HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Hofstra University women’s head coach Simon Riddiough Monday announced the appointment of Gerry Lucey to the position of associate head coach.

Lucey is in his second stint on the Hofstra women’s soccer staff after serving as a volunteer assistant from January 2017 to January 2018 before taking the head coaching position at Dixie State University in Utah.

“I am truly excited to welcome Gerry back to our program,” Riddiough said. “We are incredibly fortunate to have such a talented coach like Gerry on our staff. Our student-athletes are going to learn and develop even more under his tutelage.”

In his one season at Dixie State, a Division II school that will transition to Division I in 2020, Lucey directed his team to a 13-6 record and set school marks with 11 shutouts and a 0.53 goals-against average. The Trailblazers finished fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and placed six players on the All-RMAC team including the conference freshman of the year. Dixie State was ranked sixth in the final NCAA South Central Region Poll.

Lucey, the all-time leader in assists as a player at LIU Post, has head coaching experience with three other Division II programs (LIU Post, West Chester and Tampa), posting a 166-54-19 record in his 11 seasons as a head coach. He boasts an NCAA Division II National Championship, eight NCAA tournament appearances, 3 NCAA regional Championships, 4 regular-season conference championships and 5 conference tournament championships. Lucey has coached 10 United Soccer Coaches All-Americans, 53 All-Region Selections and 86 all-conference selections. His teams have finished with a Top 25 ranking 9 times, including one No. 1 ranking.

After spending 2004 to 2006 as an assistant coach at Tampa, Lucey took the helm from 2007 to 2015, leading the Spartans to six Division II Tournament appearances, including a national championship in his first season. Under Lucey’s tutelage, the Spartans were Sunshine State Conference champions in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2010.

Between stints at Tampa, Lucey served as the head coach at West Chester from 2006-07, with the Golden Rams earning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships and advancing to the NCAA Division II Final Four.

From 1999 to 2001 he served as the head women’s soccer coach at his alma mater, LIU Post, after spending 1994-1999 as an assistant coach for Post’s men’s and women’s programs. He led the Pioneers to NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999 and to New York Collegiate Athletic Conference championships in three straight seasons from 1998 to 2000.Lucey played for 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.

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 all-star recognition in 1996. He spent 1997 with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars before spending 1998-2001 with the Long Island Rough Riders, becoming an A-League all-star in 2000.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Lucey received a bachelor’s degree in business management in 1994 and a master’s in international marketing in 2001, both from Post.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.