University of Cincinnati hires Erica Demers from UAB as women’s soccer head coach

CINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham announced the hiring of Erica Demers as the sixth women’s soccer head coach in program history.

“We are excited to welcome Erica Demers to our family,” Cunningham said. “She’s one of the best young soccer coaches in the country and a true rising star in the profession. She’s competitive and a relationship builder. She’s the perfect fit to lead our program and we look forward to her taking our program to the next level as we transition to the Big 12.”

Demers ushers in the new era after elevating the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to unrivaled success during six seasons as head coach.

Demers was honored as the 2022 Conference USA Coach of the Year following a 9-4-5 overall and 6-1-3 Conference USA record that featured a program-best 10-match unbeaten streak. The Blazers had a league-best six student-athletes named to All-Conference teams and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in Asha Zuniga.

During her time in Birmingham, Demers coached the Blazers to 23 All-Conference selections, 16 conference All-Academic honorees and an overall record of 50-38-19.

“I’m excited and honored to lead the University of Cincinnati women’s soccer program,” Demers said. “Cincinnati has a phenomenal soccer community and one of the top athletic departments across the entire country. I’m looking forward to getting started in early January to start competing for championships and developing the next great student-athletes on and off the field.”

Hired on May 22, 2017, Demers orchestrated one of the best turnarounds in the NCAA in her first season at the helm by increasing the team’s win total by nine games and leading the Blazers to their most wins since 2004.

Prior to her tenure with the Blazers, Demers spent 12 seasons on Dave Dilanni’s staff at Iowa and Grand Valley State. She helped lead Iowa to 29 victories, coached three All-Big Ten performers and 31 Big Ten All-Academic selections in three seasons.

At Grand Valley State, she helped guide the Lakers to three NCAA Division II national titles, nine GLIAC championships and nine NCAA regional championships. She spent her final two seasons as associate head coach of the program.

Demers started her coaching career at The Citadel, where she served one season as a graduate assistant.

As a student-athlete, Demers led Oakland to four-straight Mid-Continent Conference titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection and was named Conference Player of the Year in 2002.

Demers competed for the Canadian U-21 National Team and was part of the 2000 Canadian National Championship Team. In 1997-98, she played for the National Training Centre team and was a member of the Ontario Provincial Team for five seasons.

The Welland, Ontario, Canada native graduated from Oakland with a Bachelor of Health Science in 2004 and earned her Master’s in Education while at Grand Valley State in 2009.