Adding her services to the women's soccer staff is Shannon Colligan.  After serving as the Volunteer Director of Operations and Alumni & Community Outreach Liaison, Colligan was promoted to assistant coach in the spring of 2023.

Colligan is very familiar with Coach Nilerud, having played soccer for him at the University of Bridgeport, as well as lacrosse.  Her senior season, she helped the soccer team make it to the NCAA Elite Eight, was named to the All-East Region First Team, and was selected to the All-East Region All-Star Team.   Prior to Bridgeport, she played soccer at North Carolina State and Richmond, playing both soccer and lacrosse for the Spiders. In her junior soccer season, she finished tenth in the NCAA Division I for assists, which put her second in the Richmond Spiders' record book.

Since Bridgeport, Colligan played professional soccer in Sweden for Sandviken Dam FC in 2019, while also working for BlueStreak Sports Training for seven years, specializing in speed, strength, agility training and trained skill development for lacrosse and soccer players. She also served as the Assistant Girls Soccer Coach at New Canaan High School and the Assistant Girls Lacrosse Coach at Greenwich High School.

Before college, Colligan was a graduate of Greenwich High School, where she was a four-year varsity starter for both soccer and lacrosse. Her senior year, she was awarded GHS Female Athlete of the Year, and was nominated for the ESPN/Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year.  She was an All-American soccer player and holds the all-time goals scored record for Greenwich. She was a team captain her senior year and was a part of back-to-back FCIAC Championships in 2010 & 2011.  Colligan was also an All-State player for lacrosse, holding the all-time assists record. A two-year team captain in 2011 & 2012, the team won back-to-back State Championships with Colligan being the State Tournament MVP in 2011.

She graduated with her degree in Psychology from the University of Bridgeport in 2018.