Villanova hires Campbell University’s Samar Azem as women’s soccer head coach

VILLANOVA, PA. – Villanova University Vice President & Director of Athletics Mark Jackson announced the hiring of Samar Azem as the head coach of the Wildcats women’s soccer program.

Azem was identified during a national search that attracted many highly qualified candidates and she is set to become the eighth head coach in program history.

She replaces Chris McLain, who resigned in October after leading the Villanova program for five seasons.

“First, I want to thank a great group of teammates from across our department and some key women’s soccer alumnae who helped lead a search process that involved a lot of time, energy and dedication. A special thanks to our President, Father Peter Donohue, who also offered his support at every turn,” said Jackson. “We examined a number of established head coaches from across the country and Samar continuously rose to the top of our list. Beyond her proven soccer acumen, recruiting success and commitment to academic achievement, what stood out about Samar went well beyond soccer. At every point in her career she has built deep, meaningful and inspiring relationships with the women she has coached and the people she has worked with and we look forward to her making the same positive impact on the Villanova women’s soccer program, as well as, our overarching community.”

“I am humbled and excited for the opportunity to serve Villanova University, the women’s soccer players, and the community. I would like to thank University President Father Peter Donohue and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson, for their confidence in me and the opportunity to lead the women’s soccer program at Villanova University,” said Azem. “I also want to express my gratitude to Omar Banks, Hannah Bazemore, and my players at Campbell University for an incredible journey. Villanova University is rich in tradition and represents excellence at the highest level both academically and athletically, which is extremely important to me. I am excited to meet and get to know our team, our alumni, and our community.  I can’t wait to get started serving, teaching, and guiding our players as we build on and elevate our traditions of success.”

Azem comes to Villanova after serving as head coach at Campbell University for the past five seasons where she guided the Camels to a 50-30-8 record. This past year, Azem led Campbell to a 12-4-2 overall record, a 9-1-0 Big South mark and a trip to the conference championship game. Prior to becoming head coach, Azem was a member of the Campbell staff as an assistant for one year and the Associate Head Coach for two seasons.

During the COVID-19 delayed and shortened 2020-21 schedule, Azem led Campbell to an 8-4-1 overall record and 6-2-1 Big South mark and its first Big South Championship since 1993. By winning the conference title, Campbell garnered an NCAA Tournament berth for the second time in program history. Campbell earned a No. 22 national ranking and had a program record four players named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams. The Camels also had a program best seven All-Conference honorees. For her efforts, Azem was the 2020-21 Big South Conference Coach of the Year.

Throughout her Campbell career, Azem has helped the Camels become one of the top offensive teams in the country. For the past three years, Campbell has ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, including ranking eighth this past year, ninth in 2020 and 10^th in 2019. Over the past three seasons, Campbell has outscored its opponents by a 126-53 margin.

Azem has also guided numerous players to individual honors. Highlighting this list is Alexa Genas who was the program’s first-ever two-time Big South Attack Player of the Year, earning the honor in 2017 and 2019. During the 2020-21 season, Jessica Donald was named a Top Drawer Soccer Top 100 performer, while Cazzi Norgren was a Top Drawer Top 100 Freshmen honoree. Donald was also the program’s first Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2021.

Azem began her head coaching career at Division II Anderson University from 2011-13 where she tallied a 21-24-9 overall record, including a 12-10-7 record in South Atlantic Conference play. During the 2011 season, Anderson advanced to the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament for the first time in program history. Azem also led her team to a No. 8 ranking in the Southeast Region in 2011.

Her eight-year overall head coaching record stands at 71-54-17.

She also has had assistant coaching stops at Brevard College, Mercer University and Presbyterian University.

As a player, Azem was a standout goalkeeper at Campbell. In 2004, she helped the Camels win both the A-Sun regular season and tournament championships. Throughout her collegiate career, Azem also earned A-Sun All-Academic recognition and the program’s Coaches Award in 2005 and 2006.

A native of Jos, Nigeria, Azem graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in broadcasting and a minor in Psychology from Campbell in 2007 and she earned her Master’s Degree in education from Mercer in 2010.