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Carl Nolan
Carl Nolan was named head coach of the NDC men's soccer program in 2016. He will be entering his eighth season at the helm of the program in 2023.
Nolan has been with the program since 2004. Previously serving as an assistant coach, he was promoted to associate head coach in 2009.
Since Nolan took over the program, the Falcons have been honored with many awards. Leonardo Paiva was named All-American by the Conference Commissioner's Association in 2017, and he was given All-American status by the D2CCA and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2016. Daniele De Angelis was named Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2018 and 2019. Following the 2022 season, Taylor Dyson was named All-American by both the Conference Commissioner's Association and United Soccer Coaches. Pedro Alves was named Second Team Academic All-American and Dyson took Third Team Academic All-American.
Since 2016, Notre Dame has occupied twenty-six spots on an All-Atlantic Region Team by either the D2CCA or the United Soccer Coaches, with Paiva (2016) and Arthur Favero (2018) being named Atlantic Region Player of the Year. In 2018 and 2019, De Angelis and Paolo Termine were named Academic All-District Team First Team and the Scholar All-North/Central Regional Team.
Notre Dame has never had less than six players named to the All-MEC/All-Freshman teams since 2016. Paiva won MEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, while Favero won it in 2018. Also in 2018, Nicholas Felician was named MEC Freshman of the Year. Reece Daly earned a spot on the MEC All-Tournament team in 2016 and 2017 while Lewis Norvock was named to the team in 2018 and 2019. Norvock was joined by De Angelis and Termine in 2019. Antonio Bittencourt took home MEC Defensive Player of the Year and MEC Freshman of the Year.
In 2016, the Falcons won 10 games and eight conference games in Nolan's first year as head coach. They fell to Urbana in the first round of the MEC Tournament.
In 2017, the Falcons won 11 games and again won eight conference games. In the conference tournament, the Falcons held the No. 1 University of Charleston scoreless through regulation and overtime. The scoreless contest went to penalty kicks, where UC won 5-4.
Notre Dame increased their win total again in Nolan's third season at the helm, in 2018. NDC won 14 games, including 11 conference games. The Falcons fell to West Chester in the NCAA Tournament. Their 2018 win total was the most for the program since 2013 when that squad won 15 games, 11 conference games, and went to the NCAA Tournament. The 2018 team also had nine home wins, which was the most since the program won nine home events in 2011. The Falcons' goalkeeper Daniele De Angelis, paired with a great defense, had 12 shutouts and a .632 shutout percentage, which ranked fourth in the nation. They also ranked 12th in NCAA-II with a .667 goals against average, giving up just 13 on the year.
The Falcons broke a program record with 12 MEC wins in 2019. That win total represents the program's highest number of conference victories in any season and in any conference. The team also put together a 7-0-2 home record, going undefeated at home for the first time since 2011 and for the first time on Mueller Field. In the MEC Tournament, Notre Dame defeated West Virginia Wesleyan to advance to the MEC Championship game for the first time in Nolan's tenure as head coach.
Notre Dame won seven games, including five shutouts, in a shortened 2020 season, played in the spring of 2021. They defeated No. 11 Davis & Elkins, 2-1, in the MEC Semifinals and advanced to the MEC Championship game for the second consecutive season.
In 2022, the Falcons put together a 16-win season, which was the most by a team led by Nolan and tied for the fourth most wins in a season in program history. They put together an eight-game winning streak from Sept. 11 to Oct. 5. On Oct. 5, NDC defeated No. 1 ranked Davis & Elkins, 4-0. In the MEC Tournament, Notre Dame defeated West Liberty (5-1) and advanced past No. 12 Davis & Elkins in penalty kicks to get to the conference finals. The team qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament for the first time since 2018 and won a game in the tournament for the first time since 2012, by defeating Saint Rose, 2-1 in overtime. In program career rankings, the Falcons ranked tied for second with 54 assists, third with 11 shutouts, fifth with 174 points.
Nolan is a 2002 graduate of the University of Rio Grande, where he played as a midfielder and defender from 1998 to 2002. In his collegiate career, his team amassed an overall record of 68-15-1 on their way to achieving three American Mideast Conference championships, one runner-up title and a 2001 National Final Four finish. He received an AMC conference team selection, All-Region IX selection and was an NAIA All-America nominee.
He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Rio Grande.
Before coaching at Notre Dame College, Coach Nolan was an assistant coach at Urbana, where he earned a masters degree in Education.
Nolan hails from Chorley, England. He currently resides in Kirtland, Ohio with his wife Angela, daughter Charlotte and son Liam.
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