LAKELAND, Fla. – Making his return to the Sunshine State, Gerry Lucey has been named the sixth head coach of the Florida Southern College women's soccer program announced by Director of Athletics & Dean of Wellness Drew Howard. Lucey was most recently an associate head coach at Division I Hofstra University for the last four years.
"We are thrilled to welcome Gerry Lucey as our women's soccer coach," said Howard. "He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to continue to elevate our women's soccer program. We look forward to the continued success of the team with the addition of Lucey to our staff."
Lucey has 23 years of college coaching experience, including 12 years as a head coach. Most recently, Lucey was the associate head coach at Hofstra University since 2019, after spending a year as the head coach at Dixie State University in 2018. The trip to Hofstra was his second stint with the program after spending 2017 as the assistant coach.
"I am incredibly honored and humbled to be the next coach of the Florida Southern women's soccer program," said Lucey. "I would like to take the opportunity to thank Drew Howard, Jill Stephens, and the rest of the search committee for their warmth in making me feel at home from the first moment I stepped on campus. Every person I met on campus had wonderful things to say about the college itself and the supportive community. The success of the athletic program through the years is evident and I would like to build upon an amazing season last year."
Before his time at Hofstra, Lucey was a Hall of Fame head coach at the University of Tampa, winning the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship. Lucey holds the most wins in program history at Tampa with 114 wins. He has 15 NCAA tournament berths on his resume, 10 conference tournament titles, and nine regular season titles. The Dublin, Ireland native has eight Coaching Staff of the Year awards, including the SSC Coach of the Year and three CAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Collegiately, Lucey played for Long island University – CW Post from 1991-93, becoming the team's all-time leading scorer, a record later broken in 2013. Lucey, however, still holds the record for single-season assists with 20. He was named an NSCAA All-American in 1993 after earning All-Region nods from 1990-92. Lucey spent the 1990 season at NYIT, earning NYCAC Rookie of the Year, before transferring to Post.
Outside of collegiate play, Lucey played semi-professionally for the New York Greek American Atlas (1992-97) and professionally for the New Jersey Imperials of the United States International Soccer League (1995-97), earning USISL All-Star recognition in 1996. He spent 1997 with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of the MLS before spending 1998 to 2001 with the Long Island Rough Riders, becoming an A-League All-Star in 2000.
Lucey received his bachelor's degree in business management in 1994 and a master's in international marketing in 2001, both from LIU- CW Post.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS FROM COACH LUCEY
"During the interview process, I was drawn to the passion each staff member had for their programs or department and their love for the city of Lakeland. I have spent 10 years coaching in the SSC and fully understand how strong this conference is and where we need to be to compete for titles each year. Academically, FSC offers student-athletes a great opportunity to gain a wonderful education.
I'd be remiss not to mention the support of Hofstra University Head Coach, Simon Riddiough, who has helped mold and guide me into a better coach during my time at Hofstra University. I've had an incredible journey with Simon (Riddiough), Kelsey Hauser, and the players for five seasons and been fortunate to have coached so many outstanding student-athletes. I'll certainly miss the laughs but look forward to creating a similar culture and environment in Lakeland. I'd also like to thank Long Island Soccer Club, club Director Meghan Frey and all the players who have also been very supportive through the past few seasons.
My family and I are very excited about the move back to Florida and a new beginning with Florida Southern. I will be working extremely hard to make FSC into one of the top programs in the nation."
