U.S. National Team Experience
- USWNT Assistant Coach, Bronze Medalist for 2020 Summer Olympic Games
- USWNT Assistant Coach, 2012 Summer Olympic Qualifying
- USWNT Assistant Coach, Runner-Up at 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- USWNT Assistant Coach, Gold Medalist for 2008 Summer Olympic Games
- U.S. U-20 WNT Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2014
- U.S. U-17 WNT Head Coach from 2004 to 2007
- U.S. U-19 WNT Assistant Coach in 2004
NCAA Experience
- 2015 NCAA Champion
- 274-92-29 Nittany Lion Career Record (17 seasons)
- 17-Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances
- 11 Big Ten Regular Season Titles (2007-12, '14-16, '18 & 2020-21)
- Two College Cup and National Championship Match Appearances (2012 & '15)
- Five Big Ten Tournament Titles (2008, '15, '17, '19 & ‘22)
- 2012 and 2015 NSCAA Coach of the Year
- 2012 Soccer America National Coach of the Year
- Five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2009, '12, '14, '18 & 2020-21)
- One MAC Hermann Trophy Winner
- Two MAC Hermann Trophy Finalists and 11 Semifinalists
- 10 United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Americans & 21 All-America Honors
- 19 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America honorees
- 16 Big Ten Players of the Year
The leadership of Penn State women’s soccer Head coach Erica Dambach continues to produce incredible success season after season. While trophies, academic awards and international achievements line the walls as evidence of a championship program, her impact on Nittany Lion student-athletes stands as the truest testament to her teams’ culture of excellence. Dambach enters her 18th season at the helm in University Park heading into the 2024 campaign, Penn State’s 31st varsity season.
The numbers that document PSU’s success are staggering. A two-time National Coach of the Year and five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Dambach has led her teams to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, 11 Big Ten regular season titles, five Big Ten Tournament titles and the 2015 NCAA National Championship. In 21 years as a head coach and 17 seasons leading the Nittany Lions, Dambach has accumulated 314 career wins with a .708 winning percentage, one of the most dominant marks in all of college athletics.
In the 2023 campaign, Dambach collected her 300th career head coaching victory with a 2-1 result on the road against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. Patrick Kraft, as well as Deputy AD for Administration and External Operations Brandi Stuart presented the Dambach family with a game ball commemorating the accomplishment prior to Penn State’s next home match against TCU on August 27, 2023, a 1-0 Nittany Lion win.
Penn State’s 30th varsity season in 2023 saw the Nittany Lions return to the National Quarterfinals for the first time since 2018 while extending the nation’s second-longest NCAA Tournament streak to 29-consecutive seasons dating to the program’s second year of existence in 1995. Under Dambach’s watch, the Blue & White published a 16-3-4 overall record paired with a 6-1-3 mark in Big Ten Conference regular season matches, good enough for fourth place in the league.
PSU rolled past Indiana in its B1G Tournament First Round matchup on Jeffrey Field, ultimately concluding its run against the Iowa Hawkeyes later that week. Penn State booked the largest first round margin of victory with a 7-0 drubbing of Central Connecticut State in the opening round of its 29th NCAA Tournament bid, following that performance with a 2-0 win over Santa Clara before punching its ticket to the National Quarterfinals with a 4-3 overtime result against the Saint Louis Billikens. Penn State’s historic season ended the following week in a heartbreaking 2-1 road defeat to the top-seeded Clemson Tigers.
The 2023 Nittany Lions saw senior captain Cori Dyke named a Second Team All-American by United Soccer Coaches in addition to landing the B1G Defender of the Year award and a First Team All-Big Ten selection. PSU amassed seven All-B1G awards overall, including Katherine Asman and Eva Alonso’s appointments to the All-B1G Second Team as well as Kaitlyn MacBean and Kate Wiesner’s selections to the All-B1G Third Team. In total, PSU picked up three United Soccer Coaches All-North Region awards, three College Sports Communicators Academic All-America selections, two United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America accolades and 22 Academic All-Big Ten appointments.
