Fort Lewis College Athletics

Oige Kennedy
Head Coach

Phone: (970) 247-7461
Email: kennedy_o@fortlewis.edu

Oige Kennedy enters his second year as head coach and fifth overall with the Skyhawks in 2010.

 

His rookie year in charge of the perennial national powerhouse Skyhawks was the stuff that makes legends. Hired just weeks before his team was to report for preseason training as interim head coach, Kennedy became the first coach in NCAA history to guide a men’s soccer team to a national championship in his first year of collegiate coaching.

 

Hired in July 2009 after former FLC Head Coach Tim Hankinson resigned to take a coaching assignment in India, Kennedy’s team raced out of the gate to three victories by a combined 17-2 score. A mid-season road trip saw rain cancel one game and force the location of another to be moved from a neutral site in Austin to the home turf of No. 9 Incarnate Word in San Antonio. A 2-1 loss ensued, thanks to a pair of Skyhawk shots that clanked off the crossbar in the final 10 minutes. Rebounding from that loss, FLC reeled off 21 straight wins to claim their second national championship in five years.

 

The season was a magical one. Fort Lewis outscored its opponents 108-13, leading the nation in goals (108) by 45 more than its closest competitor. The Skyhawks also led the nation in winning percentage (24-1, .960), and ranked fifth in team goals against average (0.52, 13 goals) and ninth in team shutout percentage (0.56, 14 shutouts). FLC’s 11 goals against Colorado Christian on Oct. 18 were the third best in Division II for a single game during the year.

 

The biggest surprise of the season, though, came in FLC’s 8-2 win over No. 6 Le Moyne in the NCAA Division II semifinals. David Barden led the way with a hat trick, while Euan Purcell and Joe Barnd each tallied a pair.

 

The resolve of Kennedy and the Skyhawks showed in the national title bout, as David Barden headed in the championship winner with just 12:27 remaining in regulation.

 

Collecting trophies is important in soccer, and the Skyhawks put three important ones in the trophy case last year: the RMAC regular season plaque, the RMAC postseason silver platter, and the NCAA Division II national championship trophy.

 

Following the season, Kennedy was named the CaptainU Division II Men’s Coach of the Year. More importantly, the interim tag was removed from his title on Dec. 10.

 

Kennedy spent three seasons as assistant coach at FLC from 2006-08, under head coaches Jeremy Fishbein (2006) and Tim Hankinson (2007-08). The Skyhawks went 54-10-5 (.819) during those seasons, winning two RMAC regular season titles (2006, ’08), three RMAC postseason silver platters, and three trips to the NCAA playoffs.

 

A goalkeeper by trade, Kennedy worked primarily with goalkeepers in those seasons, helping Tom Donley and Zane Wells earn All-America honors. The Skyhawks have boasted the RMAC’s lowest goals against average and most shutouts in each of Kennedy’s four years as a head or assistant coach.

 

Prior to coming to Fort Lewis, Kennedy played four years as a professional in Europe. He played several seasons for Ireland’s national youth teams. He also captained the Irish University team for two years.

 

His coaching experience includes work with the Manchester United Soccer School and Bobby Charlton Soccer School for six years. Working with youth is important to him at Fort Lewis College, to, as he hosts The Academy, a soccer camp for youth and high school players, each summer.

 

Kennedy, who hails from Dublin, Ireland, earned his bachelor of science degree in sport science from University College Dublin and a computer science diploma from Dublin Institute of Technology.

 Oige Kennedy's Coaching History:

 

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