Oberlin College Women's Soccer

Taylor Houck is in her fourth season as head women's soccer coach at Oberlin College in 2025-26, after being hired in the spring of 2022. Guiding the team to 21 wins in her first three years, Houck has mentored two North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) All-Decade honorees, as well as a three-time NCAC Offensive Player of the Year. Under Houck’s leadership, the Crimson and Gold have produced two United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region accolades, two All-Ohio women’s soccer laurels, and 15 All-NCAC recipients. In the classroom, the Crimson and Gold have recorded 40 All-NCAC Academic Honor Roll student-athletes, four All-Ohio Academic awards, and 16 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District recipients while Houck was at the helm.  Houck returned to Oberlin after most recently serving as the head coach at Knox College for three years, with two full seasons of competition. Her tenure was highlighted by two Midwest Conference (MWC) championships, the 2021 MWC Offensive Player of the Year, and the nation’s leader in game-winning goals. Prior to her stint at Knox, Houck was the head coach at Caltech from 2016 to 2019. Before that, Houck served as the assistant coach at Oberlin for two seasons (2014-15), where she helped guide the Crimson and Gold to their first winning season in 25 years in 2014 (10-8-0) while tying the program record for wins and shutouts. A former standout player at Villanova University, Houck was a four-year starter, two-time team MVP, and two-year captain who earned All-BIG EAST honors in 2012 and 2013, along with BIG EAST All-Academic recognition each of her four years. After graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in sociology, she played professional soccer in Finland for Pallokissat for one season. In 2019, she earned a master's degree in Positive Coaching & Athletic Leadership from the University of Missouri. Houck also holds a USSF "E" National License and NSCAA Goalkeeper diplomas at Levels 1, 2, and 3. TAYLOR HOUCK CAREER COACHING RECORD Season Overall Record NCAC Record NCAC Finish 2022 7-6-2 1-4-2 7th 2023 7-8-2 2-4-1 T-6th 2024 7-7-2 3-3-1 5th 2025 3-10-4 0-6-1 8th Total (4 seasons): 24-31-10 (.446) 6-17-5 (.304)

Joe Vitale is in his fourth season as a volunteer assistant women’s soccer coach at Oberlin College, since joining the program in 2022.    He also serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer for the institution, and has been in that role since 2015.    Vitale attended local Lorain Admiral King High School and was part of a team that brought the game of soccer to the Lorain City Schools. He graduated as 1986 Defensive Player of the Year and 1986 All-City Defensive Player of the Year.    Additionally, Vitale played club soccer as a Center Back with German Kulturverein from 1980-1986.   Vitale served as Vice President for the Ohio Travel  Soccer league from 2012-2019 serving over 800 teams, and as President of the Olmsted Falls Soccer Association from 2007-2019, supporting over one thousand players annually.    He has been coaching soccer for over 25 years. He was head coach for Excalibur SC from 2011-2018, in both area and regional levels with GLA-NPL. He also served as head coach with West-X FC (2018-2022) where he won an NPL league championship, and qualified as a finalist for multiple for state cups and NPL regionals. Vitale posted a .716 winning percentage as a head coach with an overall 166-59-23 lifetime head coaching record.    He has been certified with a USNS “D” license and with Meulensteen Method 100, 200, and 300 levels.    Vitale lives in Olmsted Falls with his wife (Jody), daughters (Hayley and Carly) and his three dogs (Max, Gia, and Bella).