The Nittany Lions set a program record for student-athletes selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft at the conclusion of PSU’s historic season. Penn State saw defender Kate Wiesner, forward Payton Linnehan, defender Ellie Wheeler, midfielder Cori Dyke and goalkeeper Katherine Asman taken in the league’s annual draft, marking the second-most selections among all collegiate programs that season. All four of PSU’s field position players selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft have already made significant impacts on their new rosters, with Wiesner, Linnehan and Wheeler each booking their first professional goals in the 2024 league year.
In 2022, Penn State continued its reign atop the Big Ten Conference by securing the program’s ninth Big Ten Tournament Championship victory in school history, further adding to the Nittany Lions established B1G Tournament record. The Blue & White published a 15-5-3 season with a 5-3-2 mark against Big Ten Conference opposition, setting up a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Under Dambach’s sterling leadership, the Nittany Lions rattled off four wins over nationally ranked opponents, highlighted by an upset of then-No. 4 Rutgers on Jeffrey Field on September 22 that put an end to the Scarlet Knights’ unbeaten start to the season.
In the conference tournament, the Nittany Lions battled for a gritty 1-0 win at Wisconsin and followed that with an emphatic 2-0 shutout of No. 16 Northwestern in the league’s semifinal matchup. In a raucous, back-and-forth affair, PSU weathered an early deficit and battled back to win the program’s ninth conference tournament title with a 3-2 victory over No. 6 Michigan State. As the automatic qualifier out of the Big Ten that season, PSU secured a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ensured its 28th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance, one of the longest stretches of bids in the nation.
Penn State kicked off its impressive streak of performances in the 2022 NCAA Tournament with a dominating 4-1 performance against the Quinnipiac Bobcats, calling on four different student-athletes to deliver scores in the match. The second round pitted border-rival West Virginia up against the Blue & White, with PSU taking advantage of a snow squall as well as a three-assist outing from Kate Wiesner to crush the Mountaineers by a 4-0 margin, securing the program’s sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in the process. The Nittany Lions battled the Virginia Cavaliers in the Sweet 16, taking an early lead but ultimately dropping the season finale by a 3-2 tally in a grueling overtime matchup.
In the postseason, Dambach’s roster accumulated a wide array of accolades highlighted by redshirt senior Ally Schlegel’s recognition as a First Team United Soccer Coaches All-American in addition to landing a placement as a semifinalist for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy. Schlegel surpassed the 100-point career scoring mark in the 2022 season under Dambach’s direction, allowing her to lead five Nittany Lions to All-B1G honors in the postseason. Schlegel picked up First Team honors while Penelope Hocking landed a spot on the Second Team, Mieke Schiemann appeared on the Third Team and Kaitlyn MacBean and Amelia White garnered All-Freshman distinction. In the 2023 NWSL Draft, the Nittany Lions saw Hocking taken off the board first with the seventh overall pick to the Chicago Red Stars, while Schlegel was taken 23rd overall, also by Chicago.
In the fall of 2021, Penn State made its 27th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, moving to the third round for the fifth consecutive season and seventh time in eight seasons while recording a double-digit win total for the 28th-straight season.
The successful campaign was highlighted by individual accolades for the trio of captains, Kerry Abello, Sam Coffey and Ally Schlegel. All three earned All-Big Ten and All-Region recognition. Coffey closed out her collegiate career with United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-America honors. On the academic side, Coffey and Abello were designated United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Americans and CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. For the second year in a row, Abello was named the CoSIDA Women's Soccer Academic All-American of the Year.
While preparing for the Nittany Lions’ return to the pitch in spring 2021 after the cancellation of the traditional fall 2020 season, Dambach assisted with U.S. Women’s National Team after the Tokyo Olympic Games were also delayed. Her commitment included international friendlies and training camp in early summer 2021 before departing with Team USA for the Summer Olympics. Dambach ultimately assisted head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s squad to a bronze medal finish, adding to Dambach’s wide array of collegiate and national team hardware.
