Penn State Women's Soccer

Walsh Position: Head Coach   Has led Penn State to a 115-43-8 mark through seven seasons Eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances Seven Big Ten regular season titles (2007-12, 2014) Led the Nittany Lions to their fourth College Cup and first-ever NCAA National Championship match in 2012 2012 NSCAA and Soccer America National Coach of the Year Three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2009, 2012, 2014) Two M.A.C. Hermann Trophy finalists and eight semifinalists Seven NSCAA First Team All-Americans who have contributed to 12 NSCAA All-America honors Ten NSCAA Scholar All-America honorees Nine Big Ten Players of the Year Head coach Erica Walsh enters her ninth season at the helm of the Penn State women's soccer program in 2015. In 2014, Walsh led the Blue and White to its 10th NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance and the seventh 20-win season in program history. Penn State, which had an 11-member freshman class, earned its third outright conference title in four years, maintaining a top-11 national ranking throughout the season and defeating five top-25 opponents. Under Walsh's direction, who picked up her third Big Ten Coach of the Year award, Penn State collected three of four Player of the Year awards. Whitney Church, the conference's Defender of the Year, was named a M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist and an NSCAA All-America first team selection before she became the 30th overall pick in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) draft by the Washington Spirit. Also earning individual Big Ten awards were Raquel Rodriguez, who bagged Midfielder of the Year honors and Emily Ogle, the Freshman of the Year. The Nittany Lions appeared in their 19th-straight NCAA Tournament in 2013, due in part to the success of senior Maya Hayes. The sixth-overall selection in the WPSL draft, Hayes set Penn State's single season record for points (79) and finished her career ranked third in goals scored (71) and points (163), sixth in game-winning goals (17) and seventh in shots (291). Hayes also became the seventh M.A.C. Hermann Award Trophy semifinalist in program history. Walsh's 2012 Nittany Lions were the most successful team in program history after advancing to their first-ever national title game. The Nittany Lions won 21 of 27 games and were unbeaten in Big Ten action with a 10-0-1 record. The Lions registered their 15th consecutive Big Ten title and 18th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The 15-title mark stands as the most consecutive Big Ten Championships by a women's program, along with the present Northwestern tennis team. Senior Christine Nairn became just the seventh Nittany Lion to finish as a finalist for the prestigous Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy in 2012 under Walsh's tutelage while junior Maya Hayes was named a semifinalist for the award. Walsh's success was recognized at the conference and national level as she earned Big Ten Coach of the Year and NSCAA National Coach of the Year honors. Her 2011 team was a dominant force, winning 21 of 26 matches, while out-scoring opponents 70-24. The Nittany Lions were 10-1-0 in Big Ten action and posted the seventh undefeated season at Jeffrey Field (9-0). Walsh helped guide the Lions to their 14th-straight Big Ten title and a spot to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2007. With Walsh's guidance, sophomore Maya Hayes became the nation's most prolific scorer in soccer in 2011 and was a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. Hayes led the nation with 31 goals and 70 points, breaking the Penn State single-season record for points. During the 2011 summer, Walsh had an extraordinary experience of being one of the top assistants to Pia Sundhage and the 2011 United State women's national team at the FIFA World Cup in Germany. The U.S. made a sparkling run through knockout play to the final, falling to eventual champion Japan. During the 2010 season, Walsh's young club made a remarkable turnaround mid-season, overcoming a two-game deficit in the league standings over the final weeks to capture a share of its 13th straight BigTen title. After a tough 2-4 start to the 2009 season, Walsh led the Nittany Lions to a remarkable turnaround, going 10-1-2 in the last 13 games of the regular season, earning her the 2009 BigTenCoach of the Year Award for her efforts. With the impressive end to the season, Walsh and her charges captured the program's 12th-straight BigTen Championship. By winning the BigTen, the Nittany Lions continued their string of NCAA Tournament berths, making their 15th-straight appearance in the 64-team field in 2009. For the second time in three years, PennState hosted the first and second rounds of tournament play. Walsh also orchestrated one of the finest awards seasons in PennState history when KatieSchoepfer, Alyssa Naeher and Christine Nairn swept the year-end Big Ten Player of the Year awards. Schoepfer was named the OffensivePlayer of the Year, Naeher the Defensive Player of the Year and Nairn the Freshman of the Year. DanielleToney was named to the All-BigTen first team, while Lexi Marton garnered secondteam mention. Walsh has now coached two players of the year to three awards as Naeher was also the 2007 recipient of the Defensive Player of the Year honors in Walsh's first year in Happy Valley. Walsh continued her success from the 2007 campaign into a 16-8-0 record that saw PennState capture its 11th-straight Big Ten Championship and the 2008 Big Ten Tournament crown. Her transition to PennState was quite smooth as the 2007 team finished 18-4-2, including a 9-1-0 mark in conference play, and was ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll of the season. When she came to Penn State, Walsh brought with her a wealth of experience at both the international and collegiate levels. She already has coached at six different universities, including three stints as head coach as well as serving as an assistant for the U.S. U-19 team in 2004. Walsh served as head coach of the U-17 team from December 2004 until her hire at Penn State in February 2007. As of January 2009, Walsh was appointed as a member of the Panel of Instructors and Lecturers for FIFA Courses. In addition, she was appointed as the Chairman of the Women's Technical Committee for the period of January 1, 2009 to June 30, 2011. In January of 2008, Walsh was named as the assistant coach by Pia Sundhage for the U.S. National Team. With