Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ 08028

New Jersey Northeast

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Coaches

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Scott Leacott

This is Scott Leacott's 20th season as head coach for the women's soccer team at Rowan University. Leacott served as the women's associate head coach in 1998. Prior, he was the assistant coach for the men’s team from 1996 to 1998. His coaching record stands at 265-74-29 for a .760 winning percentage.

Last year, Rowan made its third straight trip to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Profs reached the semifinals of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship Tournament and finished with a 12-3-3 record. Back Emily Daigle was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America second team and was the NJAC Defensive Player of the Year. Darah Wagner, Melissa Kelly, Shelby Money and Daigle received All-Region honors.

In 2016, the Profs captured their second consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Rowan finished with a 16-2-2 record. Three players were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) South Atlantic All-Region Team and Money was tabbed the NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year.

In 2015, Leacott guided the women's soccer team to the NJAC title and the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Profs were 15-3-2 overall. He was selected the NJAC and Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Region Coach of the Year. Leacott was also named the NSCAA South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.

In 2014, Rowan had a 12-6-1 record and was 6-2-1 in the NJAC. The Profs made it to the semifinals of the conference tournament. Rowan posted a 17-4 record with an 8-1 conference mark in 2013 and reached the semifinals of the NJAC Championship Tournament. Rowan received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the ninth straight year and advanced to the second round. In 2012, Rowan was 13-4-1 and finished second in the NJAC. The Profs earned a first round bye in the NJAC Championship Tournament, but were upset in the semifinals. Rowan received a bid to the national tournament.

In 2011, the Profs finished with a 14-5 record. Rowan was the top seed in the conference tournament after posting an 8-0 mark in the regular season. The Profs reached the second round of the national tournament after earning an at-large bid. In 2010, Rowan recorded a 16-3-2 overall mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Profs went 17-3-1 and reached the sectionals of the national tournament in 2009. Leacott earned NJAC Co-Coach of the Year honors. In 2008, Rowan compiled a 16-1-2 record. The Profs won their first NJAC Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Leacott was selected the NJAC Coach of Year.

In 2007, the Profs posted a 14-5 record and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the third straight year. Rowan reached the semifinals as the second seed in the NJAC Championship Tournament. Rowan finished the 2006 season with a 13-4-2 record and reached the NCAA Tournament. In 2005, Rowan had a 15-1-3 record and received a bid to the national tournament. The women's soccer team set the school record for consecutive wins in a season (10).

Since 1999, the Profs have had 19 straight winning seasons under Leacott. In his first year, Rowan had a record of 17-3-2. The 17 wins are tied for the school mark for wins in a season (2009, 2013). The women's soccer team also made its first appearance in the national tournament.

In the past 19 seasons, Rowan has advanced to the NJAC Championship Tournament 19 times. Many of Leacott's players have earned All-Conference and All-Region honors. In 2010, Jess Babice became the first women’s soccer player at the University to collect Academic All-America and All-America first team honors in the same season. Erika Suhl was named to the All-America second team in 2013. Emily Daigle was an All-America third team selection in 2015 and she was chosen to the second team in 2017.

Leacott played for the Profs in 1991 and 1992. He earned All-Conference, All-State and All-Region first team honors two straight years. In 1991, he was second in scoring with 30 points, 12 goals and six assists. Leacott led the team in scoring his senior year with 18 goals and eight assists for 44 points and was an All-America third team selection. During his career, the men had a record of 35-5-3.

Leacott was inducted into the South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.

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Tom Eichhorn

Tom Eichhorn is in his 15th season as an assistant coach for the women’s soccer team at Rowan University. He was also an assistant for the men’s soccer team from 2004-2014.

Eichhorn graduated from the University in 2004 with a bachelor of arts in history and earned his master’s in higher education administration in 2006. He was a goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team from 1999-2003. During that time, he helped lead Rowan to two New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships and four appearances in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Profs played in the national championship game in 2000.

He was the head coach for the Delaware Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program for the U16/17 girls’ team in 2012. Eichhorn has worked as a South Jersey training coordinator, associate trainer and college coordinator for the Keepers Advantage Goalkeeping Club. He is also a member of the United Soccer Coaches and has a National Coaching Diploma and National Goalkeeper Coaching Diploma. In addition, Eichhorn has licenses for the United States Soccer Federation and New Jersey Youth Soccer Academy.

Eichhorn has been an adjunct history professor at Rowan College at Gloucester County (formerly Gloucester County College) since 2009. He taught physical education at Friends School of Mullica Hill from 2007-2009.

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Veronica Rhea

Veronica Rhea is in her seventh season as an assistant women’s soccer coach at Rowan University.

Rhea played for the Profs from 2008-11. She ended her career as the school’s all-time assists leader with 35. Rhea also holds the University marks for assists in a game (5, September 18, 2010 vs. Montclair State University) and assists in a season (16, 2009). She is fourth with 111 career points (38 goals, 35 assists). Rhea was a three-time New Jersey Athletic Conference All-Conference first team honoree. She was named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Metro Region All-Star first team twice. Rhea was selected to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America South Atlantic All-Region second team in 2011. She received All-Region third team honors in 2009.

