University of New Hampshire Women's Soccer

Welham was hired as head coach of the University of New Hampshire women's soccer program on May 22, 2014 and since then the program has seen records fall and history made. Welham led the Wildcats to their first America East title in program history in his first year at the helm of the program as the No. 3 seed, the first program to win it all at that position. En route to the title, the 'Cats overcame back-to-back penalty kick shootouts in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds defeating Binghamton University and UMBC (first time in conference history). The conference championship automatically earned New Hampshire a NCAA Championship bid against the University of Connecticut where they eventually fell 2-0. In his second season, the Wildcats narrowly missed a regular season championship by one game and also set new marks on the field and in the classroom. UNH scored the most goals since 2007 (25), won the TD Bank Classic for the first time in five years and reached the America East Playoffs for the second consecutive year. But it was in the classroom where the Wildcats really shined. The women's soccer team placed an astounding 25 of 28 players on the America East Academic Honor Roll (89.3%) for the fall of 2015 which was the highest total in any sport in the conference for either gender. The 'Cats also set the single highest semester team grade point average (Spring 2016) in women's soccer history with an impressive 3.54. To capp off the calendar year, the women's soccer program also recorded the highest team GPA (3.51) for the America East Conference for both the women's and men's soccer programs. Welham entered Wildcat Country after spending eight seasons at Stony Brook University. From 2006-08, he served as an assistant coach until being promoted to the level of associate head coach in 2009. While with the Seawolves, Welhams primary responsibilities included working with goalkeepers and the back defensive line as well as running and assisting with full-team training sessions. He also served as the programs recruiting coordinator. In 2013, Welham helped Stony Brook earn a share of the America East regular season title after posting a conference mark of 6-2-0 to go along with an overall record of 11-6-2 (2013 America East finalists). Under Welhams tutelage, goalkeeper Ashley Castanio was named to the 2013 NSCAA All Region Third Team, named 2013 America East Goalkeeper of the Year, an All-Conference First Team selection, and named to the All-Tournament Team. This was not first time Welham mentored an All-Region goalkeeperMarisa Viola earned NSCAA All-Region honors in both 2007 & 2008 (in 2007 Viola recorded 10 clean sheets and along the way set the 7th longest shutout streak in NCAA Division I Womens Soccer history Viola was also the America East Goalkeeper of the year in 2008.) Both Castanio and Viola are among the two most decorated goalkeepers in Stony Brook University history. In 2012, the Seawolves captured their first America East championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Stony Brook reached at least the semifinal round of the AE tournament in six out of the last eight seasons with three championship game appearances in the last six years. Prior to Stony Brook, Welham spent two seasons (2004-05) at Boston University as the assistant coach/goalkeeper coach of the mens squad. In his first season, the Terriers took home the America East regular season championship, the America East title and defeated Dartmouth College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Championships he picked up at Boston University, Stony Brook University, and now at UNH makes Welham the only coach in the history of the America East Conference to have won both the America East Regular Season and America East Post Season Conference Championship on both the mens and the womens side (2004, 2012, 2013 & 2014). Welham spent the 2003 season as an assistant coach at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. (men's squad). There, his responsibilities included goalkeeper training, video analysis, scouting, recruiting and fundraising. The Mariners advanced to the Skyline Conference championship match in his one season and were ranked as high as sixth in the nation. Welham, a 1999 magna cum laude graduate of Seton Hall University with a degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology, achieved deans list status a total of seven times. He was a member of the Big East Academic All-Star Team as a freshman, sophomore and junior and was named the Seton Hall University Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. Welham was also the recipient of the Seton Hall Merit Scholarship. He received his masters degree in Counseling with a specialization in Sport Psychology in May 2003 from Boston University. Welham played professionally with the South Jersey Barons of the United Soccer League (2000-2001), was invited to try out with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer (2001) and was invited to preseason camp for the Philadelphia KiXX of the Major Indoor Soccer League (2000 and 2001). Welham is equipped with an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, an NSCAA National Goalkeeping Diploma (Level III) and the United States Soccer Federation National A Coaching License. He was also a member of the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I goalkeeping staff and was heavily involved with Eastern New York ODP for 5 years where he led two teams to the ODP