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Nick O'Shea

Position: Head Coach Experience: 17th Season Alma Mater: Oakland, '06

Nick O'Shea will begin his 18th season in charge of the Oakland women's soccer in 2011. The only coach in program history, the highly-successful O'Shea has averaged more than 10 wins a season and holds a .627 career winning percentage. His record at Oakland stands at 191-110-19.

Coach O'Shea and the Golden Grizzlies are coming off another successful season. In 2010 the team won The Summit League regular season title for a league-leading seventh time and finished the season with an unbeaten league record for the fourth time in O'Shea's tenure. The team's efforts earned O'Shea recognition as The Summit League Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. O'Shea has also earned Great

During his time at Oakland, O'Shea has led his team to seven regular season titles and six Summit League Tournament titles. In total his team has one either the regular season or tournament title in 10 of the 12 seasons that the league has sponsored the sport of women's soccer. That includes a run of four consecutive Summit League Tournament titles from 2001-2003.

The Golden Grizzlies have made five NCAA Tournament appearances under O'Shea, but has not won an NCAA Tournament match. The team has played close with some of the best in the nation with three of the five NCAA matches decided by just a single goal.

The Golden Grizzlies' last NCAA Tournament appearance came in the 2007 season when OU defeated Western Illinois 3-1 in The Summit League Championship Match. The Golden Grizzlies have advanced to the tournament's championhsip match in eight of the past 11 seasons.

Nick O'Shea was named Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year by the NSCAA in 2001. His team swept the regular season title with a perfect 5-0 record and then went on to win the league tournament match to earn Oakland's first NCAA appearance, where the team battled a talented Cincinnati team before eventually losing 3-2.

O'Shea guided Oakland to the regular season title in 1999, the team's first season as a member of The Summit League, however the team was not eligible for postseason play. The following year, the Golden Grizzlies repeated at league co-champions and also won the league tournament in their first time eligible. At that time, the league did not have an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to coming to Oakland, O'Shea was the head women's coach at Schoolcraft Community College and coached at Livonia Churchill High School. He led Schoolcraft to the National Junior College Athletic Association title in 1987, where he was named NJCAA Coach of the Year, and to a pair of third-place finishes. Livonia Churchill advanced to the MHSAA Class A state finals three times under O'Shea.

O'Shea played collegiate soccer at OU in 1982 and 1983. In both seasons the Pioneers advanced to the NCAA Division II semifinals. An All-Region player in 1983, O'Shea came to Oakland after two seasons at Schoolcraft, where he earned second team NJCAA All-America laurels. After college he played professionally with the Kalamazoo Kangaroos and the Toledo Pride of the indoor AISA, and the Tulsa Tornado and Oklahoma City Stampede of the outdoor USL from 1984-1987.

O'Shea graduated from Oakland with a bachelor's degree in general studies with a minor in communication, is a holder of a United States Soccer Federation "A" License. He is the recipient of the prestigious Ron Wigg award for service and dedication to the Region 2 Girls Olympic Development Program. O'Shea resides in Rochester Hills with his wife Leslie-ann and their three children, Ashlyn, Sydney and Rylee. In the spring of 2008, O'Shea was inducted into the Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor for his accomplishments as a player at OU.