UCR women's soccer head coach Veronica O'Brien on the sideliens

Veronica O'Brien to Take Academic Support Services Position at UC Riverside

UC Riverside Women's Soccer Coach Veronica O'Brien announced today that she will be transitioning into academic support services at UCR following 11 seasons as the only head coach in the program's history.

She leaves the sidelines with a 91-91-27 career record with the Highlanders, which includes the first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance by any of UC Riverside's women's programs and a string of five consecutive double-digit win campaigns.

"My 11 years as head coach of the Highlanders have been a tremendous experience." said O'Brien. "I am so thankful to my family, the coaches I have worked with, my colleagues at UCR, former and current administration, the community and especially for all the wonderful relationships with nearly 200 student-athletes who are the heart and soul of Highlanders Athletics, I would not trade it for anything.

"The game will always be a part of me, but I have been considering a post-coaching career after being approached on numerous occasions over the past couple of years, and after my recent graduation with a master’s of coaching and athletic administration. Following the success we had this past season in getting the program turned back around and challenging for a spot in the Big West Conference Tournament, the time just felt right to transition into the administrative end of things. I am confident that I am leaving the program in great shape with quality commitments for the 2012-13 season.

"I have had a very blessed playing and coaching career, and although the competition on the field never leaves you, I believe that being able to have a positive impact on the academic success of all of our 300-plus student-athletes is going to be equally rewarding."

"Veronica's accomplishments as both a player and a coach speak for themselves," said UC Riverside Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Brian Wickstrom, "and as much as we hate to lose her on the sidelines, we're equally as happy to welcome her to the academic side where she will be able to assist all of our student-athletes in their primary purpose for attending UC Riverside which is their academic growth.

UCR hired O'Brien in November of 2000 to build the women's soccer program from scratch following her successful five-year stint at UTEP. She quickly guided the team to the upper division of the Big West Conference, posting the program's first double-digit win campaign in just its second season. The following year, O'Brien led the Highlanders to an 11-7-3 mark, a third-place finish in conference and the team's first appearance in the Big West Tournament.

In 2004, O’Brien guided the Highlanders to their third consecutive 10-win season. That squad also set school records for most wins (13), goals (45), points (129), and shutouts (9), while also allowing the fewest goals of any Highlander team (14).

The 2005 season was a historic one for O’Brien and the Highlanders, who earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with an 11-4-6 record. Despite being picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll, O’Brien led UCR to an undefeated 4-0-3 record in the Big West as Riverside placed a program-best second, reaching the Big West Tournament final for the first time in school history. For her efforts, O’Brien was named the conference’s Co-Coach of the Year.

At the conclusion of the 2005 regular season, UCR garnered the conference’s first-ever at-large bid to the postseason and UCR’s first NCAA Championship berth for a women’s program. Matching up against No. 19 Colorado in the first round, the Highlanders took the game into penalty kicks after 110 scoreless minutes of regulation and two overtime periods before Colorado advanced 4-3 on penalty kicks.

In 2006, the Highlanders posted their fifth consecutive 10-win season, going 10-7-1 overall, and O’Brien reached 100 career victories with a 3-0 home win over UC Irvine on October 20.

After falling just shy of the 10-win plateau in 2007 and 2008, UC Riverside struggled a bit in 2009 and 2010, but the 2011 season brought with it a resurgence as O'Brien and the Highlanders fell one win short of a return trip to the Big West Tournament.

Prior to joining the Highlanders, O’Brien was hired by the University of Texas, El Paso to lead its inaugural program for the 1996 season. In her five years at UTEP, the Miners evolved into a league power, earning a final Central Region top-10 ranking in both 1998 and 1999. In 1998 she received the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Coach of the Year Award while guiding her team to the WAC Mountain Division title.

O’Brien joined UTEP after spending 1994 and 1995 as an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. During her tenure at UNH she worked with the Olympic Development Program as an assistant and started the women’s Division I volleyball program, serving as head coach in 1995.

O’Brien was an outstanding center midfielder for UNH from 1990-93. A three-time All-North Atlantic Conference honoree, a two-time Northeast Region All-American and an adidas Scholar Athlete All-American in 1993, she finished her career as the fourth-highest point scorer in NAC history as a defensive center midfielder with 51 points (16 goals, 19 assists).

On the international scene, O’Brien was a center midfielder for the Canadian National Team from 1989-1998 and was the starting center midfielder for the 1995 Canadian team that competed in the 1995 World Cup in Sweden. She also represented Canada in the 1993 World University Games and 1991 World Cup Qualification Games, as well as Team Ontario in the 1992 Canada Olympic Games.

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