Regional Championship game. Welham is a former member of the U.S. National Scouting Staff for Goalkeepers and the USSF National Scouting Staff (20102013) where he worked with Mike Dickey and Kazbek Tambi in the NY/NJ US Soccer Training Centers. In the summer of 2010, Welham was invited to observe the U15 US Girls National Team Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. A member of the NSCAA Coaching Association, Welham is also a noted author who has published five articles pertaining to sports psychology and soccer in the NSCAA Soccer Journal and one of his articles Just Play! was recently published in The Best of the Soccer Journal: The Art of Coaching (January 2015)an article he dedicated to his late HS Soccer Coach and Mentor (Rob Myslik) who played collegiately at Princeton University and taught high school English. Since the inception of the America East Conference in 1996, the UNH Wildcats have qualified for postseason play 15 times, including a conference record streak of 12 consecutive appearances from 2001-2012. UNH has made seven semifinal appearances (1996, 2002-06, 2014), three conference championship appearances (1998, 2007, 2014) and shared the conference regular season championship in 2007. The program's first championship was earned in 2014. What they are Saying About Coach Welham: Caroline Murray, UNH '15 First professional Women's Soccer Player in Program History (Sudet - Finland) "Coach Welham played a big role in helping me realize and reach my goal of playing professional soccer. He knows how to bring the best out of his players. I became a better player, but more importantly a better person after playing for him. I don't think you could find a coach who cares more about his players. His positivity, passion and belief in his players is what sets him apart. He is still a great source of support for me and I'm very grateful for that. He has already done great things for the program and the future looks bright." Sue Ryan, Former Head Coach, Stony Brook University Womens Soccer Former US Youth National Team Coach (U-20's, U-17's and U-15's) Current NSCAA Coaching Educator Steve has been a loyal, dedicated and hard working member of our Stony Brook women's soccer staff for the past eight years. He has had a wonderful impact on the lives of many student athletes. All of us here in the Stony Brook family wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward in his coaching career. Nancy Feldman, Head Coach, Boston University Womens Soccer Current NSCAA Coaching Educator Steve has established himself as a respected professional in the collegiate coaching ranks. A student of the game, he has both the passion and enthusiasm for coaching and recruiting and knows what it takes to build an America East Championship caliber team, having been instrumental in putting one together at Stony Brook. Neil Roberts, Head Coach, Boston University Mens Soccer "I am happy for UNH and Steve and I knew it was only a matter of time before Steve got an opportunity. UNH gets a high character and high quality coach and this is definitely a great opportunity for him. It is an exciting time for UNH." Kazbek Tambi, Former U.S. U-17 National Team Coach (World Cup Finalist), Former Seton Hall University Womens Soccer Head Coach "UNH is extremely lucky to have Steve take on the leadership of this program. Steve's knowledge, experience, work ethic and passion for the game will serve to propel the program to new heights." Steve Welham was hired as head coach of the University of New Hampshire women's soccer program on May 22, 2014 and since then the program has seen records fall and history made. Welham led the Wildcats to their first America East title in program history in his first year at the helm of the program as the No. 3 seed, the first program to win it all at that position. En route to the title, the 'Cats overcame back-to-back penalty kick shootouts in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds defeating Binghamton University and UMBC (first time in conference history). The conference championship automatically earned New Hampshire a NCAA Championship bid against the University of Connecticut where they eventually fell 2-0. In his second season, the Wildcats narrowly missed a regular season championship by one game and also set new marks on the field and in the classroom. UNH scored the most goals since 2007 (25), won the TD Bank Classic for the first time in five years and reached the America East Playoffs for the second consecutive year. But it was in the classroom where the Wildcats really shined. The women's soccer team placed an astounding 25 of 28 players on the America East Academic Honor Roll (89.3%) for the fall of 2015 which was the highest total in any sport in the conference for either gender. The 'Cats also set the single highest semester team grade point average (Spring 2016) in women's soccer history with an impressive 3.54. To capp off the calendar year, the women's soccer program also recorded the highest team GPA (3.51) for the America East Conference for both the women's and men's soccer programs. Welham entered Wildcat Country after spending eight seasons at Stony Brook University. From 2006-08, he served as an assistant coach until being promoted to the level of associate head coach in 2009. While with the Seawolves, Welhams primary responsibilities included working with goalkeepers and the back defensive line as well as running and assisting with full-team training sessions. He also served as the programs recruiting coordinator.