The shift of the season from fall 2020 to spring 2021 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Penn State squad more time to prepare for a fast-paced conference-only slate. Dambach’s roster responded with a Big Ten regular-season championship and went undefeated over a 10-match span to close the regular season. The Nittany Lions averaged 2.69 goals per match and led the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category while ranking second nationally in assists (48), third in points (134), fourth in goals (43) and points per match (8.38), its highest-known output in available NCAA records. Individually, Sam Coffey, the only player in NCAA soccer with 30 or more goals and 40 or more assists that year finished as the active NCAA career scoring leader with 114 points.
The Nittany Lions claimed four major Big Ten awards with five from Penn State also recognized for All-Big Ten laurels. Ally Schlegel was named the Forward of the Year, Coffey Midfielder of the Year and Eva Alonso a Co-Freshman of the Year, while Dambach was tabbed Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fifth time. In contention for national coaching staff of the year, Dambach and her staff were selected by the United Soccer Coaches as the North Region Staff of the Year.
In addition to earning multiple conference accolades, several Nittany Lions earned national recognition. Schlegel and Frankie Tagliaferri were named United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, Schlegel with a First-Team nod and Tagliaferri on the Second Team. Schlegel was a Honda Sports Award finalist and a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy while both Coffey (First Team) and Kerry Abello (Second Team) were named Senior CLASS All-Americans.
Prior to the 2020-21 season, both Coffey and Abello were selected in the NWSL draft. Coffey was selected 12th overall by the Portland Thorns and Abello was selected 24th overall by the Orlando Pride. Coffey and Abello became the 14th and 15th selections in program history since the draft’s inception in 2013.
Dambach led Penn State to its eighth Big Ten Tournament title in 2019 as the Nittany Lions won 11-straight matches en route to the championship, the program’s longest winning streak since 2015. Dambach earned her 250th career victory with a 1-0 win over Indiana during the 2019 campaign and directed the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Round of 16 or better for the seventh time in the previous nine seasons.
Senior Kaleigh Riehl became the then-NCAA all-time career leader in minutes played by a field position player in 2019. Riehl was named a second-team All-American and a first-team Scholar All-American, earning the fourth All-Big Ten honor of her career. Four Nittany Lions earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region honors in 2019 and eight earned All-Big Ten honors highlighted by Ally Schlegel being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Kaleigh Riehl was selected with the 11th overall selection in the NWSL draft, marking the 13th draft selection in program history since the draft began in 2013. Riehl finished her career as one of the most decorated Nittany Lions in program history under Dambach’s direction.
In 2018, Penn State appeared in the NCAA quarterfinals for the fourth time in five seasons. The Nittany Lions won their 19th Big Ten regular-season championship in their 25th season of varsity competition. Kaleigh Riehl was named a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, a First-Team All-American, First-Team Scholar All-American and the Big Ten Defender of the Year following the 2018 season.
Maddie Nolf and Emily Ogle were both selected in the 2019 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft following the 2018 season. Ogle was selected 24th overall by Portland Thorns FC and was a Second Team All-American, First Team Scholar All-American and Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2018. Maddie Nolf was selected 27th overall by the Utah Royals FC, a three-time academic All-Big Ten selection who led the team in minutes played.
During the 2017 season, the Nittany Lions advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons and captured their seventh Big Ten Tournament title with a dramatic 2-1 win over Northwestern in Grand Park, Indiana, on November 5.
Following the 2017 campaign, Frannie Crouse and Brittany Basinger were selected 10th and 21st, respectively in the 2018 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft, which extended Penn State’s streak of having at least one selection in every NWSL College Draft. Crouse began her career with the North Carolina Courage, while Basinger got started with the Washington Spirit.
