Fairfield University head women's soccer coach Jim O'Brien is the featured speaker at the annual News 12 CT/Webster Bank Scholar Athlete Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening. The event, which will be held at Chatham Manor in Norwalk, Conn., honors local high school student-athletes for their successes.  He joins the likes of Tommy John, a 288 game winner with six major league franchises, and current manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish, as a speaker at the banquet.

"I am honored to speak at this wonderful event," said O'Brien, who is set to begin his fifth season at the helm of the Stags, "which honors the best and brightest of our area.  These young men and women have shown the ability to succeed on the field, while also taking care of business in the classroom.  It is truly a testament to their work ethic and dedication that they are able to succeed in both avenues, and deserve to be recognized in for all of their hard work."

O'Brien is no stranger to the sports world in Connecticut, since stepping on the field as a goal keeper for the Southern Connecticut State University men's soccer team in 1981.  He led the Owls to back-to-back Final Four appearances at the NCAA Tournament, finishing as runners-up in 1982.  He posted an impressive 35-7-1 record in goal in those two years, with 17 career shutouts.

A native of Bohemia, N.Y., O'Brien began his coaching career with the Owls in 1992, as an assistant coach with the men's team.  He was named the first head coach of the SCSU women's soccer team in 1996, a post he held for nine seasons, compiling a 105-56-8 record. 

In his first season at Fairfield, 2005, O'Brien led the Stags to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament title, revenging three regular season losses and becoming the first five-seed in conference history to win the tournament crown, and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.  O'Brien led the Stags back to the NCAA Tournament this past season, with a 15-5-3 record. 

O'Brien was recongizned by his peers for this successful season, being named the NSCAA/adidas Northeast Region Coach of the Year, along with Colin Carmichael (Oklahoma State), Randy Waldrum (Notre Dame), Kelly Cagle (Virginia Tech), Anson Dorrance (North Carolina) and Paul Ratcliffe (Stanford).  He is also one of just a few collegiate coaches to win the award at two levels, having been named the 2000 New England Region Coach of the Year as his Owls finished the season ranked seventh in the nation.

In his four seasons with the Stags, nearly 40 players have been named to the All-MAAC Academic Team, highlighted by Ahna Johnson (Hamden, Conn.) who earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America First Team accolades, as selected by CoSida.  Johnson also became the first Stag to earn NSCAA/adidas All-America honors.