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Head Coach Adel Heder
E-mail Coach
Heder
Adel Heder is in his
seventh season as the head coach of the IUP women’s soccer team, having
brought the program to the upper echelons of the PSAC and Northeast
Region during his tenure.
Last year marked another first in
the history of the IUP women's soccer program when the Crimson Hawks won
their first ever NCAA tournament game, defeating New Haven, 3-1, in the
Northeast Region semifinals.
IUP finished with an overall record
of 15-7 and won its second straight PSAC West title with a 9-1 mark in
the division. The Crimson Hawks finished the season ranked No. 15
in the country in the National Soccer Coaches Association poll and Heder
was chosen the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the third time and the
Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the second time.
Under Heder's direction, freshman
Sarah Romasco was named the PSAC West Player and Rookie of the Year and
a total of nine IUP players earned spots on the all-conference team.
Five Crimson Hawks were on the All-Northeast Region squad.
Over the past three seasons, IUP
has a record of 47-15-1 and Heder's record in his first six seasons at
the helm is 78-34-4.
In 2005, IUP won the PSAC West title with an 8-1-1 record in the
division and finished 13-4-1 overall. The team was ranked in the
national Top 25 for the majority of the season, reaching as high as No.
8. The season included a school record nine-game winning streak.
The
previous year, IUP won a school record 19 games against only four
losses, captured its first PSAC championship in a decade and earned a
first ever bid to the NCAA tournament.
The third seed in
the PSAC West, IUP pulled off 1-0 road victories over Lock Haven and
Slippery Rock to set up a home date against Kutztown in the conference
championship game. IUP posted a 3-2 win over the Golden Bears to reign atop the PSAC
for the first time since 1995.
In addition to his PSAC West Coach
of the Year award last season, Heder received top honors in the
conference in 2001 and earned the award in the
Western Division in 2004. Heder was also the Northeast Region Coach of the
Year in 2001.
Heder was hired by
IUP in August 2001 and immediately made his mark on the program. The
team went 12-4-1 that season and qualified for the PSAC tournament.
After an injury plagued 2002 campaign, IUP rebounded to go 13-6 in 2003
before embarking on its record breaking 2004 season.
Prior to coming to
IUP, Heder ran the soccer program and served as boy’s varsity coach at
Kiski Area High School from 1987 until he left to join the collegiate
ranks. During his stint at Kiski, Heder led the team to a WPIAL Class
AAA Top Ten ranking in 1996, and he was selected Section V Coach of the
Year in both 1993 and 1996.
In addition to his
work at Kiski, Heder was the head coach of the Pennsylvania West Olympic
Development program and the head coach and coordinator of the state
select Pittsburgh Strikers Soccer Club. In the latter capacity, he
developed under-18, under-16 and under-13 squads and helped direct the
team to several local, statewide and regional championships.
Heder holds “A” and
“B” national coaching licenses from the United States Soccer
Federation. He is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America, the United States Soccer Federation and the Western
Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.
Heder is a 1976
graduate of the University of Baghdad with a bachelor of science degree
in physical education. He earned his master’s degree in health and
physical education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1984.
Heder
and his wife Jackie are the parents of daughters Crystal, who played on
the IUP soccer team from 2003-06, and Viann, who will be a freshman for
the Crimson Hawks this fall. Crystal finished her career ranked
second in school history in goals (42), assists (28) and points (112)
while playing in a record 80 games.
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