Marist University Women's Soccer

POUGHKEEPSIE, New York  Nicole Pacapelli was hired on Tuesday as Marist's new Head Women's Soccer Coach, Director of Athletics Tim Murray announced.   "I am grateful for the confidence and belief that Director of Athletics Tim Murray and the search committee have shown for their trust in me to lead the Marist women's soccer program," Pacapelli said. "I can not tell you how grateful and appreciative I am for this amazing opportunity to help build a culture of excellence and community at Marist, a place that so strongly aligns with everything I value and believe in. I am so excited to get started leading and serving our Red Fox student-athletes as we strive to provide them with an elite student-athlete experience.   "I want to say a special thank you to Binghamton Head Coach Neel Bhattacharjee, my former student-athletes and the Binghamton Athletics Department for their endless support in me over the past three years. I would also like to thank my family and my own college coach, Laura Duncan, who I would not be where I am today without."   Pacapelli comes to Marist after a successful three-year run as an assistant coach at Binghamton. In the past three seasons, the Bearcats went 14-5-3 (.705) in America East play and 23-15-8 (.587) overall. Binghamton won a share of its divisional title in the Spring of 2021, won the America East regular-season championship outright in 2022, and reached the conference's championship match in the Spring of 2021 and 2022. These championship appearances marked the first for the Bearcats since 2009.   In the 2022 season, Pacapelli was part of the America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Maya Anand was named Striker of the Year, and Olivia McKnight was honored as Midfielder of the Year. It marked the first time in program history the Bearcats won more than one conference major award. Additionally, Anand and McKnight were named All-Region.   "We are very excited to welcome Nicole to the Marist Athletics Department," Marist Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator Elizabeth Donohue said. "She brings experience and a positive outlook to the women's soccer team that will provide a foundation for growth and success. Our student-athletes will be well equipped to flourish both on and off the field under her direction."   Prior to her arrival at Binghamton, Pacapelli was an assistant coach at Richmond in the Atlantic 10 in the 2019 season. For the 2016-18 seasons, Pacapelli was head coach at Queens College, where she doubled as the department's academic coordinator.   Pacapelli earned both her Bachelor's degree (Nutrition and Dietetics, 2014) and Master's degree (MBA, concentration in Sports Management, 2016) from the University of New Haven, where she was a Dean's List honoree. She began her coaching career with the Chargers as their lead assistant from 2014-15. In her three-year playing career at New Haven, Pacapelli helped lead the program to 31 wins and was a two-year captain and an All-Northeast-10 selection. She played her freshman season at Stonehill College.   Pacapelli played in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) for the Connecticut Football Club (CFC) Passion. She holds a United States Soccer "C" coaching license and United Soccer Coaches National and Advanced National Diplomas. She was selected to the 2022 United Soccer Coaches Coach Credentialing Cohort, was honored as a member of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Class, and was chosen to the 2020 NCAA WeCoach Academy Class.    Pacapelli is a native of West Haven, Connecticut. She was an all-state soccer selection and four-year scholastic standout.

Nicole Pacapelli Ciano enters her third season as the head coach of the women's soccer team for the 2025 season.  In her second season at the lead in 2024, Pacapelli Ciano led Marist to three wins on the campaign and saw nine student-athletes placed on the MAAC All-Academic Team In her first season at the helm in 2023, Pacapelli Ciano led the Red Foxes to two wins, including a 1-0 victory over Rider on Sept. 9, for her first collegiate win as a head coach. Pacapelli comes to Marist after a successful three-year run as an assistant coach at Binghamton. In the past three seasons, the Bearcats went 14-5-3 (.705) in America East play and 23-15-8 (.587) overall. Binghamton won a share of its divisional title in the Spring of 2021, won the America East regular-season championship outright in 2022, and reached the conference's championship match in the Spring of 2021 and 2022. These championship appearances marked the first for the Bearcats since 2009.   In the 2022 season, Pacapelli was part of the America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Maya Anand was named Striker of the Year, and Olivia McKnight was honored as Midfielder of the Year. It marked the first time in program history the Bearcats won more than one conference major award. Additionally, Anand and McKnight were named All-Region. Prior to her arrival at Binghamton, Pacapelli was an assistant coach at Richmond in the Atlantic 10 in the 2019 season. For the 2016-18 seasons, Pacapelli was head coach at Queens College, where she doubled as the department's academic coordinator.   Pacapelli earned both her Bachelor's degree (Nutrition and Dietetics, 2014) and Master's degree (MBA, concentration in Sports Management, 2016) from the University of New Haven, where she was a Dean's List honoree. She began her coaching career with the Chargers as their lead assistant from 2014-15. In her three-year playing career at New Haven, Pacapelli helped lead the program to 31 wins and was a two-year captain and an All-Northeast-10 selection. She played her freshman season at Stonehill College.   Pacapelli played in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) for the Connecticut Football Club (CFC) Passion. She holds a United States Soccer "C" coaching license and United Soccer Coaches National and Advanced National Diplomas. She was selected to the 2022 United Soccer Coaches Coach Credentialing Cohort, was honored as a member of the 2021 United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Class, and was chosen to the 2020 NCAA WeCoach Academy Class.    Pacapelli is a native of West Haven, Connecticut. She was an all-state soccer selection and four-year scholastic standout.

Hanna graduated from Binghamton University with her Bachelor of Science in Integrative Neuroscience in the Spring of 2021. She was a four-year member on the Binghamton women's soccer team from 2017-2021, playing as a goalkeeper for the Bearcats. During her career, Hanna made an appearance in every season recording 61 saves while accumulating a 1.08 goals against average.  Off the field Hanna excelled in the classroom earning herself an America East Honor Roll honor as a sophomore in 2018 as well as two Miller Auto Team Student-Athlete of the Week honors in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.   After graduating from Binghamton, Hanna served as a graduate assistant of the women's soccer team at Fairleigh Dickinson University from 2021-2023 while pursuing her Master's in Sports Management. At Fairleigh Dickinson, she gained a great deal of experience by coaching and assisting the team with on and off field duties. She also volunteered her time to help coach the men's team goalkeepers during their preseason of 2022 while they were in search of a goalkeeper coach.   While working heavily with the goalkeepers during her time at Fairleigh Dickinson, Hanna earned credit for the success of their freshman goalie who earned NEC Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team All-NEC honors.   Besides her collegiate experience both playing and coaching, Hanna has also been named the Goalkeeping Director of Cedar Stars Academy out of Carlstadt, New Jersey where she coaches and directs sessions for young female goalkeepers ages 10-17.