Devin O'Neill Chosen to Lead Golden Bears Program
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Former UMass men's soccer interim head coach Devin O'Neill, who is a West Springfield native, has been named to lead the men's soccer program at Western New England University, it was announced on Thursday by Western New England athletics director Dr. Michael Theulen. O'Neill comes to the Golden Bears after serving on the Minutemen's coaching staff for the past three seasons, including as interim coach last fall and as an assistant during the 2012 and '13 seasons under the late Sam Koch.
"I am so excited to be the next men's soccer Coach at Western New England," O'Neill, who will begin his duties on Monday, said. "I feel very fortunate for this opportunity and want to thank Dr. Theulen, (Senior Associate Director of Athletics) Joe Sassi, (Assistant Athletic Director/Business Manager) Jody Lemoi and the entire search committee for selecting me. During the search process, I was so impressed with the positive energy in the department and I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues.
"We will evaluate our progress in three areas including academic achievement, strong citizenship including impacting our local community, and athletic success. The Commonwealth Coast Conference is outstanding in the sport of men's soccer and will provide a great challenge as we pursue future CCC championships.
"I am excited to meet the entire team and begin our work together in the non-traditional season. I also am looking forward to continuing the recruiting efforts begun by coaches Sullivan and Tim Larocca (an assistant who served as the head coach on an interim basis during the search process) as we look to secure the recruiting class of 2015," said O'Neill.
O'Neill will be entering his 22nd year as a college coach in 2015 with the Golden Bears that includes previous stops at Division I Bradley University (2010-11), East Carolina University (1999-2002), Fresno State University (1996-97), Lafayette College (1994-95), UMass (2012-14), Ohio State University (1997-98) and Division III Gettysburg College (2003-09).
"We are extremely pleased to have Devin joining our Athletic Family," stated Theulen, who noted he received 120 applications. "His coaching resume speaks for itself. We were all very impressed by his background, his knowledge, and, in particular, his energy. Devin will be a great fit as we transition into a new era of Western New England University Men's Soccer."
O'Neill, 45, graduated from Middlebury College in 1991 and received his master's degree from Springfield College in 1993.
He came to UMass following a two-year stint at Bradley in which the Braves participated in the NCAA Tournament each season. With Bradley, O'Neill helped the D-I Braves to a pair of NCAA appearances in 2010 and 2011, marking the first time in the program's history to make back-to-back trips to the national tournament. In his two seasons in Peoria, the Braves posted a 26-15-5 record with 15 wins in 2011 for the second-most wins in program history.
O'Neill returned to his home state of Massachusetts after spending time in the collegiate ranks as both a head coach and an assistant coach. Prior to joining Bradley as an assistant coach in 2010, O'Neill was the head coach at Gettysburg for seven seasons and at East Carolina for four more. He started his coaching career in 1994 at Lafayette College before moving on to a pair of two-year appointments at Fresno State and Ohio State during the 1990s.
At Gettysburg, he compiled a 68-46-18 overall record, including a 38-25-8 mark and two runner-up finishes in the highly-competitive Centennial Conference. He coached 27 all-conference and nine NSCAA All-East Region players during his Bullets tenure. In his final three years with the ECU Pirates, O'Neill led the team to its best three-year winning percentage in the program's history and produced ECU's first-ever Major League Soccer and US National Team player in Clyde Simms.
As an assistant coach at Lafayette, O'Neill helped the Leopards to consecutive Patriot League titles in 1994 and 1995. He then moved on to Fresno State where the Bulldogs won the Western Athletic Conference crown and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals in 1996. Before beginning his head coaching career, O'Neill also spent two years as an assistant at Ohio State from 1997-98 and helped the Buckeyes to a runner-up finish in the 1998 Big Ten Conference Tournament.
A three-sport athlete at Middlebury, O'Neill captained both the soccer and ski teams and also played golf. He earned NSCAA All-New England Region honors on the soccer pitch as a senior in 1990 and he was a two-time (1989-90) All-American skier.
O'Neill replaces Erin Sullivan who resigned in January to take the men's soccer post at Williams College, his alma mater. "Erin Sullivan did a wonderful job during his tenure as head coach and he has left the program in great shape. I will work hard to build upon his excellent work and strive to continue the program's record of success."
The Golden Bears' storied program has produced an all-time record of 473-359-75 (.563) since its founding in 1966, five CCC championships since entering the league in 2007, eight NCAA Division III tournament appearances, four Division III All-America citations from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, 27 trips to postseason play and scores of all-conference, -region honorees.
