Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Mercy Griffins Athletics
Griffin Complex - 1325 Sumneytown Pike Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437

Division 3 Pennsylvania Northeast

Private Small Developing team

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Coaches

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Michael Nelms

Michael Nelms was named the Gwynedd Mercy University's head women's soccer coach in June of 2021. A longtime assistant for the men's program, Nelms joined Coach Bontempo's staff in 2014 and helped the Griffins reach the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) postseason for the first time since 2011.

Under Coach Nelms, Gwynedd Mercy University finished the 2021 season as the #7 seed (4-11, 0-6 AEC) for the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Women's Soccer Championship Tournament. There, they faced #2 Cabrini University on the Opening Round (Nov. 1). Despite a 24-1 deficit in shots and an 8-0 disadvantage in corner kick opportunities, the Griffins kept the Cavaliers off the scoreboard until the latter half of a 2-0 final.

Coach Nelms earned his bachelor's degree while competing as a member of the Holy Family University's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II men's soccer program. He later added a master’s degree in education from Temple University while remaining connected to the Holy Family University men's soccer program as an assistant coach. Coach Nelms helped the Tigers to their first-ever NCAA DII Championship Tournament in 2007 and later took on assistant coaching duties at Father Judge High School and a head coaching role with the girls' team at Upper Dublin High School. He has also coached at Council Rock Soccer Club where his Gunners Elite team was a finalists in the 2014 State Cup.

Nelms has been a master level science teacher at Sandy Run Middle School for the past 17-plus years. Raising a family, coaching, and teaching are his passions in life. Coach Nelms brings decades of experience, energy, and commitment for excellence to the program; he preaches that the greatest accomplishments from the game of soccer are not wins and losses but the relationships developed throughout the years with other coaches, former players, and referees.

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Brianna McDonald

Brianna McDonald ’22 joined the Gwynedd Mercy University women’s soccer coaching staff as an assistant prior to the 2022 season. Coach McDonald was a four-year member and two-year captain (2020, 2021) of the women’s soccer program, who logged 31 consecutive starts between her sophomore and senior seasons. During her senior season, she scored her only collegiate goal as the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at Rosemont College (Oct. 2, 2021).

While competing as collegiate student-athlete at Gwynedd Mercy University, McDonald fulfilled coaching appointments with several youth soccer organizations. Her coaching career began as a personal trainer at Total Soccer (April 2021 – Present) in Warminster, Pennsylvania. She took on an assistant coach internship with the Philadelphia Youth Sports Collaborative from November 2021 to May 2022 and has since elevated her status in the company to a program coordinator (July 2022 – Present). In her present role, she is responsible for coordinating programs at local recreation centers, organizing Social Emotional Learning Survey tracking, and assisting with various youth sport projects in the Philadelphia area.

Coach McDonald was very active as an undergrad, serving on the leadership of several campus clubs while competing as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III student-athlete. In addition to her two seasons as team captain, she served as the vice president for Gwynedd Mercy University’s The Hidden Opponent Chapter (August 2021 – May 2022), a peer mentor in the Integrated Studies program (August 2020 – May 2022), and the social media coordinator for the Social Work and Psychology Club (August 2020 – May 2022). McDonald was also a presenter at the 2021 National Association of Social Workers Pennsylvania Chapter (NASW-PA) Conference and the 2021 Social Work in the Mercy Tradition: Global Perspectives Conference.

Coach McDonald currently resides in Yardley, Pennsylvania.