Shippensburg University

Shippensburg, PA 17257

Pennsylvania Northeast

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Rob Fulton

Rob Fulton is in his 18th season as the head women’s soccer coach at Shippensburg University in 2023 and in his 20th season overall with the Raider program.

Fulton, the 2013 PSAC and NSCAA Atlantic Region Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year, has transitioned SU women’s soccer into a consistently competitive program and established several team firsts along the way.

On Oct. 15, 2017, Fulton achieved his 100th career head coaching victory with the Raiders – a 3-0 road victory at Millersville. Two years earlier, on Oct. 7, 2015, Fulton became the all-time coaching wins leader for Shippensburg University women’s soccer.

Under Fulton’s direction, the SU women have advanced in the PSAC Tournament, qualified for the NCAA Tournament and won a match in the NCAA Tournament – all tasks never before achieved at Shippensburg until his arrival.

Since taking over as the head coach in 2006, Fulton has guided the team to four PSAC Tournament appearances and averaged more than eight victories per season. In the 12 seasons prior to Fulton’s arrival, the Raider program boasted just one playoff appearance (2002).

Fulton has a history of solid recruiting – having mentored 20 different all-conference athletes in 13 seasons. SU has had 29 total All-PSAC selections during his tenure.

Among his top players have been goalkeeper Beth Long – who recorded a school-record 24.5 shutouts and tied the school record with 493 career saves – and Gayle Kuntzmann – a four-time All-PSAC performer who ranks second in SU history with 46 career goals. Kuntzmann played for the Boston Aztecs of the Women’s Professional Soccer League after her graduation.

Most recently, Fulton guided the Raiders to a 6-6-6 overall record during the 2022 season, missing out on a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season.

In 2015, Shippensburg finished with an 11-7-1 overall record and 9-6-1 PSAC record – a four-win improvement – to finish sixth in the PSAC. SU reached the PSAC Tournament for the second time in a three-year stretch.

The 2013 season was one of the most memorable in school history, as the Raiders posted 12 victories and achieved several milestones. In SU’s 20th season of women’s soccer, Fulton’s team advanced in the PSAC Tournament for the first time, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and later won its first NCAA Tournament game.

Shippensburg claimed its first-ever undefeated regular-season home mark (8-0-1) in 2013, finishing 12-6-1 overall. SU also attained its first national ranking in more than seven years, as its No. 22-ranking at the end of the regular season was just the fifth in school history. The Raiders later entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 24 in Division II after having briefly dropped out of the rankings.

Another fascinating aspect of the 2013 season was that SU did not suffer back-to-back losses – the first time that feat has ever been achieved in school history. The Raiders also had a flare for the dramatic, going undefeated in five regular-season overtime games with four victories.

In 2010, Shippensburg posted a 10-8-1 record and qualified for the conference quarterfinals with a balanced scoring attack. SU had 14 different players score at least one goal while adding six more tallies to its total output from the previous season. The 35 goals scored by the Raiders were the most in seven years.

In 2008, Fulton guided the Raiders to an 11-8-1 record – at the time SU’s most successful season in 11 years. The campaign marked the most wins for the Raiders during Fulton’s tenure until 2013 and the most for Shippensburg since the team finished 13-6 in 1997.

The 2007 season, Fulton’s second guiding the Raiders, featured one of the best starts in program history. Shippensburg won five of its first six games to warrant a No. 13 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas national rankings, marking just the second time in program history that the team was nationally ranked. The 2007 squad was also named an NSCAA All-Academic team.

In 2006, Fulton inherited a Raider roster that had lost nine veterans to graduation, including a goaltender that had played every minute of every game for her entire career and an entire group of forwards from the previous year. Undaunted, Fulton brought in a wealth of talent and improved the offense by 10 goals, finishing with a 9-8-2 regular season record – a three-game improvement over the previous season – and SU made its first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2002.

In addition to its prowess on the field, Fulton’s 2006 squad also excelled with its sportsmanship and maturity. Shippensburg was named as one of just 57 men and women’s soccer teams from the NCAA Divisions I, II and III to earn a NSCAA Team Ethics Award. The Raiders were one of just 34 teams throughout the NCAA and one of two from the PSAC that received the Silver Award for receiving fewer than five yellow cards and no red cards.

Fulton arrived at Shippensburg in 2004 and has been an assistant coach for the men’s soccer team since his arrival. He was the assistant women’s coach for two years before earning the chance to helm the Raiders in 2006.