The 2016 campaign saw the Nittany Lions capture their 18th Big Ten regular-season title in 19 seasons, advancing to their 22nd-consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Blue & White opened the 2016 season with a 1-1 tie against No. 6 West Virginia in front of a then-record 5,791 fans at Jeffrey Field. Penn State additionally captured two milestone victories during the 2016 slate. On August 21, the Nittany Lions topped Hofstra, 3-1, for their 400th victory in program history, and on September 9, the Nittany Lions defeated San Diego State, 3-0, for Dambach’s 200th career win as an NCAA Division I women’s soccer head coach.
With Dambach at the helm, Penn State women’s soccer secured its first NCAA National Championship in program history during the 2015 season, closing the book on a 22-3-2 campaign capped off by a 1-0 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the Women’s College Cup Final on Decmeber 6 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The first NCAA Title in program history also marked the first by any Big Ten Conference women’s soccer program prior to the league’s expansion ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.
A storybook season defined by gritty rivalry matchups, historic individual performances and one of the most dominant NCAA Tournament runs in the organization’s championship history, Penn State’s 2015 roster cemented its place as one of the all-time great teams in women’s college soccer. PSU collected the Big Ten Regular Season title, Big Ten Tournament Title and NCAA Championships all in the same year, managing to outscore their opposition 20-0 during their 2015 NCAA Tournament run without allowing a goal over the final 733:32 of the season.
Individually, Raquel Rodriguez capped off her historic career in the Blue & White by scoring the lone goal in the NCAA title match in the 72nd minute. Rodriguez followed up her match-winner in the title by claiming the second MAC Hermann Trophy in program history in January 2016, joining Christie Welsh’s title in 2001. Rodriguez additionally garnered NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year honors, was named the Honda Sport Award winner for women’s soccer and was tabbed as an NSCAA First-Team All-American.
Following the 2015 season, Dambach received NSCAA Coach of the Year honors for the second time in her Nittany Lion career, joining a prior appearance in PSU’s most recent prior Women’s College Cup run in 2012.
In recognition of the historic season, in January 2016, all three Nittany Lion captains were selected in the National Women’s Soccer League draft. Rodriguez was selected with the No. 2 pick by Sky Blue FC, Mallory Weber went to the Western New York Flash at No. 14 and Britt Eckerstrom was the first goalkeeper selected at No. 26 by the Western New York Flash.
A 10th NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearance and the seventh 20-win season program history defined the 2014 campaign. 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 Dambach’s direction, picking up her third Big Ten Coach of the Year award in the process, Penn State collected three of four Player of the Year awards. Whitney Church, the conference’s Defender of the Year, was named a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and an NSCAA First Team All-American before becoming the 30th overall pick in the 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 league’s Freshman of the Year.
The Nittany Lions appeared in their 19th-straight NCAA Tournament in 2013, due in large part to the success of senior Maya Hayes. The sixth-overall selection in the NWSL 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 match-winning goals (17) and seventh in shots (291). Hayes also became the seventh MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in program history.
Dambach’s 2012 Nittany Lions were, at the time, the most successful team in program history after advancing to their first-ever national title match. The Nittany Lions won 21 of 27 matches and were unbeaten in Big Ten action with a 10-0-1 record. The Blue & White registered their 15th consecutive Big Ten title and 18th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The 15-title mark stood as the most consecutive Big Ten Championships by a women’s athletic program, along with the Northwestern women’s tennis team’s stretch from 1999 to 2014.
Senior Christine Nairn became the seventh Nittany Lion to finish as a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy in 2012 under Dambach’s tutelage, while junior Maya Hayes was named a semifinalist for the award. Dambach’s coaching success was recognized at both the conference and national level, as she earned Big Ten Coach of the Year and NSCAA National Coach of the Year honors.
Dambach’s 2011 team was a dominant force, winning 21 of 26 matches while outscoring opponents 70-24. Penn State was 10-1-0 in Big Ten action and posted the seventh undefeated season at Jeffrey Field in the venue’s history with a 9-0 ledger. Dambach helped guide the Nittany Lions to their 14th-straight Big Ten title and a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.
