The Women’s Premier Soccer League’s (WPSL) New York Athletic Club (NYAC) has announced the appointment of Kim Wyant as Head Coach of its women’s soccer team.
Wyant is a distinguished soccer goalkeeper and was the first goalkeeper in the history of the United States Women’s National Team, appearing in its inaugural August 1985 match in Italy. Wyant has earned 16 caps and recorded the first-ever win and shut-out (July 1986 2-0 vs Canada) for coach Anson Dorrance’s squad.
In 2008, Wyant received the Special Recognition Award from the National Soccer Hall of Fame for her contributions to the US Women’s National Team.
“I am honored to represent the New York Athletic Club, to have the opportunity to work closely with so many dedicated athletes and the opportunity to match up against the outstanding teams we will meet in WPSL and in US National Cup competition this summer. The ladies are already working hard to prepare and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” says Wyant.
NYAC Soccer Sporting Director Charles Spingler is enthusiastic about what Wyant brings to the program “Kim is a pioneer of women’s soccer and with her teammates, Michelle Akers among them, put the US WNT on the map.” Springler believes Wyant possesses recruiting, leadership and organizational abilities that will be a great asset to the club and has a background that is rarely equaled.
“Watch Wyant with the NYAC players and you’ll instantly see her deep knowledge is respected by everyone. The team leaders believe in her and have confidence in what the NYAC will accomplish on the field this year,” says Springler.
As a professional player, Wyant played for the Long Island Lady Riders of the W-League for nine years, ending her career as the squad’s all-time leader in minutes played in goal (8,636) and second in games played (99). She helped lead the Lady Riders to W-League Championships in 1995 and 1997, as well as to a victory over the Brazilian Women’s National Team in 1999. Wyant won W-League Goalkeeper of the Year honors in four consecutive seasons (1995-98), was honored as the Most Valuable Player of the 1997 Championship Series and was twice named an All-Star.
Wyant was named General Manger of the Lady Riders after her playing career ended. Under her direction, the team twice received Organization of the Year honors. During the 2002 season, she served as Lady Riders’ interim head coach, leading the team to the playoffs and an 11-1-1 overall record. In 2004, she was inducted into the United Soccer League’s Hall of Fame.
Spingler has high hopes for the NYAC Women, “We have a special group and all at NYAC are looking forward to the start of the 2012 season. It will be great to see Kim work closely with Tat’s (2011 1st team ALL WPSL & England Youth National Team GK Tatiana Saunders) and I expect that she’ll continue to develop into one of the finest young goal keepers in the world.”
Wyant has also served on the Region I U.S. National Team’s goalkeeping staff, as a FIFA staff coach and as the head coach for the Long Island Girls’ Select Program.
In addition, Wyant also has significant coaching experience at the collegiate level. She was the head coach of the Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer program from 1995-98, the head coach of Dowling College from 2003-06, and she has been an Assistant Coach of New York University Women’s Soccer since 2011.
A 1986 graduate of the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, Wyant had a stellar four-year career for the Knights. As a freshman, she was named the team’s Rookie of the Year and started at goalkeeper in the first-ever NCAA Women’s National Championship Game. Though UCF lost 0-2 to the University of North Carolina, Kim was named the Most Valuable Player of the National Championship Tournament. She was a First Team All-American as a senior, and was inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
A native of Miami, FL, Kim resides in New York on Long Island, she is a licensed U.S. soccer coach and holds a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National Diploma. She is the founder of Above-All Goalkeeping camps.
NYAC Men’s & Women’s Soccer plays in the NPSL and WPSL, respectively, in addition to competing for the US National Cup each summer. The NYAC women’s Soccer has won the National Cup in 2007 and 2010.
WPSL Commissioner Jerry Zanelli says, “The NYAC has been a long time member of the WPSL. It has been great to watch the team grow and we look forward to a highly competitive 2012 season.”
