Sunny Gelnovatch was named the new head coach of the Lock Haven women’s soccer team on Dec. 21, 2022 and will guide the program into the 2023 season (*first season). 

A former NCAA Division III All-American at Messiah University, Gelnovatch most recently coached at the University of Alabama in Huntsville as the first assistant coach of the women’s soccer team after she was hired in April of 2022. She has also served as the head club coach of the AYSO United 2013/14 Girls Navy Team since May.

Previously, Gelnovatch plied her trade in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) as a graduate assistant coach for the Bloomsburg University women’s team during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Gelnovatch earned a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Messiah University in 2020 and received her master’s degree in Educational Leadership and College Student Affairs in 2022 while serving as a graduate assistant with the Bloomsburg Huskies.

As a coach, Gelnovatch was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) 30 Under 30 Class of 2022-23, and helped lead Bloomsburg to a PSAC Championship in 2021. During the 2022 season at Alabama in Huntsville, she helped guide eight players to Academic All-District honors and one to a USC All-Region award.

Also in 2021, Gelnovatch helped the Huskies’ Natalie Holmes earn All-American honors during their PSAC Championship season.

An accomplished student-athlete at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Gelnovatch led the Falcons to the Division III National Championship game twice, winning it in 2019. Gelnovatch was named a First-Team All-American in 2019, a four-time Mid-Atlantic Conference First-Team player, and was named to the USC First-Team All-Region three times during her decorated career.