Jim O’Brien begins his third season as the head coach of the Fairfield University women’s soccer team. In his first two campaigns the Stags have taken strides towards returning to the top echelon of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and are once again among the premier programs of the Northeast Region.
O’Brien begins his third season having posted a 19-14-7
record with the Stags. Now in his 11th season as a head
coach, O’Brien is 124-70-15.
The O'Brien era started with a bang in 2005 as the Stags returned to NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999. Fairfield posted 10-7-3 record on the year and revenged three regular season losses in the MAAC Tournament to become the first-ever five-seed to win the conference tournament. With that trophy in hand, the sixth in program history, the Stags earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2006 season saw O’Brien lead the Stags back to the MAAC Tournament for the second time. The Stags went 9-7-4 on the season, earning regional rankings several times during the season.
Players have received numerous personal accolades under
O’Brien’s tutelage. Brett Maron was named to the
NSCAA Third Team All-Northeast Region, after being named the MAAC
Defensive Player of the Year. Casey Frobey was named the MAAC
Defensive Player of the Year, as well as being named to the
SoccerBuzz Northeast Region All-Freshman team. In
O’Brien’s two seasons nine players have been named to
All-MAAC teams, six earning first team distinction. The Stags
have had six players named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team in the last
two years, in addition to 22 players earning MAAC All-Academic Team
accolades.
O’Brien’s first head-coaching job came at his alma
mater, Southern Connecticut State University, where he began the
women's soccer program. During his nine-year tenure with the Owls,
O'Brien compiled a 105-56-8 record. He led the Owls two a pair of
ECAC Tournament appearances, and NCAA Tournament berth, and opened
the 2001 seasons ranked seventh in the nation in Division II.
Following a 2000 season that saw SCSU win the Northeast-10
Conference and obtain a No. 7 national ranking, O'Brien received
the Northeast 10-Conference Coach of the Year award. He was also
named the New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Associations'
Division II Coach of the Year, as well as the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America's Coach of the Year for Senior
College Women - Division II, New England Region.
The Mineola, N.Y., native began his collegiate playing career at
Suffolk Community College before finishing his eligibility at SCSU.
O'Brien was the Owls' starting goalkeeper for two seasons,
compiling a 35-7-1 record, including 17 shutouts, and leading his
team to an NCAA semifinal appearance in 1981 and a trip to the
title game in 1982.
His first collegiate coaching job was with the Owls men's program,
where he served as an assistant coach from 1992-96.
O'Brien obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in corporate
communications from SCSU. He resides in New Haven, Conn., with his
wife Francine, and their three children, Corey, 21, a senior at
Connecticut, Julia, 15, a sophomore in high school, and Aedan, 12,
in middle school.
