BOSTON – Emmanuel College Director of Athletics, Olivia Berry, announced on Monday, July 1, that women's soccer head coach
Francis Okaroh has been promoted to a full-time role, effective immediately. Okaroh will continue his head coaching duties with the women's soccer program while adding Lead of Game Day Operations to his administrative responsibilities.
In three years on the Saints sidelines, Okaroh holds an impressive 39-15-4 record, improving the program's win percentage year-over-year since taking the head coach position in 2021. He has a 30-9-2 Great Northeast Athletic Conference record and was the GNAC Coach of the Year in 2022.
"Today's announcement continues our goal as a department to have 100 percent of our coaches as full-time staff members," said Berry. "Teams directly benefit from having head coaches on campus, both athletically and academically, and Francis's commitment to his position and student-athletes made this promotion well-deserved."
Last season, Okaroh led the Saints to a program-record 18 wins, including a record 14 wins in conference play. His program also produced six GNAC All-Conference players, six College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District members, and five United Soccer Coaches (USC) All-Region 1 selections, including the first-ever USC All-First Team selection in Class of 2026's
Sarah Dullaghan.
As Game Day Coordinator, Okaroh will assist with the operations of game days on Clemente Field and Yosinoff Court, serving in a variety of areas to ensure Emmanuel home games run at an efficient rate.
"I'd first like to thank everyone who made this opportunity possible. I've been hoping this day was coming and I'm glad to be on staff as a full-time coach," said Okaroh. "Our coaching staff's commitment will only increase and the production of our student-athletes, on the field and in the classroom, will reach even higher levels as we continue to work toward our goals for this season and beyond."
The women's soccer season gets underway on Aug. 30, with the Saints traveling to Husson for a 3:00 p.m. match. Home events at Emmanuel begin on Sept. 1 with men's soccer hosting Rhode Island College.