With Dambach’s guidance, sophomore Maya Hayes became the nation’s most prolific scorer in 2011 and became a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. Hayes led the nation with 31 goals and 70 points, breaking the Penn State single-season record for scoring.
During the summer of 2011, Dambach had the extraordinary experience of being one of the top assistants to Pia Sundhage and the 2011 U.S. 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, Dambach’s young club made a remarkable turnaround mid-season, overcoming a two-match deficit in the league standings over the final weeks to capture a share of its 13th-straight Big Ten title.
After a tough 2-4 start to the 2009 season, Dambach led the Nittany Lions to a remarkable turnaround, going 10-1-2 in the last 13 matches of the regular season, earning her the 2009 Big Ten Coach of the Year Award for her efforts.
With the impressive end to the season, Dambach and her student-athletes captured the program’s 12th straight Big Ten Championship. By winning the Big Ten, 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, Penn State hosted the first and second rounds of tournament play.
Dambach also orchestrated one of the finest awards seasons in Penn State history when Katie Schoepfer, Alyssa Naeher and Christine Nairn swept the year-end Big Ten Player of the Year awards. Schoepfer was named the Offensive Player of the Year, Naeher the Defensive Player of the Year and Nairn the Freshman of the Year. Danielle Toney was named to the All-Big Ten first team, while Lexi Marton garnered a second-team mention.
In January 2009, Dambach 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.
Dambach continued her success from the 2007 campaign into a 16-8-0 record that saw Penn State capture its 11th straight Big Ten Championship and the 2008 Big Ten Tournament crown.
In January of 2008, Dambach was named by Pia Sundhage as the assistant coach for the U.S. National Team. With Dambach’s assistance and guidance, the USWNT completed its historic run with a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Dambach’s chief responsibility on the defensive end was crucial in delivering the United States a gold-medal finish, holding fellow world power Brazil scoreless in the Gold Medal Match.
Dambach’s transition to Penn State was remarkable, as the 2007 team finished 18-4-2 including a 9-1-0 mark in conference play. In her first season at the helm of one of the nation’s rising power programs, the Nittany Lions finished ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll of the season.
Penn State University appointed Erica Dambach as the third head women’s soccer coach in Nittany Lion program history on Thursday, February 8, 2007, setting in motion one of the greatest coaching tenures in Penn State history. The head coach at Harvard University as well as the U.S. Under-17 team prior to her hiring at Penn State, Dambach has consistently been active among the coaching ranks both at the NCAA Division I level and the U.S. Youth National Team program for over two decades. Prior to her time with the Crimson, she was part of a Florida State staff that led the Seminoles to one of their most successful years in program history, advancing to the national semifinals alongside PSU in the 2005 Women’s College Cup.
Dambach’s coaching path began in 1997 as a graduate assistant at 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, Dambach assumed head coaching duties before the 2000 season.
As head coach, Dambach 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.
Dambach left Dartmouth to earn her master’s in business administration at Lehigh University, where she served as a graduate assistant from 2003 to 2004.
Beginning in the spring of 2004, Dambach joined the United States U-19 team as an assistant coach, where she helped with preparations for the FIFA U-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, Dambach was appointed to the head coaching position for the U.S. National Team’s U-17 squad, a position she held for three years.
As a player, Dambach 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 tournament championships. In March of 2010, Dambach’s alma mater, William & Mary, honored her by inducting her into the W&M Athletics Hall of Fame.
A high school All-American at Lower Moreland, she was also a member of the U.S. Under-17 National Team.
Dambach earned her Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in biology from William & Mary in 1997. The Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, native holds a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Degree and a USSF “A” Coaching License.
The former Erica Walsh married Jason Dambach in January 2016, and they currently reside in State College, Pennsylvania. Erica and Jason have two daughters, Addie and Kylie.