April 19, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State women's soccer assistant coach Michael Coll resigned from his post on Thursday as he was named the head coach of the UNLV women's soccer program. Coll leaves University Park after eight years on the Nittany Lion sidelines helping Penn State to a Big Ten title in each year he coached.
"Michael's dedication to the Penn State women's soccer program has helped to make this the best place in the country to play college soccer," PSU head coach Erica Walsh said. "As a Penn State alum and long-time employee, he embodies our slogan 'Success With Honor' and has helped to drive this program to new heights. His tireless work ethic and incredible passion will serve him well in the next stage of his career as the head coach at UNLV.
"Both our staff and players alike have learned so much from Michael over the years and consider him to be one of the best in the business. I wish the best of luck to both Michael and Katie and I'm excited to track the success of the Rebels' program under his guidance."
"For 15 of the past 18 years Penn State has been my home," Coll said. "Being able to represent this amazing university and community for so long, both as a player and coach, has been a blessing and a privilege. I want to express my gratitude to Erica Walsh, and before her Paul Wilkins, who have helped shaped so many of my beliefs within coaching. Also my co-coaches in my time here -- Ann Cook, Tim Wassell, Mariel Wilner, and Tim Rosenfeld -- have been terrific to work alongside.
"I'd like to thank all the fantastic administrators and staff that I worked with over the years who have made my experiences so memorable. Most thanks have to go to the student-athletes that I have coached over the past eight seasons - they have worked tremendously hard day in and day out and deserve all their success. I'm proud to have been with them as they have continued to win championships in the Big Ten."
Coll returned to Penn State in 2004 assisting the women's soccer program to eight consecutive Big Ten regular season titles in a string of 14 overall, a Big Ten women's record. At Penn State, Coll coached three M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Finalists (Tiffany Weimer, 2004 and 2005; Maya Hayes, 2011), nine NSCAA First-Team All-Americans, 24 NSCAA First-Team All-Region selections and 26 All-Big Ten First-Team honorees. Coll led many facets of the PSU program as the recruiting coordinator including scouting, team training, video analysis, and alumni relations.
This past season, Coll was instrumental in assisting the Nittany Lions' resurgence to a No. 8 ranking by the NSCAA and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. Penn State went 21-6-0 with four victories over Top 25 foes before falling to No. 6 Wake Forest in the third round.
Previous to stint at Penn State, Coll served as the head coach at Saint Francis (Pa.) for three years while earning his master's degree in education. He holds a NSCAAA Premier Diploma as well as an Irish FA "C" License.
A native of Derry, Ireland, Coll graduated from Penn State in 1997 as a four-year starter, All-American and two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree. Coll married his wife, Katie, in 2010.
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--NITTANY LIONS--