INDIANA, Pa. - Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) has hired Noreen Herlihy has the fifth head women's soccer coach in program history, Director of Athletics
Todd Garzarelli announced Monday.
"We are thrilled to welcome Noreen to our IUP family and cannot wait to watch her build on our women's soccer tradition," said Garzarelli. "We had an extensive national search and Noreen quickly rose to the top of a highly qualified group of candidates with her championship-level résumé. We were attracted to her exceptional career experiences, both at the Division I and Division II levels, which included establishing a winning culture within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
"She truly embodies the student-athlete experience, and I am confident that under her leadership, Noreen will take our women's soccer program to the next level."
Herlihy comes to Indiana boasting 325 victories over a combined 32 years as a head coach at the collegiate level. Most recently she led the women's soccer program at the University of Akron from 2015-21, guiding the Zips to three Mid-American Conference tournament appearances.
"I am very excited to join the IUP Athletics family," said Herlihy. "I would like to thank President Michael Driscoll, Director of Athletics Todd Garzarelli, and everyone in the hiring process for entrusting me with leading the women's soccer program. From day one, Todd's genuine care and support in wanting the best for the Crimson Hawks' program was very evident. I am grateful for the opportunity and excited to get started."
"I am very much looking forward to meeting the players in person in pre-season. I know Coach Heder and he has done a great job over the years being the bedrock of this program. I am humbled to take over the reins and add my own flair moving forward. It is a league I am familiar with and have had success in, and now eager to join up with the team in August."
Herlihy spent the last seven seasons in Ohio rebuilding the Akron program, with the three MAC tournament appearances during her tenure doubling the amount the team had in its history. In her first year in 2015, the Zips advanced to the MAC semifinals for the first time in program history. Herlihy took Akron back to the postseason in 2018 after finishing sixth in the league standings with its best MAC record in more than a decade, then made more progress with a fourth place finish and another postseason berth in 2019.
Herlihy joined the Zips after 20 seasons as the head coach at Slippery Rock University, where she led the women's program to a 250-113-30 record with 19 consecutive winning seasons. At the time of her move to Akron, she was one of just 11 coaches in NCAA Division II history with 250 wins while the 19 consecutive winning seasons ranked eighth best in DII history.
During her first trip through the PSAC, Herlihy transformed The Rock into a conference, regional, and national power. During her tenure, she guided Slippery Rock to three PSAC tournament titles (2003, 2005, 2012), nine NCAA tournament berths, three regional championship game appearances, and an Atlantic Region title in 2013. SRU won at least 10 games 18 times under Herlihy, including a then-program best 17 victories during the 2007 season. Eight times SRU wrapped up a season ranked in the top-25, finishing its 2013 season at No. 6 in the NSCAA Division II poll.
Herlihy proved to be a tremendous recruiter and talent developer at SRU, as nine Rock players combined for 13 All-American honors and 20 combined for 61 all-region awards in her 20 seasons. The three-time PSAC Coach of the Year (1996, 2003, 2012) saw her players win four PSAC Athlete and three Rookie/Freshman of the Year honors and a combined 81 all-league awards.
"I will be going in with a blank canvas with the initial steps being to have a pre-season plan in place, get down to working with them, assess the squad, and implement our strategy over time," said Herlihy. "Everyone will be 100% committed and working hard every day to give the Crimson Hawks the best chance to be successful. We want to win, but I am also realistic in knowing there will be an adjustment period that will require patience and so we will take it game by game in our first season as we get to know each other and put our strategy into place."
In addition to her time as the women's coach, Herlihy also coached The Rock men's team for five seasons (1997-2001). After a successful 1996 season on the women's pitch, she was asked to accept the dual role and become the first woman to lead the SRU men's soccer program. She won 41 matches over those five years, including a 10-8 debut season in 1997 where The Rock doubled their win total from the previous year.
