2015 MAAC Coach Of The Year

Head Coach Brendan Lawler is in his 13th year at the helm of the Manhattan Women's Soccer team and has led the Jaspers to two MAAC Championship game appearances over the last five years.

In the 2021 campaign, Lawler guided the Green and White to five wins in the first six contests of the season. The Jasper defense posted three clean sheets throughout the year, with two of them coming in that five match win streak. 

Lawler has rejuvenated the Jaspers' program through strong local recruiting in the tri-state area and is the winningest coach in school history.

This past season, the Green & White qualified for the MAAC Women's Soccer Championship as the No 5 seed before dropping a heartbreaker in the quarterfinal round.

Two years ago, Arianna Montefusco earned her second All-MAAC Second Team honor after pacing the squad in scoring with eight goals and 18 points.

In 2017, Erica Modena became the first student-athlete in program history to be named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year after ranking second in the MAAC with 11 goals and 29 points.

Lawler also oversaw a potent Jasper offense that finished second in the MAAC with 39 goals en route to registering double-figures in wins for the second time in his eight-year tenure.

Thanks in large part to the offense, Manhattan finished second in the league with 20 points (6-2-2) before advancing to the finals of the MAAC Tournament.

Modena earned his fourth career All-MAAC honor to go along with a pair of All-Tournament honors and finished up her time in Riverdale second in program history with 34 goals and 82 points. 

Emma Saul, Montefusco and Sydney Harwood all joined Modena with All-MAAC recognition with the trio earning second team honors. Harwood also was named to the MAAC All-Rookie team along with Bri DeLeo and Gemma Perez as the Jaspers had six student-athletes recognized.

In 2015, Lawler led Manhattan to arguably the finest season in school history as the Jaspers advanced to the MAAC finals for the first time in program history. Manhattan also scored a school-record 21 points (6-1-3) while securing a program-best second-place finish and were led by MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year Kristen Skonieczny and Defensive Player of the Year Jenny Bitzer.

Skonieczny went 10-4-3 while pacing the MAAC in save percentage (.875), shutouts (9) and GAA (0.70) while also earning Academic All-American honors a year ago. Thanks to her big senior season, Skonieczny graduated as the program's all-time leader in wins (24), shutouts (17) and GAA (1.02).

Bitzer paced a defense that allowed a MAAC-low 14 goals on the year, including just three during league play, while helping register 11 shutouts. She also earned All-MAAC Second Team honors before also earning them as a senior. No slouch in the classroom, Bitzer graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA and was one of 30 nominees for the prestigious Senior Class award.

Modena and Nicole Copping joined Skonieczny on the All-MAAC First Team. A byproduct of the team and individual success was that Lawler garnered MAAC Coach of the Year accolades.

Modena ranked second in the MAAC and 28th nationally with 13 goals, which were the most by a Manhattan student-athlete since 1998 and the third-best in school history. 

In 2014, Lawler guided Manhattan to its first winning non-conference record since 2009 en route to finishing up with an overall record of 8-8-2. Under his watch, Aislinn McIlvenny broke out in a big way, finishing with a league-leading six game-winning goals en route to finishing second in the circuit in both goals (10) and points (24).

Additionally, McIlvenny earned First Team All-MAAC Honors, was named a Senior Class Finalist and was voted to the Capital One Academic All-District ® College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Third Team. 

Joining McIlvenny with All-MAAC recognition were Nicole Aylmer and Emily Center, who were each named to the All-Rookie Team. 

Manhattan continued its progression in 2013, increasing their win total from the previous season, while reaching the quarterfinals of the MAAC Championships with McIlvenny notching her second-straight All-MAAC Second Team accolade.

In 2012, the Jaspers improved their win total as four student-athletes were honored with postseason accolades from the MAAC. Kara Davis and McIlvenny were named to the All-MAAC second team while Taylor Salkowsky and Emily Ude gained spots on the All-Rookie Team.

Manhattan has excelled academically during Lawler's tenure in Riverdale mentoring 80 MAAC All-Academic Team honorees. The Jaspers have also been recognized in 2011 and 2012 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with a Team Academic Award.

Lawler came to Riverdale from Marist where he served as an assistant for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The Newburgh, NY, native was responsible for assisting with the coordination of training sessions, recruiting student-athletes and scouting opponents. During his time with the Red Foxes, Lawler mentored a goalkeeping unit which recorded eight shutouts and he helped develop four All-MAAC Rookie Team selections in his two seasons. Lawler also worked with the Marist men's soccer team's goalkeepers in 2009.

Prior to his stint in Poughkeepsie, Lawler was at Army West Point for three years, working primarily with the goalkeepers and defensive. In 2007 the Black Knights posted their highest win total in more than 10 years.

Lawler has been a member of the goalkeeping coaching staff for the United States Soccer Federation Region I Olympic Development Program since 2007. Working within the Town of Wallkill Soccer Club in Middletown, NY for five years, Lawler was the head coach of the girl's under-18 Red Devils premier team. Since 2005, Lawler also served as a girls Olympic Development Program head coach within Eastern New York Youth Soccer.

At the high school level, Lawler was the head girls varsity coach at Pine Bush from 2003-2005, leading the program to the school's first-ever Section IX Championship in his last season.

Lawler played Division I soccer and graduated cum laude from Saint Peter's, earning a degree in political science with minors in secondary education and history in 2002. 

Lawler holds a United States Soccer Federation A License and a NSCAA advanced national goalkeeping diploma with distinguished pass and serves as a coach for the organization's Goalkeeping Academy.