Before Shippensburg, Fulton had two years of head coaching experience at the College of the Southwest, a NAIA school located in Hobbs, New Mexico. Fulton totaled a 22-16-1 record as the head coach of the women’s program from 2002-03. He also served as an assistant professor of physical education.

In 2003, Fulton guided the Lady Mustangs to a 13-6-1 record and the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season title and an appearance in the conference championship game. He was also honored as the RRAC Coach of the Year.

Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Fulton came to the College of the Southwest from Austin, Texas where he was coaching with the ASC Eagles Soccer Club. Fulton began his coaching career in Colorado where he was the girls’ junior varsity coach at Loveland High School for two years beginning in 1994.

Fulton was then the head boys’ and assistant girls’ varsity coach at Poudre High School for three years where he helped lead the girls to a state championship and earned the Northern Conference Boys’ Soccer Coach of the Year in 1996. In addition to his experience at the high school level, Fulton also served as the soccer trainer for the Eagles Soccer Club in Round Rock, Texas from January 2001 to February 2002.

Fulton started his playing career at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and finished at Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa where he was a team captain and named his team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior. He holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in wellness program management from Graceland in 1992.

In 1999, Fulton received his master’s degree in education along with elementary and physical education certifications from Southwest Texas State University. Fulton is also a NSCAA and USSF licensed coach.

At Shippensburg, Fulton has compiled a 122-129-27 record in his 17 seasons.

Fulton lives in Carlisle with his wife, Allyson. The couple have two children: Austin and Addison.

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Maddie Murphy

Maddie Murphy joined the Shippensburg University women’s soccer coaching staff as a graduate assistant for the 2023 season.

She arrives at Shippensburg after serving as an U8-U18 goalkeeping coach for AFC Bolts Soccer in Massachusetts. She also was a private goalkeeping instructor and evaluator for Soccer Asylum.

Murphy graduated from West Virginia University in December 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies. At WVU, Murphy was a goalkeeper on the women’s soccer team. She played over 500 minutes between the sticks for the Mountaineers, helping the team to a Big 12 Tournament Championship in her final season.

She previously spent two seasons with the Boston College Eagles.

Murphy is seeking her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Shippensburg.

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Dr. Jen Clements

Clements joined the Raider coaching staff after serving as the team’s faculty athletic mentor (FAM) from 2018-20.

Dr. Clements is in her 18th year as a professor at Shippensburg University in 2022-23. She joined the Shippensburg University Social Work department in 2005 after many years of practice as a clinical social worker in Baltimore, Maryland. She is licensed as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Pennsylvania and is also a Level 1 Certified Trauma Specialist (CTS).

Her social work background includes more than 10 years of practice experience working with children and families, many of which were spent in Maryland. As a previous child welfare worker, Clements focused research and studies on burnout and stress

Dr. Clements was also previously certified as an Art Therapist. This remains a large part of Clements’ work, both clinically and in research. Within the last decade, Clements conducted research surrounding the development of art therapy as a protocol to be used with at-risk children or children diagnosed with various attachment disorders.

Dr. Clements is also a passionate advocate for the LGBT community. She is currently the Chair of the GLBT Concerns Committee at Shippensburg, faculty co-advisor to SALE (Students Advocating for LGBTQI Equality) and a coordinator for the Silent Witness Program.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Clements was featured in PennLive for her work in assisting more than 600 individuals with scheduling appointments to receive COVID-19 vaccines.

Dr. Clements earned her bachelor of arts in Social Work & Psychology from the University of Maryland-Baltimore (U-B) in 1996. She received her master’s degree in social work from U-B in 1997, and she completed her PhD in social work from U-B in 2006.

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Jeremy Spering

Jeremy Spering enters his 16th season as the head coach of the Shippensburg University men’s soccer program in 2023.

During his tenure as the Raider head coach, Spering has directed SU men’s soccer to numerous milestones – including school records for single-season wins, most consecutive victories, longest undefeated streak, single-season goals, and the most all-conference selections in a single season.

Most recently, Spering guided the Raiders to a perfect 4-0-0 out-of-conference record during the 2022 season.

In 2018, Shippensburg went 10-3-4 – marking the fewest losses in a single season in 31 years. SU hosted its first conference playoff match in eight years while allowing its fewest goals (14) and recording its most shutouts (eight) in a season since the school records for each were set back in 1987.

