Entering his fifth season at Monmouth in the fall of 2020, Nick Rizzo is the fourth head coach in the 24-year history of the Fighting Scots women’s soccer program, taking the reins in January of 2016.
Rizzo’s impact on the team and the Midwest Conference has been immediate as the league’s coaches voted him the 2017 Coach of the Year after guiding the Scots to their first postseason tournament in four years. The squad finished second at the 2017 league tournament, the team’s highest finish since a runner up performance in 2013. Monmouth’s 11 wins in 2017 was just one victory shy of the program record, set in 2013. The team threatened the win record again in 2018, posting a nine-win campaign.
In 2019 Rizzo was again voted the league's Coach of the Year, guiding the Scots to their first MWC Tournament title and NCAA berth. The squad also had two players - Kara-Jade Gordon and Jacie Rees - named All-Region, only the second time in program history two Scots were so honored.
Under his guidance, the Scots produced back-to-back Midwest Conference Newcomer of the Year honorees when Devin Cross earned the honor in 2017, a year after Kara-Jade Gordon earned the distinction in Rizzo’s first season. The 2017 campaign also saw two Scots – Cross and Gordon – earn all-league honors, the team’s first multi-award season since 2013. Gordon – who was named All-Region in 2017 – became the Scots’ fourth four-time all-conference honoree when she was voted to the first team in 2019, pushing Monmouth’s string of consecutive all-conference honorees to 18 years.
Monmouth's coach played in four NCAA Tournaments and coached in another, gaining collegiate coaching experience at a trio of schools before arriving at Monmouth. Rizzo served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at a pair of schools prior to joining the Monmouth staff.
As a student-athlete, Rizzo was a four-year starter and three-time all-conference selection at Loras College where he earned his undergraduates’ degree in education and mathematics. He completed his master’s degree in business administration at Aurora where he supervised the academic progress of the program’s student-athletes and conducted daily study sessions.
Education:
Bachelor of Science: Mathematics with an Endorsement in Education, Loras College, 2010
Masters of Business Administration with an Endorsement in Leadership, Aurora University, 2013
Coaching Career:
Monmouth College (2016-present, 41-30-5)
2016: 7-9-2
2017: 11-8-1, Midwest Conference Coach of the Year
2018: 9-8-0
2019: 14-5-2, Midwest Conference Tournament Champion, NCAA Qualifier, Midwest Conference Coach of the Year