On top of her coaching efforts, Herlihy also oversaw the SRU Athletes for Forgotten Angels group. The Forgotten Angels project is an impressive community service group made up of student-athletes from several Slippery Rock's sports teams. The group traveled to Haiti twice to deliver school supplies and teach youth sports clinics. It also traveled to New Orleans to help with the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, took valuable educational materials and taught sports camps in St. Lucia, and traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2014 to work at Hekima Place, a home in Kenya for girls orphaned primarily by HIV/AIDS.
Prior to taking over at Slippery Rock in 1995, Herlihy was an assistant coach at her alma mater Mercyhurst for two seasons. She helped the Lakers to back-to-back NCAA Division II national semifinal appearances in 1993 and 1994.
Herlihy joined the coaching ranks after a successful playing career headlined by her selection to the Irish National Team from 1985-88, where she played in the European qualifiers against the likes of England, Scotland, Holland and Sweden.
Herlihy began her undergrad work at Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts, where she played basketball and soccer before earning an Associate Degree in liberal arts. She then transferred to Mercyhurst where she graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine. She was also named to a pair of All-America honors, selected as an Academic All-American and earned four All-Region honors at Mercyhurst.
She later received a master's degree in sports administration from Slippery Rock in 2004.
Herlihy's contributions to every program she has been associated with have been recognized being inducted into the Mercyhurst University Hall of Fame in 2005. She was also inducted into the Massasoit Hall of Fame in the Class of 2011, and most recently was inducted into the Slippery Rock University Hall of Fame in 2017.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's soccer on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPsoccer.
What they are saying about Coach Herlihy
"Noreen is an incredible coach with an immense amount of experience in the game . Her passion and knowledge of soccer makes her one of the best minds in college coaching. She has had tremendous success on and off the field throughout her career … any institution is lucky to have her!!!!"
- Nikki Izzo-Brown, Head Women's Soccer Coach, West Virginia University
"What a fantastic hire by IUP! Not only is Noreen Herlihy a proven winner but she has a tremendous ability to build programs with not only talent but high character student-athletes. Her ability to develop players and passion for helping them develop into high character women is second to none. I was lucky to be part of Noreen's staff when I began my coaching journey and the knowledge, I gain from her not only on the field but about being a high character leader and doing things the right way has stayed with me throughout my career. There are very exciting times ahead for the IUP Women's Soccer program and I look forward to following Noreen and the program's success!"
- Sergio Gonzalez, Goalkeeper Coach, Racing Louisville Football Club (NWSL)
"Noreen is kind hearted and a genuine person who I have had the pleasure to call friend and colleague. She has a wonderful soccer mind, but more importantly is a tremendous mentor for student-athletes. We were actually at rival schools the last bunch of years and could not have had better experiences. A consummate professional and a lady of pure class."
- Rob Marinario, Head Women's Soccer Coach, Kent State University
"Noreen Herlihy is a dynamic and passionate leader who is committed to the student athletes she serves. She is kind and compassionate and maintains the highest levels of professional integrity while ensuring a student-centered experience.
Noreen is always willing to go the extra mile and possesses creative and innovative problem-solving skills when seeking solutions for student support, always demonstrating care and concern for her student athletes colleagues, and staff. She creates an inclusive family environment in every program she leads, and I have witnessed her advocacy over the years, and commitment to doing what is in the best interest of students. Her insights into the unique challenges and opportunities of being a student athlete has endeared her to the large number of students she has served over the years. Noreen's enthusiasm is infectious, and her commitment to serve is noteworthy. I cannot emphasize enough how willing she is to do what needs to be done, whatever that is, to ensure students have the best possible experience they can on the field of play and on their path to graduation.
Noreen Herlihy is the ultimate professional, on the field of play and in her role as a campus leader. She runs her programs with the highest integrity and never compromises her values while striving for victory. I am so excited to see her program thrive in the months ahead; she will be tremendous addition to the IUP team."
- Patricia Hughes, Director of College Programs, United Soccer Coaches
