Coaches

Jennifer Kennedy-Croft

Taking over in 2016, Coach Jennifer Kennedy-Croft's track record in college soccer is strong, dating back to her playing days at the University of Connecticut where she played in the NCAA National Title game.


Following the 2022-23 season, Doane has had 16 All-Conference players selected and 45 Scholar-Athletes. Doane has received the NAIA Scholar Team honor, a 3.0 varsity grade point average during the academic year, in each of Coach Kennedy-Croft's seasons.


Prior to Doane, she has served as an assistant coach at Connecticut, Maine, Princeton, Rhode Island and Arkansas before landing her first head coaching position at then-NAIA member Seattle University. She transitioned back to the NCAA ranks as an assistant at Utah State and later became the Aggies' head coach.


As a head coach, Kennedy-Croft had a career record of 47-39-11 (.541 win-percentage) in five seasons prior to arriving at Doane. She took Seattle from eight wins in her first season to a 16-3 record in her third and final year before moving on to Utah State. The Aggies, coincidentally, started women's soccer the same season as Doane did in 1996 so Kennedy-Croft inherited a relatively young program when she took over in 2001 as head coach. In two seasons, she posted 14 wins as the win total increased each season. She stepped aside after two years to focus on family; however, she continued to stay on in higher education to have an impact on young adult's lives.


At Utah State, campus ministry was a calling for Kennedy-Croft as she spent three years in the role as a minister on campus. She took a similar role at Creighton University and served as the Faith Development Director for 10 years when her family moved to Nebraska. She served as an Education Coordinator at the University of Nebraska Medical Center also. Despite stepping aside from the collegiate game, Kennedy-Croft remained active in coaching soccer, having served as a women's soccer coach for the Creighton club team as well as a coach and site director for the Omaha Fútbol Club prior to stepping back on the college sidelines at Doane.