Rhea was a two-time Rowan Scholar-Athlete. She graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science.

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Scott Baker

Scott Baker enters his ninth season as Rowan’s head men’s soccer coach in 2023, and in eight years, has guided the Profs to six appearances in the NCAA Tournament and an NJAC Championship, while compiling an overall record of 109-44-14 and a 40-16-7 mark in conference

A member of Rowan’s 1990 national champion team, Baker’s squads have compiled a 40-16- 7 mark in conference contests, reaching the NJAC title game five times in the last seven years, and earning the championship trophy in 2022.

In 2022, Rowan went without a loss in the final eight matches to capture its first conference championship since 2003. After earning the league title with a win over #9 Montclair State, the Profs defeated Middlebury in the opening round of the NCAA Championship before tying Stevens in the second round but falling in the round of penalty kicks. Early in the year, Baker recorded his 100th win at Rowan with the 1-0 victory over Lycoming.

After the 2020 season was canceled due to Covid-19, the Profs returned to action in 2021 and was one of the top teams in the region, reaching the NJAC Championship match and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

His 2019 team reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship before falling to top-ranked and eventual national runner-up Amherst, to mark the furthest advancement for Rowan in the NCAA Championship since 2001. The Profs, who reached the NJAC Final, closed out the year ranked 15th in the United Soccer Coaches national poll.

This past season capped a four-year run which saw the Profs go 58-20-6 with three appearances in both the NCAA Tournament and the NJAC Final.

In 2018, Rowan went 12-7 and was the conference semifinalist while 2017 saw the Profs reach the NCAA Tournament and the NJAC final. That team went 17-4-1 and earned its third straight NCAA berth, which included the hosting of the first and second rounds for the second year in a row. Baker was named the NJAC Coach of the Year while standout Shane Doherty was named to the All-America Second Team by the United Soccer Coaches.

Baker’s 2016 team compiled a 17-3-1 record, reached the NJAC championship game and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while hosting both postseason games. The Profs also led all divisions in the NCAA country in offense. Doherty and Will Sjaastad were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America Team with Sjaastad earning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Named only the third coach in Rowan soccer history in 2014, Baker’s first team went 10-9, but he quickly got the Profs into the NCAA Tournament, as the 2015 team earned an at-large berth for Rowan’s first appearance since 2003.

Baker is very active in youth soccer and is the co-director and co-owner of RUSA FC Soccer Academy, which trains and plays its games at Rowan’s West Campus. A member of the New Jersey Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Committee, he was the director of club development for the Futbol Club Copa Academy and director of training for the Team Boca Soccer Club from 2003 to 2012. He served as the associate head coach/director of training for the club’s professional team, the Boca Blast, in 2012.

Baker’s collegiate coaching experience is extensive has he has headed the programs at Defiance College, Flagler College, Brookdale Community College and New Jersey City University. Baker led Brookdale to a conference and regional titles and an appearance in the national final. While at Flagler he guided the men’s and women’s programs to spots in the national Top 25 and the women’s team recorded its best season in the team’s history.

His career has also included stops at numerous high schools, among them Pope John Paul II High School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Florida and locally, Delsea Regional. At Stoneman Douglas, Baker led his team to a state championship and was voted Coach of the Year for all sports in Miami-Dade County by the Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald.

Baker was a four-year starter at Rowan from 1990 to 1993 and played in all 90 matches of his career, totaling 46 points with 13 goals and 20 assists. He earned NJAC All-Conference first-team honors in 1990 and was selected to the second team the following year. He captained the 1992 team and led them to the NJAC Championship and the nation’s number-one ranking. Baker and the Profs reached the pinnacle in 1990 as they captured the NCAA Division III Championship, becoming the second Rowan men’s soccer team to do so. That squad was inducted into the Rowan University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

He graduated from Rowan in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education and earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix. The native of Jackson, NJ, holds an NSCAA national license as well as a United States Soccer Federation license.

Baker and his wife, Krista, who is registered dietician and Penn State graduate, live in Ventnor, NJ, and have two daughters, Emily and Katie.

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Connor Hurff

Connor Hurff joined the men's soccer coaching staff in 2021 after serving as an assistant coach at Rutgers-Camden for four seasons. Hurff also played for two seasons at Rutgers University (New Brunswick) before transferring to Rutgers-Camden where he was an All-NJAC selection and helped the Scarlet Raptors to the Division III Championship game back in 2013.

He also has played professionally with the Philadelphia Fury and is the founder of the Diamond Soccer Training Academy.

Hurff, a native of Sewell, NJ, is a 2015 graduate of Rutgers-Camden with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.

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Mike Ossowski

Mike Ossowski joined the Profs' staff as an assistant coach in 2016 and also serves as the program's director of operations.

He brought more than 16 years of coaching experience at all levels to Rowan, including coaching and serving on the Board of Directors at the Jackson Soccer Club during that time.

Ossowski played four seasons at Kean University and was a member of the Cougars' 1992 National Championship team. He received his bachelor's degree in management science in 1993 and then earned his master's degree from Downing College in 2005.

He and wife, Tracy, reside in Manalapan, NJ.