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2012 Stags Soccer 5
nationally ranked teams during the season, and finish with 11 wins, the
most wins in a year since 2001. O'Brien's second season, 2006, result-
ed in a nine-win campaign, and recognition from the NSCAA, as the
Stags returned to the regional rankings for multiple weeks.
The 2009 Stags posted a 9-9-3 mark and for the fifth time in as many
seasons qualified for the MAAC Championship. The Stags went 4-2-3 in
conference action on the year and finished the year in third place. Once
again, individual accolades abounded for Fairfield, at both the confer-
ence and regional level. The squad picked up 14 awards at the annual
MAAC Championship banquet; highlighted by three first-team selections
and seven All-Academic Team nods.
Along with the success as a team, the Stags have had numerous play-
ers receive individual recognition under O'Brien's tutelage. Johnson
became the most decorated Stag in program history in 2008-09, earn-
ing NSCAA/adidas All-America Third Team and MAAC Offensive Player of
the Year on the field. While off the field, she became the first Stag soc-
cer player to earn ESPN The Magazine CoSida First Team Academic All-
America and NSCAA/adidas First Team Scholar All-America, while also
being named the MAAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
All told, O'Brien has now coached 35 All-MAAC performers, with 20
being voted to the league's First Team. He has now had 13 freshmen
named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team, including Casey Frobey (2006) and
Nicole Cavallaro (2007) who were both named the MAAC Rookie of the
Year. In 2007 Cavallaro was selected a Freshman All-America, just the
second player in program history to earn that accolade.
O'Brien coached Stags have earned 66 All-MAAC Academic Team hon-
ors, including a league-best dozen selections in 2011. The Stags have
also earned academic recognition both nationally and regionally. In
2008 Ahna Johnson was named an NSCAA Scholar-Athlete First Team
All-America, adding to her All-Northeast Region First Team honors that
season and honorable mention the season before. That same 2007
season, Alex Caram became the first player in program history to earn
NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-Northeast Region First Team honors. Spenser
Allaway was recognized for her success as a student-athlete, earning
ESPN The Magazine Second-Team All-District accolades in 2009.
On the field regional accolades have been a yearly event for the Stags
as well during the O'Brien regime. Jasmin Corniel was tabbed a Second-
Team All-Region player following the 2010 season, after Johnson picked
up First-Team honors in 2008 and Caram in 2007. Brett Maron earned
NSCAA Third Team All-Northeast Region in 2006, after being named the
MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. That same season, Casey Frobey
was named to the SoccerBuzz Northeast Region All-Freshman Team.
Success was no stranger to O'Brien when he took over the women's soc-
cer program at Fairfield prior to the 2005 season after nine seasons as
the head coach of his alma mater's program. The founding coach of the
women's program at Southern Connecticut State University, O'Brien
posted a 105-56-8 record during his tenure. The Owls earned an NCAA
Tournament berth, twice appeared in the ECAC Tournament and were
ranked as high as seventh in the nation in Division II.
O'Brien was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year in
2000 for leading the Owls to a final national ranking of seventh and an
NE-10 crown. That season he was also named the NSCAA Senior
College Women - Division II New England Region Coach of the Year, as
well as being selected as the New England Women's Intercollegiate
Soccer Associations Division II Coach of the Year.
The Bohemia, N.Y., native, played scholastically at St. John the Baptist,
before beginning his collegiate career at Suffolk Community College.
O'Brien moved onto SCSU where he was the starting goalkeeper for two
seasons. He posted a 35-7-1 record, including 17 shutouts, while lead-
ing the team to the 1982 NCAA Championship game, after a 1981 NCAA
semifinal appearance.
It was with the Owls men's team that O'Brien began his coaching career,
serving as an assistant coach from 1992-96. He obtained a Bachelor
of Science degree from SCSU in corporate communications and recent-
ly earned his master's degree in recreation from the New Haven, Conn.
institution.
O'Brien and his wife Francine have three children, Corey, a graduate of
UConn, Julia, a junior at Fairfield, and Aedan, a high school senior, and
reside in North Haven, Conn.
Meet theStaff
Year School
Overall
Conference Notes
1996 SCSU 3-9-0
1997 SCSU 10-7-2
1998 SCSU 11-7-1
1999 SCSU 15-5-1
2000 SCSU 19-2-0
14-0-0 NE-10 NCAA
2001 SCSU 14-5-1
11-2-1 NE-10
2002 SCSU 9-7-1
7-6-1 NE-10
2003 SCSU 12-7-1
8-6-0 NE-10
2004 SCSU 12-7-1
8-6-1 NE-10
2005 Fairfield 10-7-3
4-3-2 MAAC NCAA
2006 Fairfield 9-7-4
5-2-2 MAAC
2007 Fairfield 11-7-3
6-1-2 MAAC
2008 Fairfield 15-5-3
7-2-0 MAAC NCAA
2009 Fairfield 9-9-3
4-2-3 MAAC
2010 Fairfield 8-9-3
4-3-2 MAAC
2011 Fairfield 6-6-7
4-2-3 MAAC
16 years
173-106-34 82-35-17
O’Brien Year-by-Year