Walsh's help and guidance the U.S. team completed its historic run with a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Even sweeter was that Walsh's main responsibility was the U.S. Team's defense, which held fellow world power Brazil scoreless in the gold medal game. The head coach at Harvard University as well as the U.S. Under-17 team prior to her hiring at PennState, Walsh has consistently been active among the coaching ranks both at the Division I level and the U.S. Youth National Team program for nearly a decade. Prior to her time with the Crimson, she was part of a Florida State staff that led the Seminoles to one of its most successful year to date. FSU joined Penn State in the 2005 Women's Soccer College Cup, with both programs reaching the national semifinals. Walsh's coaching path began in 1997 as a graduate assistant with Bucknell University. In 1998, she accepted a position at Dartmouth, where she was an assistant coach for two seasons. After helping the team to a final NSCAA ranking of No. 8 at the conclusion of the team's 1998 NCAA quarterfinal run as well as an Ivy League championship in 1999, Walsh assumed head coaching duties before the 2000 season. As head coach, Walsh led the Big Green to back-to-back Ivy League co-championships in 2000 and 2001. Her squad was ranked in the NSCAA's top 25 each year, rising as high as No. 13 in 2001. In her three seasons as head coach, Dartmouth was invited to the NCAA Tournament each season and reached the round of 16 twice. All three of her teams earned the NSCAA's Academic Team Award. Walsh left Dartmouth to earn her Master's in business administration at Lehigh University where she served as a graduate assistant from 2003-04. Beginning in the spring of 2004, Walsh joined the United States Under-19 team as an assistant coach where she helped with preparations for the Under-19 World Cup. The U.S. finished with the bronze medal in Thailand after defeating Brazil in the third place match. After the World Cup, Walsh was appointed the U.S. National Team's U-17 head coach, a position which she held for three years. As a player, Walsh was an NSCAA All-Region selection at William & Mary. A two-time first team All-CAA pick, she propelled her team to four NCAA Tournament appearances as well as two CAA regular season and two CAA league championships. In March of 2010, Walsh's alma mater, William &Mary, honored her by inducting her into the W&MAthletics Hall of Fame. A high school All-American at Lower Moreland, she was also a member of the U.S. Under-17 National Team. Walsh earned her Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in biology from William & Mary in 1997. The Huntingdon Valley, Pa., native holds an NSCAA Advanced National Degree and a USSF "A" Coaching License.

Cook enters her 10th season with the Nittany Lions in 2016. This will also be the 10th season that Cook will be coaching under former teammate and friend Erica (Walsh) Dambach. The two combined for many wins on the field at William & Mary and have already shown their prowess on the sidelines together, as they led the Nittany Lions to the program's first NCAA title in 2015, two College Cup appearances (2012 & 2015), eight BigTen titles (2007-12 & 2014-15) and nine NCAA Tournament appearances (2007-15). As the associate head coach, one of Cooks main duties is the Nittany Lion offensive scheme. Since Cook has been with the Blue and White, Penn State has recorded four of the top-10 seasons offensively. During the 2011 season, Penn State recorded 226 points on the year, which ranks second in program history - seven shy of the program record 233 points set back in 2001. En route to the NCAA title and a pair of Big Ten titles in 2015, the Nittany Lions scored 64 goals and 66 assists. The 64 goals and 66 assists rank seventh and third in program history, respectively. Under the guidance of Cook, four Nittany Lions have scored 100 or more points over their career. Maya Hayes finished her Nittany Lion career with 163 points (71g, 21a), which ranks third-best in school history. Most recently, Mallory Weber became the 10th Nittany Lion to eclipse the century mark in points during the 2015 season. Weber ended her career at Penn State in 10th with 101 points on 36 goals and 29 assists. For the eighth consecutive year, in 2014, Cook traveled to Central America with an organization called Soccer Without Borders. The organization focuses on using soccer as a tool for youth development around the world. The exchange team has coached nearly 800 girls, trained more than 45 coaches and, in 2013, played two friendly matches against the Nicaraguan Women's National Team. Prior to PSU, Cook was an assistant coach at Nebraska for two seasons. Cook was responsible for numerous tasks while at Nebraska including individual and team training, recruiting, video analysis and scheduling. She also worked closely as the staff's liaison to the Huskers' athletic support staff. During her tenure at Missouri State from 2004-05, she handled training, recruiting and team travel duties as well as supervising the strength and conditioning program. The head coach at Drury University from 1999-2000, her squad ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division-II poll among new programs in 1999. A three-time All-American, Cook played for William & Mary from 1993-97, medically redshirting during the 1996 campaign. In the mix for the Hermann Trophy as well as the M.A.C. Player of the Year Award in both 1995 and 1997, she was the 1997 CAA Conference Player of the Year and CAA Conference Tournament MVP. The Tribe made appearances in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals two of Cook's four seasons, grabbing a bid for the Tournament each year and concluding the seasons ranked in the top five. Active with the U.S. National Team programs, she was a member of the U.S. Under-20 team from 1994-95 and played with the full national team in 1998. Professionally, Cook was a fourth-round draft pick (25th overall in the global draft) by the Bay Area CyberRays in 2000. A member of the team that won the WUSA's inaugural season championship in 2001, she was traded in December of that year to the Washington Freedom, which eventually finished as the 2002 league runners-up. Cook picked up coaching full time when the WUSA folded after the 2003 season. As a member of the W-League's Chicago Cobras from 1998-2000, she was the championship MVP in 2000 after helping the team to a league championship. In 1999, her team finished as the league runners-up.

