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Entering her 14th season at the helm of the Boston University women's soccer team, head coach Nancy Feldman has transformed the program from club-level to a squad that is consistently competing against the nation's top squads. BU is now a dominant team in the America East and has established itself as one of the Northeast region's elite programs. In the last eight seasons, the Terriers have won five America East championships, lost a total of just nine conference games and won the only two NCAA tournament games for the league in that span. Feldman is currently 18th among coaches both active and inactive in terms of career winning percentage (.697) and 17th all-time in wins (252). Feldman's success is as consistent as it is impressive. Her Terrier teams have won at least 10 regular-season games in 11 of 13 years, and have won at least seven conference games in seven of the last 11 years. Hired in March 1995 as the University's first women's soccer coach, Feldman inherited a Terrier team that had recently been elevated to varsity status. Through her first 13 years, she has guided BU to a 160-81-25 record, including a remarkable 79-17-8 mark in league play. The Terriers have advanced to the NCAA tournament six times under Feldman and have moved on to the second round on two occasions. In 2006, the Terriers earned their first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, after compiling a 13-4-2 regular-season record. During the regular season, BU had arguably its biggest win in program history when it took down then-No. 3 Santa Clara, 1-0, in California. In 2007, the Terriers reclaimed the championship crown with a 2-1 victory over host-school New Hampshire, earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAAs, where they faced fourth-seeded Wake Forest. While the squad dropped a 2-1 decision to the Atlantic Coast Conference foe, it marked the team's third consecutive appearance in the postseason tourney. At season's end, BU boasted the America East's Goalkeeper and Defender of the Year in Christina Reuter and Casey Brown, respectively. In addition midfielder Marisha Schumacher-Hodge was named to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, collegiate soccer's most prestigious honor. In 2005, BU defeated 13th-ranked Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., in the NCAA first round, and nearly took out Boston College for the chance to advance to the Sweet 16. Feldman led BU to its third unbeaten season in America East play, and was named Coach of the Year for the fifth time (1997, 2000, 2001, 2003). In addition to the team's success, a number of Terriers have received individual recognition under Feldman's guidance. Deidre Enos, the Terriers' all-time leader in goals and points became the first BU women's soccer player to earn All-America honors (2000) and she was voted the University's Female Athlete of the Year. Enos went on to spend a year with the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA, becoming the first America East player to play in the professional women's soccer league. In 2003, Melissa Shulman, who was only a sophomore at the time, helped lead the Terriers to the America East Conference Championship and earned NSCAA All-America honors. In 2004, Brittany McDonald was named the Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year, while Brooke Bingham was voted the league's Midfielder of the Year. The following year, Meghann Cook was named the America East Striker of the Year, as well as second-team All-America, and nine Terrier players earned all-conference status. Feldman enters the 2008 season with an overall collegiate coaching mark of 252-100-33 (.697 winning percentage) in 20 years as a collegiate coach. In 1997, she was named the NEWISA Division I Coach of the Year, and in 2001, she was voted the Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the NSCAA. Prior to arriving at Boston University, she was the head coach at Plymouth (N.H.) State for five years. Her teams twice won the New England Regional Championship, and compiled an overall record of 75-9-7. Feldman was named the New England Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1993, and received the NEWISA/Brine Service Award in 1993. In addition to her soccer responsibilities at Plymouth, Feldman was also the senior women's administrator and the women's basketball coach. She was responsible for helping oversee budget and scheduling for 17 sports. On the basketball court, her teams were 68-44 and in 1990 and 1991 she was named the Little East Conference Coach of the Year. During her final year at PSC, Feldman guided the soccer team to a 15-1-2 mark and the basketball team to a 21-7 mark, as each team qualified for the NCAA tournament. Feldman's first head-coaching position was at Lake Forest College in Illinois. She directed the program to a two-year mark of 17-10-1 and the MACW Championship during the 1989 campaign. She began her coaching career in 1986 at Smith College, where she served as an assistant coach. The following year she moved to the University of Massachusetts where, as a graduate assistant coach, she helped lead the team to the NCAA Division I finals. Feldman's stature in the coaching profession is evidenced by the leadership roles she holds on several important national committees. She has served as the National Chairperson of the NSCAA All-America Committee (`89-95), and with the NCAA Regional Selection Committee (`92-95). She is the holder of an USSF "B" License, and has received her Advanced National Diploma from the NSCAA. Currently, Feldman is a coach in the Region I Olympic Development Program, is on the staff for the NSCAA National Coaching Academy and is a board member for City Kicks, which is a non-profit soccer program for inner-city minority middle-school girls. A native of Needham, Mass., Feldman received her bachelor's degree in public health from UMass in 1983 and her master's in exercise and sport studies from Smith College in 1988. |
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