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2008 Women's Soccer Coaching Staff
Noreen Herlihy
Head Coach
Phone: 724.738.2946
Email: noreen.herlihy@sru.edu
Noreen Herlihy enters hers 15th season as the head coach of The Rock women’s soccer team. Named in 1995 as the head coach, Herlihy quickly set about the task of making The Rock a state, regional and national power.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
In only her second season (1996), Herlihy tutored The Rock squad to a 14-5 record and has since led the team to 13 consecutive winning seasons.
Herlihy’s leadership efforts did not go unnoticed. She was recognized by her peers as the 1996 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference “Coach of the Year.”
A year later, SRU officials asked Herlihy to accept the added role of men’s head coach and undertake the challenge of rebuilding that program.
The first woman to lead the SRU men’s program, Herlihy served as a dual-team coach for four seasons before re-focusing her full attention on the women’s team in 2001.
The results have been phenomenal. Since 2001, The Rock women’s program has averaged 13.5 wins per season and has made six straight appearances in the PSAC playoffs. During that span, the team has received four NCAA regional tournament berths, claimed three PSAC regular season titles and two tournament championships.
The 2007 season stands as the capstone on the growth of The Rock women’s program. SRU won a school-record 17 games, captured its third PSAC regular-season crown and made its second straight appearance in the NCAA regional playoffs.
That success continued into the 2008 season, where The Rock reached the NCAA Regional championships for the third consecutive season.
The Rock burst upon the postseason picture in 2000, when it made its first-ever trip to PSAC playoff competition.
The following season, The Rock took a larger and more significant leap as it garnered a first-ever NCAA regional tournament berth.
But the Green and White were not satisfied with just getting there. They also scored an opening-round win and, thus, earned a berth in the regional final in its first trip to the national playoffs.
The 2001 season was also a significant one for Herlihy personally. She recorded her 100th career win on Sept. 16, 2001, during a sweep of a women’s/men’s doubleheader against PSAC rival Shippensburg.
In 2003, The Rock added the PSAC regular-season and playoff championships and a second trip to NCAA postseason competition to its collection in the course of compiling a 15-3-2 won-lost ledger that, at the time, stood as the most victories in school history.
In recognition of her coaching efforts that season, Herlihy received her second PSAC “Coach of the Year” honor and was named as the NSCAA regional “Coach of the Year.”
The Rock women followed up that memorable 10th anniversary season effort with a PSAC-Western Division regular-season title and a conference semifinal appearance in 2004.
Herlihy’s recruiting and coaching abilities are reflected in the fact that she has coached four players who have earned NSCAA All-America acclaim – including a pair of first-team selections – 15 All-Region performers, a two-time PSAC women’s soccer “Athlete of the Year,” two other conference MVPs and 26 student-athletes who have earned All-PSAC recognition.
Herlihy’s success at The Rock is the by-product of the infectious enthusiasm she brings to her job.
That exuberance has served her well throughout her playing and coaching career.
Simultaneously to the women’s meteoric sprint to success, she engineered the rebirth of The Rock men’s program. Her first men’s squad finished the 1997 season with a 10-8 record, doubling the win total from the previous season.
Herlihy’s playing career was headlined by her selection to the Irish National Team from 1985-88.
She was also named to a pair of All-American honors, selected as an Academic All-American and earned four All-Region honors at Mercyhurst.
Herlihy graduated from Mercyhurst in 1992 with a B.S. in sports medicine. She continued her education while coaching at The Rock and received a master’s degree in sports administration from Slippery Rock in 2004.
Following her graduation from Mercyhurst, Herlihy remained at the school for two seasons as an assistant women’s soccer coach. She helped the 1993 and 1994 Lakers to the NCAA Division II final four before becoming The Rock coach in 1995.
Herlihy’s contributions to the Mercyhurst women’s soccer program were recognized in a big way in 2005 as she was inducted into the school’s sports hall of fame.
Noreen Herlihy and success. They are synonymous. Hand in hand with those traits come class and style.
She knows how to win, and she does it the right way.
Year
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Wins
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Losses
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Ties
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1995
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5
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13
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1
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1996
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14
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5
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0
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1997
|
10
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8
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1
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1998
|
10
|
7
|
0
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1999
|
13
|
4
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0
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2000
|
11
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6
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1
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2001
|
14
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5
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0
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2002
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10
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6
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1
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2003
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15
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3
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2
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2004
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13
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3
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2
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2005
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13
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5
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3
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2006
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12
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7
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1
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2007
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17
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5
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1
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2008
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14
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7
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1
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2009
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10
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5
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3
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Career
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181
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89
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17
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