Tim O’Donohue enters his 10th season as the head coach of Navy’s men’s soccer program in 2025, producing 37 All-Patriot League selections and eight major award winners in his time leading the Midshipmen.
O’Donohue currently has the 116th-highest all-time NCAA winning percentage across all divisions at .688 (222-87-51). On the list of NCAA all-time winningest head coaches, O’Donohue’s winning percentage is 14th-best among active NCAA Division I head coaches and 51st overall across all divisions.
Just the sixth head coach in the 104-year history of the Navy men’s soccer program, O’Donohue spent five seasons (2011-2015) as the associate head coach at the University of Connecticut and 10 seasons (2001-10) as the head coach at Division III Stevens Institute of Technology prior to arriving at Navy.
Under O’Donohue in 2024, Charlie Kriel and Pierce Holbrook both garnered All-Patriot League Second Team honors to close out their careers and were joined by A.J. Schuetz on the all-league squad. Kriel and Holbrook added to their career accolades when Kriel was named a CSC Third-Team Academic All-American and Holbrook signed a professional contract with the Philadelphia Union II, with the goalkeeper debuting for the MLS Next Pro team in June 2025.
Statistically, the 2024 Mids were the fourth-least penalized team in the nation at 8.38 fouls per game, while Holbrook finished 15th nationally with 4.69 saves per game.
The 2023 campaign featured O’Donohue leading the Mids to a 3-2-4 league mark, clinching a spot in the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons. The Sept. 19 win at Marist also marked O’Donohue’s 50th overall victory at Navy, while the team’s 6-0 win over Howard on Sept. 2 was the most goals by Navy in a game in nearly 30 years.
Individually, O’Donohue oversaw four All-Patriot League performers, highlighted by David Jackson being named the league’s Midfielder of the Year for the second-straight season. Jackson also became the first Navy player under O’Donohue to be named an All-American, garnering College Soccer News Third-Team All-America honors.
A storybook 2022 season was capped by Navy claiming its first Patriot League title and NCAA Tournament berth under O’Donohue, as the Mids posted a 7-5-9 overall record and a 3-1-5 mark to earn their second-consecutive trip to the league tournament. Tallying three straight postseason shutouts to advance to and win the Patriot League Championship game, Navy then traveled to Georgetown in the NCAA First Round, where the Mids were able to keep even with the Hoyas until the second half.
Key to the 2022 team’s success was the defensive effort of the Mids, as the .793 team save percentage ranked second in the league and 17th nationally while a 0.895 team goals against average finished 29th in the NCAA. O’Donohue’s squad also played a disciplined game, tallying the fourth-fewest yellow cards in the nation (19) and averaging 9.19 fouls per game to rank ninth-best in the country.
Individually, David Jackson became the first Navy player to win Patriot League Midfielder of the Year and joined JD Wagner on the All-Patriot League First Team, highlighting the Mids’ four all-league selections. Jackson and Wagner both earned All-Atlantic Region and All-ECAC honors as well, while Patriot League Tournament MVP Zach Wagner led a contingent of four Navy players named to the league’s all-tournament team.
During the 2021 season, O’Donohue led the Mids to a 12-6-1 record while going 5-4-0 in the Patriot League, earning the Mids their second Patriot League Tournament berth in the last three seasons. Additionally, Navy earned its first victory in the league tournament since the 2013 season, a 1-0 win over Lehigh, earning a berth to the tournament semifinals. Navy opened the season with a six-game unbeaten streak that included winning five-straight contests, before ultimately starting another winning streak that resulted in coming away with four-straight victories.
The Mids proved to be one of the top offensive teams in the Patriot League, scoring 33 goals, their most since scoring 37 in 2013. Additionally, Navy produced one of the top-defensive efforts in the country, tallying 10 shutouts along with allowing an average of just 1.05 goals per game.
Matt Nocita and Jacob Williams were named the 2021 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, respectively, as Nocita became the first Patriot League men’s soccer player to earn the award three times in their career. Navy produced eight All-Patriot League selections, tied for the most in program history, along with being the third-straight season the Mids had tallied seven or more all-league honorees. To round out the 2021 season accolades, Nocita was selected seventh overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls, making the senior standout the highest-drafted player in program history along with being the highest-drafted men’s soccer player in Patriot League history.
During the 2020-21 season, O’Donohue guided the Mids to a record of 4-2-1 overall while going 3-1-1 in the Patriot League, as Navy finished tied for second in the Patriot League South Division. Navy started the season with four-straight wins, which started with a road win over North Carolina State, 2-1, while the Mids also won an exhibition match over defending national runner-up Virginia on the road, 3-2.
O’Donohue coached the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in David Jackson, the second time in three years the Mids produced the league’s top rookie, while Matt Nocita was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Overall, Navy produced seven All-Patriot Leaguers during the 2020-21 season, tying for second-most in program history and the Mids’ second-straight season with seven all-league picks. Navy also produced four United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region selections, which marked the first time in program history Navy had four all-region selections in back-to-back seasons.
In 2019, O’Donohue paced Navy to one of its best seasons in program history as the Mids finished 12-4-1, tied for the third-most victories in program single-season history. Navy also finished third in the Patriot League standings with a 5-3-1 mark and the Mids hosted a Patriot League Tournament game for the first time since 2013.
