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Mick Statham
Mick Statham is entering his 18th season as head coach of the Lafayette College women's soccer program in 2023. During his tenure, he has coached 22 All-Patriot League honorees.
Statham was previously named the Patriot League Coach of the Year, a first for the program, and also mentored the Leopards' first conference Offensive Player of the Year (Krista Kissell '21) and two-time Goalkeeper of the Year (Lauren Smedley '13). His student-athletes succeed in the classroom, with the program earning 10 Academic All-Patriot League selections. Two former players have also launched professional careers in Europe, with defender Kelly Chickering '16 and goalkeeper Kelly O'Brien '18 taking part in UEFA Women's Champions League action.
Statham's squad in the spring 2021 season earned three All-Patriot League selections, including first-team midfielder Sophie Saldivar '21, and placed a program-record two student-athletes (Kissell and Camryn Monfort '21) on the 11-player Academic All-Patriot League team. The team nearly had every player earn a spot on the conference's Academic Honor Roll, which is awarded to athletes who achieve a 3.2 GPA or higher during their sport's season.
In 2019, Lafayette secured a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the third time in the previous four years after Kissell produced a league-high in assists en route to her Offensive Player of the Year selection.
Statham's squad qualified for the Patriot League postseason in both 2016 and 2017. In 2016, the Leopards earned their first-ever Patriot League Tournament victory -- a dramatic, double-overtime sudden victory in the quarterfinal round at Lehigh.
The Leopards finished at 8-7-1 overall in 2015, their first winning season since 2011. Kaelin King was honored as an All-Patriot League Second Team selection, an Academic All-Patriot League member and a CoSIDA Academic All-District II performer. Statham also coached a First Team All-League player in Chickering.
Statham coached Third Team All-Patriot League selection Jaclyn Giordano, who was also on the Academic All-Patriot League Team in 2013. Academically, Statham's 2012 team led the Patriot League with 22 Academic Honor Roll selections and in 2013 posted a combined 3.5 team grade-point average.
In 2012, Statham mentored a pair of All-Patriot League selections, First-Team choice Jill Dozier '12 and classmate Lauren Smedley, who was recognized with a place on the Academic Team.
In 2011, Lafayette posted a 9-6-2 mark and earned the second seed in the Patriot League Tournament.Statham collected a pair of personal accolades as a result of the season, including being named Patriot League Coach of the Year. The award was the first for a Lafayette head women's soccer coach in the 21-year history of the program. In May of 2012, Statham received the inaugural Maroon Club Athletic Staff Achievement Award, which is voted on by the Maroon Club Executive Committee and given to a full-time athletics department staff member who has demonstrated outstanding service to Lafayette College and its athletics program.
In addition to claiming the number two seed, Lafayette added three more accomplishments that were program firsts. A perfect 6-0-0 home record and a 4-2-1 Patriot League mark highlighted the campaign, as well as four players earning All-Patriot League selections.
In 2010, the turnaround began to translate to wins on the field as Statham led the Leopards to their most wins (6) during his tenure and the program's most since 2002.
Before taking the reins at Lafayette, Statham spent the 2005 season as the top assistant coach at Florida State, where he helped guide the women's soccer program to a 20-4-1 record and a Final Four berth. For his efforts, he was named Regional Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Prior to coaching at Florida State, Statham spent one season as an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania, helping the Quakers to a 9-6-2 finish. In 2003-04, Statham was an assistant for the men's soccer program at Philadelphia University.
In addition to coaching at the college level, Statham served as team administrator and assistant coach for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA, as well as the former Director of Coaching and Player Development for the FC Delco Soccer Club in Downingtown, Pa., from 1999 to 2003. Then, in 2004, he worked as a staff member with the US U-19 Women's National Team.
Statham was the Head Girls Varsity Coach at Radnor High School (1997-2003) in Radnor, Pa., where he guided the team to its only PIAA state title.
He spent 1995-96 as the head men's soccer coach at Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y.
A 1992 graduate of Franklin Pierce College (N.H.), Statham lettered four years, helping the Ravens to the NCAA Division II Tournament three times. This included a trip to the Final Four in 1991, when he was a team captain. An All-New England selection in 1990 for Franklin Pierce, Statham earned a degree in communications in 1992. Statham is a member of the Franklin Pierce College Hall of Fame following his induction in 2008 and his 1991 squad was inducted in 2007.
Before attending Franklin Pierce, Statham spent four years with one of England's most prestigious football clubs, Blackburn Rovers. In 1987-88 he was a professional youth coach with Bury Football Club and gained his English Football Association coaching license.
Statham currently serves on the staff of the U.S. National Training Centers for Pennsylvania.
The Manchester, England native and his wife, Kelly, reside on College Hill and have four children; Ryan, Matthew, Megan and Emma.
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