The 2018 campaign also featured SU’s first men’s soccer player to receive a PSAC Fall Top 10 award (All-PSAC and All-Region midfielder Patrick Luebben), the PSAC’s points leader (All-PSAC and All-Region forward Cole Kropnick), the PSAC’s leader in save percentage (goalkeeper Garret Watson), and two Google Cloud Academic All-District honorees (Luebben and senior defender Logan Koch).

Upon his arrival at Shippensburg in 2008, Spering inherited a rebuilding program. After winning just one game in each of his first two seasons, Spering guided SU to a school-record 14 victories in 2010 – marking the year’s largest single-season turnaround in Division II. The memorable 2010 campaign featured SU’s first PSAC championship since 1975 and its first NCAA tournament berth in the history of the program.

Since the start of the 2010 campaign, Spering has directed SU to 77 victories – including nine or more victories in four seasons. The Raiders have also qualified for three PSAC Tournaments and made two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Spering, the 2010 PSAC Men’s Soccer Coach of the Year and NSCAA/Mondo Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, guided the Raiders to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and 2011 – the first two such berths in school history.

In 2011, Shippensburg posted a 9-6-2 record and boasted a defense that allowed just 17 goals in 16 regular season games – the lowest regular season opponent goals total since the current school record of nine goals allowed was established in the 1987 season.

Among the many records set by Spering’s squad in the historic 2010 season included the mark for the longest winning streak (11), longest unbeaten streak (12), wins (14) and goals scored (50). SU scored five more goals in just the second half of its matches (28) than it scored through every minute of every game from the 2008 and 2009 seasons combined. SU had already surpassed the 23 combined goals scored in 2008 and 2009 by the 11th game of the 2010 season.

Spering guided Shippensburg to a 13-win improvement from both the 2008 and the 2009 seasons. He had yet to win a home game or a league game entering the 2010 season, but SU emerged as the PSAC’s regular season and overall conference champions after posting a 6-3 mark in league play and an 8-2-1 mark at David See Field.

According to the NCAA record books, Shippensburg’s improvement from 2009 to 2010 is the sixth-best in Division II history – a 10-game margin – and ties the greatest single-season turnaround by a PSAC program. SU entered the 2010 season picked 10th out of 10 teams in the preseason coaches poll. Five of its players achieved All-PSAC recognition, the most for an SU squad since 2003.

Shippensburg made a radical transformation in terms of its record in close games. In Spering’s first two seasons, the Raiders were 0-10 in games decided by one goal. The 2010 squad finished 7-3 in one-goal games.

The 2010 and 2011 campaigns marked the first back-to-back winning seasons for SU men’s soccer since 2002-03. SU compiled a 23-12-3 record from 2010-11 after going 2-27-7 in the 2008-09 seasons.

Before arriving at Shippensburg, Spering spent four years as an assistant coach at two different institutions. In 2007, Spering was the assistant women’s soccer coach at Gettysburg College, helping guide the Bullets to a 6-4 conference record and an appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament semifinals.

Overall, Spering had a part in 44 wins in four seasons as an assistant. He was a three-year veteran of the men’s soccer coaching staff at James Madison from 2004-06 and while at the school he earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology. During his tenure with the Dukes, the team averaged 12 wins per seasons and made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2005.

Spering graduated from Slippery Rock in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He was a two-year starter and two-year letter winner on The Rock men’s soccer team after lettering at Elmira College in 1997 and 1998. He also trained with the Bolton Wanderers English Soccer Club in 1994 and the New Jersey Stallions professional soccer team from 1995-96.

While in the Pittsburgh area, Spering served as a volunteer assistant coach at Slippery Rock from 2002-04 and as a high school head coach at Knoch Area and Slippery Rock Area high schools. He also coached the Northern Steel Select youth soccer club in Butler from 1999-2004. In 2002, he guided Slippery Rock to the Mercer County Athletic Conference championship.

Spering holds an advanced national coaching license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The 15-year collegiate coaching veteran is also a specialist in strength and conditioning and has consulted with several camps and training programs. In 2008, Spering joined current women’s soccer head coach Rob Fulton as instructors at the Slippery Rock Men’s Soccer Camp.

A native of Frenchtown, N.J., Spering earned all-state and all-conference honors at Delaware Valley Regional High School where he was captain of the soccer team and participated in the Olympic Development Program.

Spering resides in Gettysburg with his girlfriend Sadie. They are the proud parents of their two children: son, Calvin, and daughter, Jayde.