Staff Report

Nicole Ross has been named head coach of the women’s soccer team at Ohio Wesleyan University, it was announced by athletics director Roger Ingles.

Ross has been serving as interim head coach at Ohio Wesleyan since Nov. 30, 2015. She was an assistant coach for the Battling Bishops during the 2014-15 seasons.

“I am both honored and delighted to be named head women’s soccer coach at Ohio Wesleyan. Bob Barnes saw great success at the helm, winning national championships in 2001 and 2002, and I am eager to work hard to continue the legacy that was created,” Ross said. “I want to thank Roger Ingles and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me with this program.”

“Nicole emerged out of an outstanding pool of candidates and became our clear-cut top choice,” Ingles said. “The commitee and staff were very impressed with her knowledge and experience, and her plan for the Ohio Wesleyan women’s soccer program. She has experience rebuilding a program and taking it to the NCAA level, great knowledge of the game, and strong support of the current team members. There is a lot of work to do to return the program to where it was 15 years ago, and we believe that she will hit the ground running.”

Ross came to Ohio Wesleyan from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where she spent 4 seasons as head coach. She led the Corsairs to 3 Little East Conference tournament appearances, and recorded the team’s first-ever conference tournament victory.

Prior to taking the UMass-Dartmouth position, Ross spent 2 seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Springfield College. She helped lead the Pride to a pair of New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference tournament championship game appearances, one NEWMAC tournament title, and an NCAA Division III playoff appearance. She continued her education by earning a master’s degree in physical education.

Ross is a 2008 graduate of Springfield, majoring in movement and sports studies. She was a 3-time all-conference selection for the Pride, also receiving NSCAA all-region honors and serving as a team captain for 2 years. She finished second on the school’s single-season points (39) list and third on the single-season goals (16) list and received the school’s Female Senior Athletic Award.

Ross is a native of Cumberland, R.I.

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OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.