Dennis Grace was a member of the Behrend men’s soccer team in 1971 and 1973. He was the leading scorer with 16 goals in 1973, earning Second Team WPISC honors and the White Letter Award. Grace set the season record for most goals and tied teammate Jim Channas for points with 34. He also helped the Lions capture the 1971 Penn State Commonwealth Campus Championships with an overall record of 7-4-0. Grace came to Behrend in 1971 to play baseball for head coach Shorty Stoner. Under the guidance of head men’s soccer coach Herb Lauffer he discovered a knack for the game of soccer with the ability to put the ball in the back of the net. In his first year, Grace contributed four goals for a team that upset nationally-ranked Lorain and eventually won the 1971 Penn State Commonwealth Campus Championship.
After recovering from season-ending knee injury in 1972, Grace came back to lead the 1973 team with a single-season scoring record of 16 goals in 12 games, earning Second Team WPISC honors and the White Letter Award.
He then transferred to national soccer powerhouse, Indiana University where he earned two letters as a striker. In his senior year and two years following as a graduate student, Grace began his coaching career by leading a local Bloomington Club to three consecutive state soccer championships.
He developed his coaching skills with stints at Indiana, and Clemson and ultimately was named head coach for Notre Dame from 1984-89. There he led the team to its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. He also was the inaugural head coach for the women’s program, which became a national soccer powerhouse. Grace led them in 1988-89.
Grace came back to Behrend to coach the soccer and baseball teams in 1990-91. His overall record as a collegiate head coach was 134-79-19 (.646).
Grace lost his long battle with cancer on July 5, 2013.