Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Head Coach
Erwin van Bennekom enters his sixth season at the helm of the Indiana women’s soccer program in the Fall of 2024.
In his fifth season, van Bennekom led the Hoosiers to their best season since 2013 after they made their first NCAA appearance in a decade with an at-large bid and made their third appearance in the B1G Tournament in the last five seasons. IU achieved a 12-4-4 overall record passing the 2021 record and went 6-2-2 in the Big Ten for their best conference finish (20 points) in program history along with their highest RPI since the 2021 season.
He led them to five appearances in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this season, earning the team’s highest ranking of 17th in week six of the polls.
Offensive leader Paige Webber was named All-Big Ten First Team alongside Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, Jamie Gerstenberg. They were the first duo to earn first team honors in the same season. Gerstenberg earned the Hoosiers first Goalkeeper award in program history after she set the career and single season shutout records. Freshman defender Piper Coffield rounded out the awards as she was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman team. Van Bennekom coaches two NCAA Player of the Week recipients, seven Big Ten Weekly Award nominees, the most in a single season, and four named to the TDS Midseason Top-100 Lists.
In 2022, Indiana earned nine shutouts as the Hoosiers set a program record of 788 minutes for the longest streak without conceding a goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg was named to the All-Big Ten Third team after being named to the Freshman Team last season. Van Bennekom coached Gerstenberg to six shutouts where she held a GAA of .77 and made 52 saves.
Van Bennekom’s third season at Indiana University led the Hoosiers to a 9-5-4 record in 2021, posting their most overall wins and their highest RPI since 2013.
In van Bennekom’s second season with the reins, he led the Hoosiers to their best season since 2013 with a 6-5-1 record. Indiana tied its record for most program wins with six and recorded the most points in Big Ten Conference play. The Hoosiers placed fifth in the Big Ten for their highest finish since the 2013 season. The Hoosiers were just outside an at large bid selection due to the smaller field of the NCAA Tournament allowing only 48 teams. Junior Oliwia Wos and freshman Anna Aehling were named to All-Big Ten Second Team. Aehling also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman team. Indiana collected wins against Rutgers, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan.
After the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hoosiers saw their best finish since 2013 with a 6-4-1 record in conference play in the 2020-21 season. IU set a program record for most points with 19. Indiana advanced to the semifinals round of the Big Ten Regional Tournament after their quarterfinal matchup was deemed a no contest. Indiana also received their first ranking since 2013 after coming in No. 24 in the United Coaches Poll.
Van Bennekom was named head coach on Dec. 4, 2018. And went 8-9-2 on the year and advanced to the program’s 14th appearance in the Big Ten Tournament in his first season at the helm. Allison Jorden was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, Avery Lockwood was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team and Hanna Németh was tabbed as a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree. Bethany Kopel shutout nine opponents in 2019, setting the new program record for most shutouts in a career with 16.
At Duke
At Duke, van Bennekom was an instrumental part of the program’s best four-year cycle in school history, boasting a record of 68-17-11 with a 29-6-5 conference mark. Duke excelled in the postseason with van Bennekom’s guidance, posting a 13-3-2 NCAA mark and advancing to the Third Round or further in every season.
The Blue Devils twice advanced to the Women’s College Cup during van Bennekom’s tenure, including a 2015 appearance in the National Championship game. In 2016, Duke went 15-5-3 and advanced to the Elite Eight before returning to the College Cup in 2017, as the Blue Devils posted the best record in school history at 23-2-1 with an ACC Regular Season title. This past season, Duke went 16-4-2 with an 8-1-1 ACC mark and advanced to the Round of 16.
A native of the Netherlands, van Bennekom coached 17 All-ACC selections, four ACC Players of the Year, six All-Americans, four MAC Hermann semi-finalists and nine NWSL draft picks at Duke. In addition, the Blue Devil coaching staff was named the 2017 United Soccer Coaches National and Regional Coaching Staff of the Year after their record-breaking campaign.
At Alabama
Van Bennekom came to Duke after one season as an assistant coach with Alabama, where he helped lead the Tide to a 10-7-3 record, a four-win improvement over the previous season.
NWSL
Prior to and following his stint at Alabama, van Bennekom served as the assistant coach in the professional ranks for the NWSL’s Sky Blue FC. There, he led Sky Blue FC to a 2013 NWSL Semi-finalist finish with a 10-6-6 record, a program best. During his time there, he coached United States National Team and Olympic gold medalists Christie Rampone, Kelly O’Hara and Jillian Loyden.
NJIT
Van Bennekom’s college soccer coaching career began at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he spent three seasons as an assistant coach. He also served as the director of girl’s coaching for STA Soccer Club, based out of Morristown, N.J., in 2013.
From 2010-13, van Bennekom was the head coach for several teams in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, including the Jersey Blues (Sky Blue FC reserve team), which he led to an impressive 16-1-1 record. He has also coached the Real New Jersey SC Power, NJ Elite `95 and STA Magic, all top-ranked club teams in the country.
Personal
Van Bennekom began his coaching career after an impressive playing that saw him compete in a variety of semi-professional leagues in the United States from 2006-09. He also played in the first division of the National Futsal League in Holland from 2002-04. Growing up, van Bennekom was a member of Holland’s youth academy system.
A 2004 graduate of De Haagse Hogeschool with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management, van Bennekom holds a US Soccer USSF A & B license, UEFA B & C diploma from the KNVB and is currently working towards his UEFA A license.
