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University of South Dakota

University of South Dakota Athletics
 206 DakotaDome - 414 E. Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069
Division 1 South Dakota Midwest
Public Medium National competitor
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Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas was named head coach of the South Dakota women’s soccer program in December of 2017 and enters his sixth season at the helm in 2023.


In the 2022 season, Thomas led defender Taylor Ravelo to her third consecutive appearance on the Summit League awards list with an honorable mention. Senior Joana Zanin ranked in the top-10 in the conference with five goals on the season while senior Taylor Cotter finished fourth in the Summit with five assists on the year. During the season, Thomas guided USD to three shutouts on the year including shutouts over Iowa State and South Dakota State. Thomas earned his 40th victory as head coach of the Coyotes with a 2-1 win over Oral Roberts on the final home game of the regular season.


The 2021 season was the best season to date for the Coyotes under Thomas. They finished with a 10-4-4 record which was the most wins in the Division I era. Thomas led USD to an 8-1 record at home including a big 1-0 win over Iowa State for their first ever win over a Power 5 program. South Dakota outscored its opponents 20-4 at First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex in 2021. The Coyotes then went on to compile five wins in conference play which tied them for the most in a season since joining the Summit League. USD outscored their conference opponents 16-8 and qualified for the Summit League Tournament fort he second consecutive year and the third time in program history. They finished second in the conference with 10 shutouts on the year.


Thomas coached five all-Summit honorees in 2021. Alexis Mitchell earned first-team honors and all-league recognition for the third consecutive year while Jordan Centineo, Abby Ostrem, Taylor Ravelo, and Emma Harkleroad all appeared on the second team. Mitchell (2nd team) and Ravelo (3rd team) also were selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region team. Harkleroad had one of the best seasons in net for USD. She finished with a 9-2-4 record and led the nation in save percentage (88.9 percent).


Thomas had three Coyotes appear on the Academic All-Summit team in Harkleroad, Mitchell, and Ostrem. Harkleroad and Ostrem were also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team before Harkleroad went on to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. It was the first time in program history the Coyotes had a first-team Academic All-American.


In the 2020 season, the Summit League pushed the fall seasons to the spring of 2021 amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. With a conference only schedule, Thomas led the Yotes to a 9-7-1 record and clinched a birth in the Summit League Tournament for just the second time since joining the Summit League. The Yotes set several team and individual records over the course of the unusual season including longest win streak in the Division I era at six games. USD recorded 2.1 goals per game which led the Summit League and recorded 35 goals on the season which finished 15th in the nation.


Defensively, USD outscored its opponents 35-19 on the season and recorded six shutouts on the season including four straight shutouts against the North Dakota schools to end the regular season. The Coyotes only allowed two goals in their last six regular season games. Emma Harkleroad recorded a 0.97 goals against average which puts her first in program history in a single season.


Individually, Thomas coached four players to All-Summit League honors in Alexis Mitchell (1st), Harkleroad (2nd), Taylor Cotter (2nd) and Taylor Ravelo (2nd). Mitchell was also named a Summit League Offensive Player of the Week (April 12) and named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-West Region team. Harkleroad also earned Summit League Defensive Player of the Week (April 5). Cotter not only moved up in the Coyote record books but also finished 13th in the nation last season with eight assists on the season. She now is tied for second all-time in a season at USD with those eight assists. Ravelo also recieved Summit League all-Newcomer Team honors.


In the 2019 season, Thomas coached Alexis Mitchell to second-team all-Summit League and third-team all-West Region honors, the second straight Coyote to earn the award. Mitchell also earned Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 23) and was named Summit League Player to Watch.


Thomas also coached Kellee Willer to first-team all-Summit League honors, the second straight Coyote to earn the honor. Abby Ostrem earned second-team all-Summit League while freshman Lexie Wood was named to the all-Freshman Team.


The Coyotes earned a triage of academic awards during the 2019 season. As a team, the Yotes were announced as a winner of a Team Academic Award handed out by the United Soccer Coaches. The award is bestowed upon teams that had a composite grade point average of 3.0 or better for all players on the roster during the 2018-19 academic year.


Individually, South Dakota had Mitchell and Willer named to the USCA Scholar all-West Region team. Willer also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 honors, the second straight year she has earned the honor. Mitchell, Ostrem and Willer were all named to the Academic All-Summit League Team. Willer also become the first Coyote to be named to the team in three consecutive seasons.


In his first season at USD, Thomas guided the Coyotes to their best season in the Division I era with nine wins and breaking several records including the highest shooting percentage, fewest goals allowed and lowest opponent shooting percentage.


