PURCHASE, N.Y. – After more than 12 years as a member of the Manhattanville College family, serving nine seasons as the head coach of the Valiants' women's soccer team, Graham Kennett has announced his retirement from the position, effective Friday, June 30.

"It has been a pleasure to work with Graham for the past 12 years," said Julene Caulfield, Manhattanville's Associate Vice President of Athletics and Recreation. "His contributions to the Valiant Athletic Department have stretched far beyond the soccer field. While we will certainly miss him on the sidelines and in the office, I wish him well in his retirement."

Kennett had a home on the sideline of GoValiants.com Field since 2011 when he first stepped on campus as an assistant coach under Matt Paton. After three years working alongside the winningest coach in program history, Kennett took the reigns of the women's soccer program from Paton ahead of the 2014 season as he was appointed head coach just two weeks before kickoff of the season opener.

Across his eight seasons as head coach, Kennett racked up 45 wins, the second-most by a coach in program history. His 136 matches serving as head coach also ranks second in program history.

Under Kennett's leadership, the Valiants had 13 student-athletes named All-Conference selections across his tenure. After having four players earn MAC Freedom All-Conference distinction across his first five seasons, Kennett developed nine All-Conference selections upon the team's return to the Skyline Conference in 2019.

The 2019 season would also showcase Kennett's first postseason appearance as the Valiants made a conference tournament for the first time in nine years. Manhattanville went 11-10 in their first season back in the Skyline, their winningest season since 2009, as Kennett coached the team to wins against Saint Joseph's Long Island and Mount Saint Mary to advance all the way to the Skyline Conference Tournament Finals. The 2019 run was the first of three-consecutive postseason berths for the Valiants under Kennett, with the team also earning a win in the First Round of the 2022 Conference Tournament, once again besting Saint Joseph's Long Island.

In 2021, Kennett was selected as the Skyline Conference's Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Valiants to a 10-4-2 overall record, going 8-1-1 in conference play. Manhattanville shined defensively that season, not yielding a single goal across the team's first six conference matches. The Valiants secured the No. 2 seed for the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament, their highest seed in Kennett's tenure, while sending six to the All-Conference Teams.

Kennett had previously spent more than a decade coaching high school soccer at Byram Hills prior to coming to Manhattanville. He helped develop the varsity boys' team into a New York powerhouse as an assistant coach as the team went 98-8-5 across a five year span that saw five league titles, four section titles, and appearance in three New York State Final Fours. Kennett was named the National High School Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2010.

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