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Ally Nick
Ally Nick, who took her first college head coaching assignment with the Highlanders on March 8, 2016, is a product of the extremely successful program at La Salle University in Philadelphia, where she was a player coached by Paul Royal, who added her to his coaching staff after she graduated.
As a player, her teams won 39 games and tied 6 in four seasons and La Salle’s won-lost in her five years on the coaching staff was 70-27-11. Nick completed her fifth season as an assistant coach with La Salle in November 2015.
Her first four seasons on the staff were the best in La Salle history, as the Explorers reached the NCAA Tournament four seasons in a row, capturing the Atlantic 10 regular season title three times and the A-10 tournament twice.
In that 4-year span, La Salle was 61-18-8, the 13th-best record in Division I.
Playing for and then coaching on Paul Royal’s staff, Nick learned from the three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and she, herself, was honored by her peers in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a Regional Assistant Coach of the Year following both the 2012 and 2014 seasons (there is one honoree in each of eight regions nationwide).
“I think she will be a shining star,” said Kaplan in hiring Nick as head women’s soccer coach. “I am excited and looking forward to starting a new era of NJIT women’s soccer.
“Ally is hard-working and passionate about soccer. You can tell from her in-person interview and then from speaking to others she is thought of highly in the soccer community.”
In her first season at NJIT, Nick guided the Highlanders to a 6-9-3 overall mark, its second highest win total over the last six seasons under the direction of Nick. The six wins surpassed NJIT's wins output from 2015, when the team finished 2-14.
The Highlanders started the 2016 season 4-0-2 through the first six matches, the best start in program history and recorded the first-ever ASUN Conference win at USC Upstate, 3-0, on September 24 (first season competing in the ASUN Conference; 2015).
In Nick's second season, she guided the Highlanders to a program record for wins in a season (9), shutouts (7) and finished above .500 (9-8 overall). NJIT concluded its non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-3 mark and went 6-2 at home. Briana Hackos, who led the team in total goals (4) and points (10), ranked tied for second in assists (2), was selected to the 2017 ASUN All-Academic team. Newcomer Yasmeen Malik was selected to the 2017 ASUN All-Freshmen Team.
2018 ASUN Coach of the Year Ally Nick’s squad, recorded a program-record 11 victories, nine shutouts, placed second in the regular season, earning the No. 2 seed in the programs first postseason appearance in the ASUN since joining the league in 2015-16.
NJIT, which started off the season with a 1-0 loss at five-time defending MAAC champions Monmouth, went 4-0-1 over the next five contests. The Highlanders closed out the regular season with a 5-1-1 mark, which included wins over both Florida Gulf Coast and Kennesaw State in the regular season. Both wins marked the first time the Highlanders defeated the Owls and Eagles.
Under Nick in 2018, Fiona Wright was selected ASUN Freshman of the Year, ASUN first-team and All-Freshmen team, ECAC Rookie of the Year and became the first female Highlander recognized to the All-South Region second team. Senior Arianna Gerber capped her collegiate career earning United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women's Scholar All-East Region (third-team) honors.
Among her duties in the La Salle program, Nick had a direct hand in organizing the defense, which has been a cornerstone of the team’s success under Royal.
As La Salle's defensive coach, Nick helped establish a backline that is a force in the A-10. In 2011, the Explorers went unscored upon for the first 11 games of the season and maintained a 0.58 goals against average on the way to an 18-game unbeaten streak.
The Blue and Gold were undefeated in the A-10 in 2012 and 2014, held opponents to a 0.72 goals against average in 2013, notching 31 shutouts over those three seasons. Nick coached three players to A-10 Defender of the Year Award winners.
She was also responsible for monitoring team academic progress, where La Salle’s success in the classroom may actually outshine the glowing success on the soccer pitch.
In eight of nine semesters, La Salle women’s soccer had the highest team GPA of any of the University’s 23 varsity intercollegiate teams. Individually, women’s soccer garnered 31 academic awards at the national, regional, and conference level during Nick’s coaching tenure.
She began coaching at La Salle in August 2011, shortly after graduating from the school earlier that year.
Known as Ally Kenney when she was a star student-athlete and three-year team captain at La Salle, the resident of Sewell in South Jersey made the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team as a freshman and continued to receive playing and academic honors throughout her time in an Explorers uniform.
As a senior, she was second-team All-Atlantic 10 and Philly Soccer News Women’s College Best XI first team.
In addition, she made the A-10’s All-Academic team, the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 first team (precursor to Academic All-America) and the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area team.
Playing for La Salle against NJIT, she scored a goal vs. the Highlanders in her sophomore season; and had a goal and an assist vs. the Highlanders in her junior season.
She graduated from La Salle tied for third on the all-time list in games played (78) and tied for first in career starts (76). Her 14 career assists are eighth all-time at La Salle and her nine assists as a senior equal the fifth-best total in program annals. She scored 9 career goals.
Outside of college soccer, Nick is an identification staff coach for the United States Soccer Federation U-14 Youth National Team, as well as a staff coach for the Region 1 Olympic Development Program in Brick, NJ.
She is further involved in the sport at the camp and club level, including the South Jersey Elite Barons club and Penn Fusion Soccer Academy ECNL, where she is a staff coach.
“I would like to thank Lenny Kaplan, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Andrew Schwartz and the rest of the search committee for this opportunity to lead NJIT’s Women’s Soccer program,” Nick said as she took the helm at NJIT. “I would also like to sincerely thank everyone at La Salle University, especially (coach) Paul Royal and (Director of Athletics) Dr. Thomas Brennan, who have been instrumental in my career and incredible mentors.”
I am excited to build a strong, winning program at NJIT and I believe with the institution’s high academic standards, administration’s support and new facility, it is a great time to be a Highlander!”
She took over at NJIT from Mandi Risden, who stepped down after three seasons as head coach and five years as an assistant coach before that. NJIT’s overall record in 2015 was 2-14, including 0-7 in its first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Nick holds a BA (May 2010) and MBA (December 2013) from La Salle University.
Ally and her husband, Joe, reside in Hightstown, NJ with their daughter Kennedy.
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