Wassell returns to Penn State for his seventh season in 2016. With the Nittany Lions, he serves as the recruiting coordinator and focuses on the team's goalkeepers and defensive unit. Under the direction of Wassell, the Nittany Lions tallied one of the best defensive efforts in program history during the 2015 season. As a defensive unit, the Nittany Lions allowed 14 goals on the year and a goals against average of .51, which ranks third-best in program history. The Nittany Lions 15 shutouts in 2015 tied the second-best performance in school history (2004). The Nittany Lion defensive prowess was on display during the 2015 NCAA Tournament. The Penn State defense did not concede a goal over the final 733:32 of the season and only allowed 13 shots on goal in six games during the 2015 NCAA Tournament. As recruiting coordinator, Wassell has brought some of the nations top recruiting classes to Happy Valley. According to TopDrawerSoccer.com, the Nittany Lions tallied back-to-back No. 2 overall recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015. The 2014 class featured Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Emily Ogle, and the 2015 class featured the No. 5 overall signee, Ellie Jean, as well as the No. 10 overall signee, Kaleigh Riehl, just to a highlight a few. Goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom found major success in net for the Nittany Lions under the tutelage of Coach Wassell. Eckerstrom finished her Nittany Lion career with a record of 61-14-3, 255 saves, a save percentage of .804, a goals against average of .80 and 6,957 goalie minutes played. Her 61 wins are the second-most by a Nittany Lion keeper, her 255 saves rank fourth in the Nittany Lion rankings, her save percentage of .804 ranks sixth and her 6,957 minutes in net are third-best in program history. "Tim has been a part of the Penn State family for many years and we're thrilled to finally make him an official part of our staff," Walsh said. "His passion for goalkeeping, combined with his strong ties to this region and head coaching experience, made him the obvious choice for this position." Erica Dambach Eckerstrom was selected as the top goalkeeper in the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) 2016 College Draft with the No. 26 pick by the Western New York Flash.   Over three seasons from 2007-09 at Penn State Altoona, Wassell led the women's program to a 48-11-5 overall record as Head Coach, taking home NSCAA Great Lakes Coach of the Year honors in 2008. He was also named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008. While with the Nittany Lions in Altoona, Wassell's defense-oriented teams posted 39 shutouts in 64 games as the squad set new marks for wins in every year of his tenure with 13, 17 and 18, respectively. During the 2008 campaign, the squad posted the third-best goals against average in Division III at 0.34. Eighteen Lions earned All-AMCC honors and 24 were named to the Academic All-AMCC team during the three-year tenure, which outscored opponents 172-40. Additionally, Wassell's charges collected three NSCAA Great Lakes All-Region selections, including the only freshman on the first or second team in 2008. The team reached the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament, falling 1-0 to Otterbein. During that season, PSU Altoona went without a loss in the regular season. Prior to taking over the reins at Altoona, he served as the goalkeeping coach in 2006 for both the men's and women's teams. For the men's squad at Altoona, the team posted the best goals against average in the conference and second best mark in shutouts. The team finished top 25 nationally in GAA with a 0.63 average. As a goalkeeper at Penn State Altoona, Wassell was a two-time NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region selection in 2004 and 2005 and a two-time All-AMCC First Team selection as well. He was named the 2005 PSU Altoona Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was mentioned amongst the coaches of the AMCC as the Preseason Player of the Year in 2005. In both 2004 and 2005, Wassell led the AMCC in save percentage, shutouts and GAA, completing his two-year tenure between the pipes with a school-record 0.71 GAA. A highlight to his success at Penn State Altoona was a 641-minute shutout streak during the 2004 season, which, at the time, ranked in the top-15 in Division III history. Wassell was an accomplished student with two Academic All-AMCC honors, a spot on the Penn State Altoona Dean's List every semester and a 3.72 cumulative grade point average. Prior to his time at Altoona, Wassell was a member of the East Stroudsburg squad from 2000-02, earning two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships with an NCAA Final Four appearance in 2000. Wassell, a Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, native, earned his bachelor's degree in business at Penn State Altoona. He also has earned NSCAA National and Advanced National Goalkeeping Coaching Diplomas.