage and four shutouts in 20 starts for the Bulls. Buffalo made their sixth straight MAC Tournament appearance and advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2015.


Casey spent two seasons on the coaching staff at Southern Connecticut where her responsibilities included developing the goalkeepers, recruiting, implementing team training sessions, compiling scouting reports and organizing the team’s travel schedule, clinics and fundraising events.


A native of Columbia, CT, Casey joined the Owls for her final season of eligibility in 2016 and tallied four points. Along the way, she was a multiple selection to the NE10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll.


Prior to SCSU, Casey played collegiately and completed her undergraduate work at Central Connecticut State University. She was a four-time selection to the Northeast Conference All-Academic Team, a President’s List selection and Dean’s List honoree. Casey helped Blue Devils to one NEC title and one NCAA Tournament berth.


A Lyman Memorial High School graduate, Casey the Bulldogs in scoring three times and was a three-time Team MVP. A three-time All-State and All-Conference selection, Casey is the ECC Conference’s record holder for assists.


Casey holds a National D license from U.S. Soccer the Advanced National Diploma from United Soccer Coaches. She currently coaches with the Western New York Flash and has additional coaching experience with the CFC Sound Football Club and the Connecticut Soccer School.

Danny Lowton

Danny Lowton is in his first season with the Bulls after being hired by head coach Shawn Burke in July of 2023.


Lowton comes to Buffalo from Gannon University where he served as an assistant coach with the men’s and women’s programs, running all aspects of goalkeeping including recruiting, training, and video analysis of in-game performances. Off the pitch, he was also accountable for all aspects of nutrition and strength and conditioning.


On the women’s side, he helped guide the Knights to a 38-16-9 overall record, including two NCAA National Tournament entries, a 2022 PSAC Regular Season Championship, the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year and the PSAC West Freshman of the Year honors. Individually, the women produced a United Soccer Coaches All-American, multiple D2CAA Atlantic All-Region and USC All-Region honorees and placed nine student-athletes on PSAC All-Conference teams.


With the Gannon men, he helped lead the Knights to a 50-15-5 overall record, including two NCAA National Tournament appearances, a 2019 PSAC Regular Season Championship, three-time PSAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, two PSAC Freshman of the Year honors and the 2019 PSAC Offensive Player of the Year while also being a part of the 2020 NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Staff of the Year. Individually, the men produced four USC All-Americans, one D2CAA All-American, D2CAA Atlantic All-Region and USC All-Region honorees and placed 12 student-athletes on PSAC All-Conference teams.


Lowton’s first stint at Gannon was from May of 2016 through July of 2017 serving as the strength and conditioning coach for both programs, helping the players through the team warm-up, which included miniband and movement preparation exercises. Lowton also created out-of-season strength and conditioning programs with individual player specializations.


When he rejoined the programs full-time, he was also working as a strength and conditioning specialist with Lewis Fitness & Performance. Having been with the organization since July 2015, he oversaw training programs for athletes of all ages, sports, and abilities and designed programs for athletes and other clients based upon FMS, PRI, and DVRT principles, while taking into consideration their goals, injuries, and movement patterns. Lowton also advises clients and athletes on nutrition, including fat-loss and muscle building.


Prior to his start with Gannon, Lowton served as a voluntary men's soccer strength and conditioning coach at Mercyhurst University from January 2015 to December 2015. While with the Lakers, he was responsible for designing an eight-week preseason packet for the players, create and run an out-of-season circuit training program, teach the team Olympic lifts, provide general in-season and off-season nutritional advice, and provide various training programs specific to each player.


A native of England, Lowton was a goalkeeper at Loughborough University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science in 2013. He then went on to play at Mercyhurst University, where he earned his Master of Science in Exercise Physiology.

No Men's Soccer Program