O’Donohue guided Navy to its longest winning streak in program history since its 1964 national championship season, as Navy captured 15-straight wins over the end of the 2018 season and the start of the 2019 campaign. The Mids’ 11-0-0 start in 2019 was the program’s best since 1964 when Navy went 15-0-0 en route to the national title.
Throughout the 2019 season, O’Donohue helped Navy post a top-five mark in shutout percentage (.588) and goals-against average (.574), with both ranking fourth in the country. Navy also ranked eighth in save percentage at .818 and ninth in shot accuracy with a mark of .484.
O’Donohue also coached the 2019 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in Matt Nocita and totaled seven All-Patriot Leaguers, the second-most in the league. Nocita and Jacob Williams were named to the First Team, Wyatt Millard, Tyler Collins and Ian Bramblett all earned second-team nods while Diego Manrique and Nicko West were third-team honorees. Navy also set a program record with five United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region selections.
During the 2018 season, O’Donohue coached Navy to a fifth-place finish in the Patriot League regular season standings after going 4-5-0 in league play. The Mids finished the season with a record of 5-11-1 overall following a four-game winning streak to end the year. Over the final four games of the regular season, Navy outscored the opposition 9-2 and notched a pair of shutouts.
O’Donohue coached the 2018 Patriot League Rookie of the Year in Jacob Williams and coached Third Team All-Patriot League pick Matt Nocita. Williams finished second in the league with 0.50 goals per game and was fourth with 1.00 points per game, while Nocita was the only player for the Mids to play all 1,557 minutes on the season. Additionally, Navy was one of the least penalized teams in the country during the 2018 season as it ranked first in the Patriot League and eighth in NCAA Division I with an average of just 9.06 fouls per game.
In his second season at Navy in 2017, the Mids battled rival Army to a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Army-Navy Cup VI in front of 8,143 fans in Chester, Pa., making the star match the third-highest attended college men’s soccer game in 2017. As a team, Navy ranked first in the Patriot League and eighth in the NCAA in saves per game (5.47) in 2017, and Mac Burke ranked sixth in the country in saves per game (5.41) and eighth in total saves (92).
Despite having less than two months to prepare for Navy’s 2016 season opener when he was hired, O’Donohue’s first team battled in every contest, with 12 games in 2016 decided by one goal while four more ended in ties. The Mids were 5-9-4 overall and 1-6-2 in the Patriot League, but Navy used its home-field advantage by going 4-1-3 in games played at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in 2016. Navy also was ranked fifth in the NSCAA Northeast Region Poll on Sept. 6, 2016 after a 1-1-1 start to the season.
Brock Dudley was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team in 2016, while Sam Bascom was named to the league’s Third Team and goalkeeper Mac Burke led the Patriot League in goals-against average (1.05).
Prior to his arrival at Navy, O’Donohue spent five years at UConn on Ray Reid’s staff, and helped take the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament four times, including three straight appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals from 2011-13. The Huskies had an overall record of 68-22-21 (.707) during O’Donohue’s tenure in Storrs.
In his first season at UConn in 2011, the Huskies went 19-3-3 and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals, then followed that season with a 17-4-1 record in 2012 and another trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The Huskies made their third straight quarterfinals appearance in 2013 with a 12-3-8 mark. In his final season at UConn in 2015, O’Donohoe helped the squad to a 10-6-6 mark and an appearance in the NCAA Second Round after defeating Boston University in the first round.
O’Donohue had an overall record of 165-21-23 at Stevens and his winning percentage of .844 was the highest in NCAA Division III history when he left Stevens to serve as the associate head coach at UConn. O’Donohue took Stevens to the NCAA Tournament in nine of his 10 seasons, as the Ducks advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 six times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009) and were the national runners-up in 2008 after Messiah claimed the national title by advancing past Stevens in a penalty kick shootout. Stevens won the ECAC Championship in 2002 and O’Donohue led the Ducks to an unbeaten record of 18-0-3 in 2006.
O’Donohue led Stevens to nine conference championships during his tenure. After joining the Empire 8 in 2007, O’Donohue led Stevens to the conference championship in four straight seasons (2007-10) before departing for UConn. Prior to joining the Empire 8, the Ducks won the Skyline Conference Championship in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The Skyline Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 and the Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 2010, O’Donohue was also named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Metro Region Coach of the Year in 2003 and was a finalist for the Division III NSCAA National Coach of the Year in both 2003 and 2008. Stevens was ranked in the final NSCAA Poll in each of O’Donohue’s final eight seasons with the school.
O’Donohue coached 12 All-Americans while at Stevens with four earning first-team honors. O’Donohue also coached seven conference players of the year, 39 NSCAA All-Region performers, five CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and 77 all-conference athletes while at Stevens.
O’Donohue holds several merits from the NSCAA including a Premier Diploma and a Master Coach Diploma. He was one of the first five coaches to earn a Master Diploma at the NCAA level. He also previously served as the Region III Technical Director for the NSCAA.
O’Donohoe was a four-year starter at Muhlenberg College and helped the team to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a berth in the Final Four in 1995, with the central midfielder earning all-conference honors in 1997. He was inducted into the Muhlenberg Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 as part of the 1995 men’s soccer team. He graduated from Muhlenberg in 1998 with a degree in English.
O’Donohue and his wife, Virginia, have four children, Tadgh, Tierney, Teagan and Ruairi.
