Brendan Faherty hired as Yale women’s soccer head coach

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (Via Yale) – Brendan Faherty, a Guilford, Conn., native, has been named the Loring Family & Rudolph L. Meredith Head Coach of women’s soccer at Yale. The announcement was made by Vicky Chun, the Thomas A. Beckett Director of Athletics.

Faherty, the sixth women’s soccer coach in school history, comes to Yale from Stony Brook University where he and his staff were named America East Coaching Staff of the Year in 2016 and 2018. Prior to Stony Brook, he was the assistant coach at the University of Washington for three seasons.

“I am thrilled to have Brendan as the next leader of our women’s soccer program,” Chun said. “His national reputation and credentials made him immediately stand out, but it was his vision for the future of Yale women’s soccer, his deep commitment to success both academically and athletically, his unwavering passion for student-athlete development, and the respect and love from his former student-athletes that made him the clear choice. Brendan’s core values align perfectly with those of our university and department.”

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Under his leadership, Stony Brook experienced record-setting success. During his three seasons, he guided the Seawolves to three straight winning seasons and conference tournament appearances, a regular season championship, a conference tournament championship and a berth in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the school’s first NCAA appearance since 2012.

“I am grateful to Vicky Chun and Ann-Marie Guglieri for the opportunity to lead the women’s soccer program,” said Faherty. “Yale University is a special place, and I am humbled to be able to work with some of the best student-athletes in the world.

“I would also like to thank Shawn Heilbron, Patrick Muffley and Stony Brook athletics for their support and guidance the past three years. I was fortunate to work with a fantastic group of young women and I am forever thankful for their trust in me along with their investment in the women’s soccer program.

“I look forward to working with the incredible student-athletes, faculty, staff and alumni at Yale and making sure we do everything to ensure a `best in class’ experience for everyone associated with women’s soccer. Go Bulldogs!”

Faherty has been successful everywhere he has coached. In his first season at Stony Brook, his team earned its first America East playoff appearance since 2013 after notching a Division I era record six straight conference wins. He became the first first-year head coach to earn America East Coach of the Year honors and saw six players earn all-conference accolades, including two on the first team.

With a win over Hartford in the quarterfinal round of the America East Championship in 2017, Faherty recorded his 100th career win as a collegiate head coach.

Before his arrival at Stony Brook, Faherty spent three years as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Washington. During his tenure, the Huskies received two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, including a No. 4 seed and Sweet 16 appearance. In addition, Faherty played a large role in securing the fifth-ranked recruiting class in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Prior to Washington, Faherty served as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts, where he was quickly promoted to Associate Head Coach after just two seasons.

Faherty’s coaching career began at the University of New Haven, where he served as the head women’s soccer coach for eight seasons, leading the Chargers to two Division II NCAA Tournament appearances. He was named the NYCAC Coach of the Year in 2005.

In Faherty’s first year, the program finished with a record of 4-14-1. Three seasons later, New Haven had its best season in school history (17-4-1) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. In 2006, the team earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament. In both of those seasons, the program enjoyed a top 25 NSCAA Division II Ranking. During Faherty’s tenure at UNH, the school saw its first four All-America honors, three straight conference Player of the Year awards, 13 All-Region selections, and 27 All-Conference honorees.

Faherty, who played at Northeastern University from 1996-99 and a season professionally with the Cape Cod Crusaders in the USL, holds a United States Soccer Federation “A” License and an NSCAA Advanced National Diploma. He graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in 2001, earned a Postgraduate Degree in the Business of Football from the University of Liverpool in 2002, and received a Master of Science in Management of Sports Industries from the University of New Haven in 2016.

Faherty will be joined in New Haven by his wife Therese and their 8-month-old daughter Ellie.