He coached Taryn LaBree to first-team all-Summit League and third-team all-West Region honors, the first Coyote to garner either accolade. Along with the postseason awards, Kellee Willer was named second-team all-Summit League and Teresa Fontenot was a member of the all-Freshman Team.


Prior to coming to South Dakota, Thomas tallied six years of head coaching experience at the Division I level and another 12 years as an assistant coach, with four seasons as the associate head coach at Cal State Fullerton.


While at Cal State Fullerton, Thomas helped the Titans to a 46-27-11 record with three NCAA tournament appearances, three Big West Conference Tournament Championships and two regular season titles. Thomas tutored a First Team All-American, six all-region honorees, two Big West Offensive Players of the Year, two Big West Goalkeepers of the Year, a Big West Midfielder of the Year and Big West Defender of the Year.


As a head coach at the University of Buffalo from 2008-2014, Thomas guided the Bulls to the Mid-American Conference semifinals for the first time in 10 seasons during the 2011 season.


Thomas guided UB to a 12-5-4 record in 2011, marking the most improved team in the country and an RPI jump of nearly 200 places. Buffalo ranked fifth in the nation with an 89.6 save percentage and 15th in the nation with a 57.1 percent shutout percentage.


In his six season in Buffalo, Thomas coached 12 Mid-American all-conference, all-tournament and all-academic honorees. Off the pitch, his squad held the highest GPA in the UB athletic department on three different occasions.


Prior to his time at Buffalo, Thomas helped lead Denver to four NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons as an assistant coach. The Pioneers won the Sun Belt regular season championship three times and helped coach the team to a 90-25-12 record over the six seasons.


Thomas also has assistant coaching stops at Memphis and Wisconsin – Green Bay.


He has experience coaching in the Olympic Development Program as a region staff coach and a state coach in four different states along with club coaching experience in California, Colorado, Minnesota and Tennessee. He also competed as a professional for the Boulder Nova/Rapids Reserve and Myrtle Beach Sea Dawgs of the United Soccer League.


Thomas is a 1998 graduate of Fort Lewis College where he was a member of the men’s soccer team and graduated with honors receiving his bachelor of arts in history. He received his master of arts in human communication from Denver in 2005.


Thomas and his wife Shannon reside in Vermillion.


Thomas Accomplishments:

Taylor Ravelo Summit League Honorable Mention (2023)

Alexis Mitchell First Team All-Summit (2022)

Jordan Centineo, Abby Ostrem, Taylor Ravelo, Emma Harkleroad Second Team All-Summit (2022)

Alexis Mitchell Second Team United Soccer Coaches All-West Region (2022)

Taylor Ravelo Third Team United Soccer Coaches All-West Region (2022)

Emma Harkleroad led the nation with an 88.9 save percentage (2022)

Emma Harkleroad, Alexis Mitchell, Abby Ostrem Academic All-Summit (2022)

Alexis Mitchell First Team All-Summit (2020-21)

Emma Harkleroad, Taylor Cotter, Taylor Ravelo Second Team All-Summit (2020-21)

Taylor Ravelo Summit League All-Newcomer Team (2020-21)

Kellee Willer First Team All-Summit (2019)

Alexis Mitchell, Abby Ostrem Second Team All-Summit (2019)

Lexie Wood Summit League All-Freshman Team (2019)

Alexis Mitchell Third Team All-West Region (2019)

Alexis Mitchell and Kellee Willer USCA Scholar All-West Region Team (2019)

Kellee Willer CoSIDA Academic All-District VI (2019)

Alexis Mitchell, Abby Ostrem, Kellee Willer Academic All-Summit (2019)

Taryn LaBree First Team All-Summit (2018)

Kelle Willer Second Team All-Summit (2018)

Teresa Fontenot Summit League All-Freshman Team (2018)

Taryn LaBree Third Team USCA All-West Region Team (2018)

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Maggie Sherman

Maggie Sherman was hired as an assistant soccer coach in July of 2021 and enters her second season with South Dakota in 2022. She will work primarily with the goalkeepers.


Sherman made an immediate impact in her first season with South Dakota. She helped the Coyotes to a 10-4-4 record, most in Division I, and a second consecutive trip to the Summit League Tournament.


Sherman helped coach one of the best defensive units in the Summit League in 2021. The Coyotes limited their opponents to 12 goals on the season and a 5.2 shot percentage. They finished second in the conference by recording 10 shutouts on the season. Sherman was instrumental in the continued development of Emma Harkleroad. Harkleroad finished her career at South Dakota as one of the top goalkeepers in program history. Harkleroad led the nation in save percentage (88.9 percent) and currently owns the lowest career goals against average in Coyote history (0.94). Sherman coached Harkleroad to a second team all-Summit selection and a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-American team.


