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Dan Dolan
Dan Dolan, the longest tenured and winningest coach in the history of the Daemen women's soccer program, enters his 14th season at the helm in 2022. The veteran mentor has presided over the first regular season conference championship in program history, three trips to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Championships and, most recently, the program's ascent to NCAA Division II and the East Coast Conference.
Dolan guided the program through the uncertain times surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, Daemen managed to put together a shortened 2020 season, played during the Spring 2021 semester. Dolan led a young Wildcats squad to an even 2-2 mark, picking up his 100th career victory - a 4-0 shutout of D'Youville on April 11 - along the way.
With the team cleared to resume somewhat normal operations later that fall, Dolan led the Wildcats to a 9-6-1 record. The Wildcats returned to the ECC Championship tournament for the first time since 2018 after posting a 7-1-1 mark in conference play. It marked the program's best ECC campaign since joining the league in 2013, and a record seven players earned All-ECC honors, including freshman Alyssa Diaz who was named the ECC Rookie of the Year.
The 2019 season was Daemen's most successful overall since making the transition to NCAA Divisino II as Dolan guided the group to an 11-4-3 overall record, a 4-2-2 mark in ECC play and the program's first NCAA tournament berth. The Wildcats were awarded an at-large bid to the big dance, entering as the number eight seed in the East Regional. Although their season came to end in the opening round against top-seeded St. Rose, the tournament berth was a milestone moment for both Dolan and his program. Four players from Daemen's 2019 team were named to All-ECC teams, including senior forward Jamie Boyar who ended her career as the program's all-time leader in goals with 55.
The groundwork for success in 2019 was laid in previous seasons, including the 2018 campaign that saw the Wildcats go 8-8-1 overall and 5-4-0 in ECC play. The five conference wins were the most since Daemen joined the ECC, resulting in a fourth-place finish in the standings and their first trip to the ECC Championship tournament. Along the way, Boyar notched a program-record 20 goals and sophomore midfielder Celia de Pablo Esteban led the ECC with 14 assists. Both players went on to earn All-ECC First Team honors, the first players in team history do so.
The 2013 season ushered in a new era for the women's soccer program as Dolan guided the team through their first year as an affiliate of the East Coast Conference (ECC) after joining the league as part of the College's transition to the NCAA Division II level of competition. Dolan and the Wildcats picked up their first-ever ECC victory on Oct. 5, 2013 when they defeated St. Thomas Aquinas College 4-1 on the road.
The 2015 season was the program's most successful to date since making the transition to NCAA Division II. Dolan led the Wildcats to a team-record four ECC wins to finish in fifth place in the final league standings, just one spot back of a conference tournament berth. Dolan's squad came on late in the year, winning four of their final six contests, including a dramatic 1-0 overtime victory over Molloy College.
Prior to Daemen's transition to NCAA Division II, Dolan led the women's soccer program to success in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), making three consecutive appearances in the USCAA National Championship game from 2012-14.
The Wildcats' run to the USCAA title in 2012 was part of a magical stretch late in the season, rebounding from a 3-8 start with eight wins in the team's final nine games to finish at 11-9 overall. That stretch included three victories over NCAA Division II opponents which helped Daemen earn the No. 6 seed in the USCAA National Championships in Asheville, N.C. While there, Dolan led his team to three successive wins against higher seeds - 2-0 vs. No. 3 Penn College, 2-1 vs. No. 2 Carlow, and 1-0 in overtime vs. No. 1 Maine-Fort Kent - to capture the USCAA National Championship. Daemen's win in the title game snapped the two-time defending champs' Maine-Fort Kent's 33-game winning streak and avenged three one-goal losses against the Lady Bengals during the regular season.
In 2013, Dolan's team entered the USCAA National Championships as the No. 2 overall seed with tournament play taking part in Charleston, W.Va.. Victories over No. 10 West Virginia Tech (3-2) and No. 6 Albany Pharmacy (4-1) put the Wildcats back in the title game for the second-straight year, before falling to rival Maine-Fort Kent, 3-2 in overtime.
In 2014, Dolan's Wildcats earned the No. 3 seed for the USCAA National Championships, again held in Charleston, W.Va. Daemen knocked off No. 6 Carlow (2-0) and No. 2 SUNY-Environmental Science and Forestry (1-0) in back-to-back shutouts, setting up a third-straight title-game appearance, which once again came against the top-seeded Maine-Fort Kent Lady Bengals. For the second-straight year, the Lady Bengals came out on top, scoring a 2-0 win.
The success that the program experienced within the USCAA came on the heels of a 2011 season which was one of the dream variety for Dolan and the Wildcats as they competed for the final time in the American Mideast Conference (AMC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Dolan saw his veteran squad rattle off eight-consecutive victories during an undefeated month of October. In that span, Daemen topped AMC rivals Point Park (4-3 in double overtime), Roberts Wesleyan (4-3 in double overtime) and Houghton (1-0), the last of whom was ranked No. 15 in the NAIA national poll at the time. Also during the stretch, Dolan saw his team gain NAIA national poll votes for the first time in team history. When the dust settled on the 15-4 campaign, Dolan was named AMC Coach of the Year and he saw six of his players earn all-conference honors including AMC Player of the Year Lindsay Miller who garnered honorable mention All-American status as did teammate Samantha Engel.
In 2010, Dolan led the Wildcats to 11 wins overall, finishing the season at 11-6-1 (5-4-1 in AMC play). For the first time in school history, Daemen had multiple first team All-AMC honorees; all-in-all Dolan's squad had six players earn some type of all-conference recognition in 2010.
In 2009, two of Dolan's players were named NAIA All-America Scholar-Athletes and the team was recognized as an NAIA All-America Academic Team with a 3.12 team grade point average. The afore-mentioned Miller became only the second player in school history to earn first team All-AMC honors for women's soccer.
Dolan was named the third women's soccer coach in school history on March 6, 2009. Before joining the Daemen staff, Dolan spent one year as the lead assistant coach at Niagara University in 2008, where he helped lead them to a 12-6-1 record. Prior to coaching at Niagara, Dolan spent the previous six years as head coach of the boys' varsity soccer team at Cardinal O'Hara High School, where he also coached the girls' varsity team in 2004.
Dolan currently has his National "C" License, National Youth License from U.S. Soccer Federation, the National and Advanced National Diploma from NSCAA, English FA Psychology for Soccer - Level 1 and the NYSW Intermediate certificate. He also holds coaching experience at the Olympic Development level since 2009 and has also been with the premier club Empire Revolution Buffalo since 2004. Dolan is also the founder of Top Level Soccer, a soccer training company providing skill instruction to youth soccer players since 2005. In 2015, he accepted the head coaching position for Daemen's men's soccer program in addition to his duties with the women's program. He has also previously served the Daemen Athletic Department as the Director of Facilities, a position he held from 2012-14.
A native of North Tonawanda, N.Y., Dolan is single and now resides in Amherst.
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