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Wilmington University

Wilmington University Athletics
 320 N. DuPont Hwy New Castle, DE 19702
Division 2 Delaware Northeast
Private Medium Competitive team
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Coaches

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Jeff Zoyac

Jeff Zoyac enters his ninth season at the helm of the Wilmington University women’s soccer program in 2023. He took over the women’s soccer head coaching job in the summer of 2015 after spending the previous 11 seasons on the men’s side at Wilmington under his former coach Nick Papanicolas.


During his first eight years at the helm of the Wildcats, Zoyac’s student-athletes have earned 22 All-CACC honors, including one CACC Defensive Player of the Year and one CACC Goalkeeper of the Year, 12 different All-Region honors, and one All-American.


In 2018, the Wildcats squared off against three nationally ranked opponents in their first five games of the year, starting the year, 1-4. But five straight CACC wins brought the Wildcats back to 6-5 at the end of September. Earning the No. 6 seed, the Wildcats nearly pulled the upset at No. 3 Holy Family, having multiple chances down the stretch before falling, 2-1, in the CACC Tournament Quarterfinals.


In 2017, the Wildcats started 5-1 in CACC play but won the final six games of the regular season to close out the year 10-2 in the CACC, earning the second seed for the CACC Tournament. An overtime victory in the CACC Quarterfinals sent the Wildcast to the CACC Semifinals, where they beat Holy Family, 3-1, to advance to the CACC Championship for the first time since 2012. Their run came to an end in the Championship however, ending their season with a 14-6-1 overall mark.


Zoyac became the fourth head coach of the women’s soccer program in its NCAA era. He took over the women’s program after being an assistant and associate head coach for Nick Papanicolas and the men’s program at Wilmington for the past 11 seasons.


During his time on the sidelines with Papanicolas, Zoyac has seen over 100 victories in 11 seasons, helping the Wildcats to an overall record of 115-80-23 and a 68-32-11 record inside the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). Zoyac has been a part of one CACC Tournament Championship run (2007), and two NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament Second Round appearances (2009 and 2013).


Prior to coaching at Wilmington, Zoyac finished his collegiate career as a Wildcat, transferring from Rowan College after leading the Profs to a NCAA Division III National Semifinal appearance as a sweeper. Upon joining Wilmington in 2003, he led the Wildcats in scoring and was a crucial piece of their second CACC Championship. He finished his collegiate soccer career as an Honorable Mention All-CACC selection.


Outside of Wilmington, Zoyac has been coaching girls’ club soccer at the New Jersey Rush Soccer Club since 2010. Under his tutelage, the U18’s girls’ team has claimed back-to-back U.S. Club New Jersey State Championships and has been ranked in the top-3 in the state in each of the past two seasons. Zoyac has also coached the U14 and U 16 teams at NJ Rush, leading each team into the top-10 in the state.

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Don Palmucci

Don Palmucci enters his ninth season under the helm of Head Coach Jeff Zoyac and the Wilmington University women's soccer program in 2023. Palmucci brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the WilmU soccer program with over 12 years at the college level.


In his day-to-day at WilmU, Palmucci is heavily involved in all facets of the program including assisting in planning, organizing, and running training sessions, set pieces, recruiting talent, fostering a positive team culture as well as evaluating film, and scouting opponents.


In 2021, Palmucci took the position and responsibility of strengthening the defense and helped orchestrate a mentally tough unit that garnered a 12-5-3 overall record that included eight shutouts and only allowed twelve goals in twenty games with a 0.97 GAA. Likewise, Palmucci helped guide Samantha Emmi to a First Team D2CCA All-Eastern Region, First Team All CACC, CACC All-Tournament Team, and the CACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also helped guide Jimena Garcia Risota to an All-American season, being named a Second Team D2CCA All-American.


Likewise, Coach Palmucci believes in coaching through character and is an asset in mental imagery, mindset training, team building, and the overall culture of the WilmU program.


Palmucci started his coaching tenure at The College of New Jersey as a graduate assistant. From there, he founded and started a motivational sports company called Program for Results (PFR), which worked with high-level college and professional athletes to develop accountability for life goals, behavior, and sports performance. Following PFR, Palmucci moved into the youth soccer arena as the Vice President and trainer at Kingsway United Soccer Club. Shortly after, Coach Palmucci joined the NJ Rush Soccer Club as a trainer and coordinator in South Jersey.


In addition to his youth experience, Palmucci assisted Jimmy Connor at Salem Community College as the women’s assistant soccer coach. Likewise, Palmucci served two years as the head women’s soccer coach at Cumberland County College and guided multiple players to attain All-Region 19 honors.


On the Olympic Development Program (ODP) front, Palmucci serves on the NJ Youth Soccer Association staff as a NJ ODP Girls team coach. Palmucci was involved in all ODP training, identification camps, and evaluation process throughout the state of New Jersey. Currently, at the club level, Palmucci coaches at the South Jersey Elite Barrons (SJEB).


Coach Palmucci is employed by the Pennsville School District as the Student Assistance Coordinator, Guidance Chair, and Anti-Bullying Coordinator located in Salem County, New Jersey. He received his B.A. with distinction (Magna Cum Laude) in Psychology and his M.A. from The College of New Jersey in Counseling & Personnel Services.


He resides in South Harrison, New Jersey with his wife Suzanne and two children, Alyssa & Josh.

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Rebecca Dolhansky

Assistant Coach

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