Sherman also coached Caroline Lewis who spent time in the net in 2021 alongside Harkleroad. Lewis appeared in five games and made two starts in her redshirt sophomore season. She made 10 saves on the year and allowed two goals for a 0.71 goals against average and a 83.3 save percentage. Between Harkleroad and Lewis, the two combined for a 0.63 goals against average and an 88.2 save percentage. The two goalkeepers allowed only 12 goals on the year and made 90 saves under Sherman’s guidance.


Sherman spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Southern Utah. Under Sherman, Southern Utah finished third in the Big Sky Conference with 45 saves on the season and finished second with a .833 save percentage. Goalkeeper Jennifer Kovisto ranked third in the conference with 5.38 saves per game.


Sherman graduated from Colorado State in 2015 and was a part of the inaugural Colorado State soccer team as a goalkeeper in 2013. She played for the Rams her junior and senior seasons and recorded the first win in program history against Nevada Reno in 2013. She recorded a team-high 59 saves as a junior and was named to the Academic All-Mountain West team.


She earned her bachelor of science in health and exercise science with a concentration in health promotion and a business administration minor. At Ohio University she was in the recreation and sport pedagogy coaching education program where she earned a master’s degree in soccer coaching in May of 2020.

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Andrew Percic

Andrew Percic joined the Coyote women's soccer program as an assistant coach on June 2, 2023.


Percic heads to South Dakota with nearly 10 years of coaching experience under his belt. He most recently served as the assistant women’s soccer coach at Wofford College. He helped lead the Terriers to their best season in 20 years including a win in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament. Under Percic’s guidance, goalkeeper Caroline Doss led the SoCon with seven shutouts on the year. Percic helped recruiting efforts for the program including landing a top-24 goalkeeper. While at Wofford, he also oversaw the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy as a goalkeeper coach.


Prior to his season at Wofford, Percic was on staff as an assistant women’s soccer coach at Green Bay. He helped guide the Phoenix to a fourth-place finish in the Horizon League and a semifinal appearance in the conference tournament in 2021. Percic led goalkeeper Annie Mason to seven shutout performances and 67 saves on the year. Mason finished second in the conference in goals against, shutouts, and saves.


Percic got his first Division I job at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2019. He spent two years on staff before his stint at Green Bay. In the 2019 season, the Flames finished in second place in the Horizon League regular season which was the highest in team history. The goalkeeping staff ranked in the top-20 in the nation in goals against, save percentage, and shutouts with the help of Percic. Percic led the Flames to qualify for the Horizon League tournament twice including a championship game appearance in his first season.


Before jumping to the Division I level, Percic’s collegiate coaching career began at Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas, in 2016. He also has experience at the high school level, serving as a head coach at Elkhorn South High School for two years and serving as the director of goalkeeping at Elkhorn Soccer Club beginning in 2013.


Percic obtained his master’s degree in business administration in 2019 from Hope International University and his bachelor’s in sport management from Sterling College in 2017. A native of Lombard, Illinois, Percic served in the United States Army Reserves from 2012 to 2021, having graduated in the top percent of his training class and received the Commandant’s Award for excellence in training. Percic owns diplomas from the United Soccer Conference in goalkeeping and a national license from the United States Soccer Federation.

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Isaac Sam

Isaac Sam joined the Coyote soccer coaching staff ahead of the 2022 season as a graduate assistant.


Sam played collegiate soccer at Mount Marty University prior to graduating in the spring of 2022. He played three seasons for the Lancers and was selected to the Daktronics NAIA Scholar All-American team in 2020. Sam was also a tennis athlete for two seasons and was the president of International Students Association while enrolled at Mount Marty.


Prior to transferring to Mount Marty, Sam played one season at Western Nebraska Community College located in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He was a NJCAA All-American third team selection in his lone season at Western Nebraska. Off the field, Sam was the president of student government and was a member of the speech and debate team.


Sam began his coaching career in 2021 as the skill development coach for the Yankton Soccer Association U14 team. He created practice drills, broke down positional roles and expectations and encouraged players in a positive environment for growth and development. Sam was then promoted to the head men’s soccer coach position for the Yankton U19/17 Club Teams in the spring of 2022. As the head coach, Sam educated players in all aspects of the game, developed skills through drills, evaluated player performances, and facilitated the development of player intelligence through studies and reflections. He led the U17 team to a second-place finish in the Norfolk Soccer Tournament in the summer of 2022.


Born in Dansoman, Ghana, Sam obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2022. While coaching for the Coyotes, he will be working on his master’s degree in kinesiology and sports management.

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