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John McNichol
John McNichol enters his sixth season in 2023 as the head coach of the Wilkes women's soccer program as the seventh lead mentor in program history. McNichol will lead the Colonels in their move to the Landmark Conference for the 2023 season. He began serving as the Senior Compliance Office for Wilkes Athletics for the 2022-23 season and was named the Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance on July 27, 2023.
In 2021, McNichol's team advanced to the MAC Freedom semifinals with a victory in the 4/5 game. Niamh Harkins was named was named Second Team All-Region IV by the United Soccer Coaches and Emily Bidelspach was a Second Team All-MAC Freedom selection. In addition, the team earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Silver Award.
In his second season (2019), McNichol once again led the Colonels back to both the MAC Freedom and ECAC postseason tournaments. He coached four all-conference selections, including Jessica Egan and Harkins as first team members. The 2019 squad earned the United Soccer Coaches Bronze Team Ethics and Sportsmanship award as well.
In his first season (2018) McNichol led the Colonels to a 5-2-0 record in conference and to the MAC Freedom championship game for the fifth time and the ECAC semifinals for the third time in the program's 32-year history. McNichol coached five all-conference selections including first team members Nicolette Towlen, Egan and Harkins and the 2018 team earned the United Soccer Coaches Bronze Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award.
McNichol spent the previous four seasons as the head coach at Pennsylvania College of Technology. As the first full-time head coach of the team, McNichol took the Wildcats to the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament three times, including the first-ever appearance in 2015 after leading the team to a 7-3-2 record in conference play.
During his tenure at Penn College, McNichol led the team on a steady course of improvement culminating in an appearance in the NEAC championship game last season. McNichol finished with at least eight wins overall in three of his four season’s at the helm.
In addition to his team success, McNichol found individual success with his players, coaching 17 All-NEAC selections and one United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American. His student-athletes carried their success into the classroom as well, with 30 players named NEAC Scholar-Athletes with eight United Soccer Coaches All-Academic selections. Over the last four years, McNichols’ teams have held a cumulative GPA of 3.19. The 2016 team was awarded United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2016-17 school year, while the 2017 team was awarded the United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics Award, Gold Certificate, which is award to teams whose players received a low level of yellow or red cards throughout a season.
McNichol began his coaching career spending six seasons as a men’s soccer assistant coach at King’s College from 2008-2013. During his time with the Monarchs, McNichol served as the top assistant on the 2013 Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) championship team, the first championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. McNichol aided in the team’s overall success by recruiting two United Soccer Coaches All-Region players, one conference Rookie of the Year, one conference Defensive Player of the Year, and 16 All-MAC Freedom selections. The teams also achieved success in the classroom, with 27 Academic All-MAC selections, and one CoSIDA Academic All-American.
McNichol also organized multiple alumni events, including Alumni Weekend, Alumni Games, and the Alumni Golf Tournament. Community service efforts were also managed by McNichol, who helped organize the King’s College Red Card Cancer project and all other community service projects, including free camps for children aged 5-12.
McNichol also had success at the club level, coaching the Cantolao Explosion 95/96 Girls Club Team to the 2014 PA State Presidents Cup Championship, while coaching two Division I, one Division II, and five Division III athletes.
McNichol has also served on multiple committees over his career, including the NCAA Women’s Soccer Regional Advisory Committee Mid-Atlantic Region, the NEAC Women’s Soccer Committee Chair, and a NEAC Men’s and Women’s Soccer Sportsmanship Subcommittee member. McNichol also served at Division I camps at the Penn State University women’s soccer camps, Bucknell men’s soccer camps, and the University of Maryland Elite camps.
McNichol graduated from King’s in 2008 with a degree in Marketing with a minor in Business Administration, and earned his Master’s in Health Care Administration in 2010. While at King’s, McNichol was a four-year member of both the men’s soccer and baseball team. McNichol was a two-year starter on the Monarch’s soccer team and a pitcher on the baseball team, which won the MAC Freedom championship and advanced to NCAA Regionals in 2006. McNichol also had success in the classroom, being named Academic All-MAC every semester.
McNichol and his wife Debbie reside in Mountain Top and have two children, John (5) and Thomas (2).
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