NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. -- Niagara Associate Vice President for Athletics Simon Gray has announced the hiring of former Purple Eagle assistant coach Donny George as the seventh head coach in women's soccer program history.
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"We are thrilled to welcome Donny back to Niagara," said Gray. "He was instrumental in a successful era for women's soccer, and we are confident in his ability to return the program to that stature. Most importantly, Donny is a relationship builder who is focused on developing student-athletes in their academic, service, and competitive ventures."
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George has spent the last two seasons as the head coach at St. Bonaventure, where he mentored seven CSC Academic All-District and two Atlantic-10 All-Academic honorees.
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"I am incredibly honored to return to Niagara University as the head coach of the women's soccer program," commented George. "Niagara is a place I've coached at before, a place I truly love, and I am humbled by the opportunity to lead this program forward. I look forward to building on the tradition of excellence and working with our student-athletes to achieve great things on and off the field."
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Prior to taking leadership of the Bonnies, George spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as an assistant for the Purple Eagles.
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While on Monteagle Ridge, he helped guide Niagara to the top of the MAAC as the Purple Eagles recorded a 24-12-2 total record, including a 13-6-1 mark in conference play during that span.
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In 2021, George aided NU to a 13-4-1 record and reached the MAAC quarterfinals while logging an eight-game winning streak that was the longest for the program in over 15 years. The team followed with an 11-8-1 record in 2022 that included a program record 637-minute shutout streak and the program's first trip to the MAAC title game since 2009.
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George was instrumental in the development of 11 All-MAAC selections, including 2021 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Florence Vaillancourt during his time with the Purple and White.
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The native of Ipswich, England, began his coaching career at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla., where he recorded a mark of 27-9-3 in two seasons while setting school records for wins, goals in a season, and district finish.
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George then returned to his alma mater, Baker, this time in a coaching role, where he worked with the men's soccer team for two extremely successful seasons, including back-to-back trips to the NAIA national tournament.
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In 2018, Baker won 16 games and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the NAIA national Top 25. The team followed with 13 wins and a final ranking of No. 10 in the national polls the next season.
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George holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in sports management from Baker University. He currently holds a USSF-C license as well as a Premier Diploma from United Soccer Coaches.
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