Stanford Athletics

Oige Kennedy, a two-time NCAA Division II national champion head coach at Fort Lewis College, is in his fourth season on staff at Stanford and second as the program’s associate head coach.
 
Working mainly with the Cardinal’s keepers, Kennedy’s first three years on The Farm have been immensely successful and included a pair of NCAA titles (2016, 2017) and Pac-12 crowns each season.
 
From 2015-18 Stanford was able to put together an NCAA-record, 14-match postseason shutout streak that eventually reached 1,428:09. The Cardinal also engineered a nine-match shutout streak across the regular and postseasons in 2017 and 2018, the eighth-longest stretch in NCAA history.
 
In 2017, Nico Corti put together the best statistical season for a goalkeeper in Stanford men's soccer history. He finished second in the country in both goals against average (0.386) and solo shutouts (14), set Pac-12 records in both categories, a school record in goals against average and tied the school record in solo shutouts.
 
A year prior, Andrew Epstein made two consecutive penalty kick saves in the College Cup final against Wake Forest to lead the Cardinal to its second straight national championship. That season, Epstein was named the College Cup's Defensive Most Outstanding Player, a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American, CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and finished seventh in the country in goals against average (0.571).
 
Corti (0.00) and Epstein (0.34) are first and second in NCAA history in career postseason goals against average and just the fifth and sixth keepers in college soccer history to go through an entire postseason without allowing a single goal.
 
Stanford’s 0.382 goals against average in 2017 set a Pac-12 record and was significantly better than the previous mark of 0.52 from UCLA in 2003. The Cardinal conceded only nine goals that season, a school-record low, and tied another program record with 16 total shutouts, last achieved in 2000.
 
In 67 matches the past three seasons, Stanford has posted a 0.52 goals against average with 41 shutouts.
 
Kennedy, who amassed a 102-37-9 overall record in seven seasons leading the Skyhawks, won national championships in 2009 and 2011 and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) regular-season and postseason crowns those same seasons.
 
He first arrived at Fort Lewis in 2006 when he was hired as an assistant on Jeremy Gunn’s staff in Durango, Colorado. The Skyhawks went 21-2-1 that season and were national runners-up. Gunn left after the season to take over at Charlotte while Kennedy remained to work under Tim Hankinson in 2007-08, winning 33 more games and advancing to the NCAA Division II postseason both years.
 
Kennedy took the reins of Fort Lewis’ program in 2009 and continued the powerhouse’s push forward. Hired as interim head coach just weeks before his team was to report for preseason training, he became the first coach in NCAA history to guide a men’s soccer team to a national championship in his first year of collegiate coaching.
 
The Skyhawks started the year 3-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of Incarnate Word. Rebounding in emphatic fashion, FLC reeled off 21 straight wins to claim its second national championship in five years.
 
Kennedy duplicated the feat in 2011, as his team went 24-1 and added NCAA Division II, RMAC regular season, and RMAC championship trophies to their treasure chest.
 
In seven seasons at FLC, Kennedy complied a 102-37-9 overall record (.720) and was 65-25-5 (.718) in RMAC play. His teams were a perfect 10-0-0 in the NCAA playoffs and 12-4-2 in the RMAC tournament. In January 2012, he became the second Fort Lewis head man to be named NSCAA Division II Coach of the Year. Gunn earned the accolade in 2005 after guiding the Skyhawks to their first national crown.
 
Prior to coming to Fort Lewis, Kennedy played four years as a professional in Europe. He played several seasons for Ireland’s national youth teams. He also captained the Irish University team for two years.
 
His coaching experience includes work with the Manchester United Soccer School and Bobby Charlton Soccer School for six years. Kennedy, who hails from Dublin, Ireland, earned his bachelor’s degree in sport science from University College Dublin and a computer science diploma from Dublin Institute of Technology.