Declan Doherty - Women's Soccer Coach - University of Louisville Athletic

Declan Doherty

Title:
Performance Analyst

Declan Doherty is in his third season as a performance analyst for the Louisville women’s soccer program.

AT LOUISVILLE

In 2020-21, Emina Ekic was named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC, while Gabby Kouzelos was named Third Team All-ACC. It marked the first time that a Louisville player has earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Ekic was selected by Racing Louisville FC with the fifth pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, becoming the first UofL player to be selected in the NWSL Draft.

In 2019, Doherty helped the Cardinals finish fourth in the ACC with a record of 5-3-2, and made their sixth NCAA Championship appearance with an overall record of 13-5-2. The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.

The Cardinals had three players earn All-ACC honors in 2019. Emina Ekic was named a first team All-ACC selection for the second straight year and her third straight year of earning All-ACC honors. Redshirt junior Gabby Kouzelos was named a second team All-ACC selection while senior Brooklynn Rivers earned third team All-ACC honors for the second straight year. Ekic was named a second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches association for the second straight year.

PRIOR TO LOUISVILLE

Doherty came to Louisville after spending three seasons with the University of Evansville as an assistant coach and graduate assistant. While with the Purple Aces, Doherty helped guide the team to a 2016 MVC Championship game appearance and a 2018 MVC Semifinals Championship appearance.

Prior to his stint at Evansville, Doherty spent one season at the University of Buffalo, helping the team post an 8-7-4 overall record, which marked the first winning season for UB since 2008.

Doherty, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, also spent one season as the head coach and marketing director for the New York branch of Global Premier Soccer, an organization that is comprised of 18 clubs around the country. In his time with GPS, he coached three teams, guiding two of them to league championships.

In that time, Doherty also assisted at Lancaster High School and served as the head coach of a junior varsity side that posted a 15-0-1 record.

Before moving to America, Doherty was the head coach of the Ulster University Jordanstown women's team in his native country, leading the squad to a 7-3-1 overall record and a National League championship in 2013. After that, he moved on to an assistant role with the Queens University Belfast men's team, helping the squad post a 19-5-6 record in the process.

Doherty, who also played for the Rosario Youth Football Club before pursuing a coaching career, graduated from Ulster Jordanstown in 2013 with a degree in sport and exercise science. Most recently he earned his Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Evansville in 2018. He is currently working on a Master’s degree in sports administration at the University of Louisville.