Now in his seventh season as Head Coach of the Youngstown State women's soccer program is Will Lemke.
Lemke has done a remarkable job turning around a program that had won just 14 games in the nine seasons prior to his arrival. He has guided the program to 29 victories since 2009, including a program-best eight in 2012 and 19 wins in the last three seasons.
Over the last six seasons, Lemke has led the program to more wins than in the in previous 11 years combined.
Lemke, who owns a career record of 113-119-18, joined YSU after a successful tenure at NAIA Viterbo University where he won more than 80 games and was the winningest coach in the school’s history.
During his tenure at YSU, Lemke has coached coached eight all-league performers and five all-newcomer/all-freshman team selections.
Last season, the Penguins recorded seven wins, the second-most in school history, and went unbeaten at home (6-0-2) for the first time in school history. The Penguins defeated 2014 Horizon League preseason favorite Milwaukee, 3-2, in double overtime and tied Big Ten member Purdue, 1-1, at Farmers National Bank Field.
The Penguins also reached the Horizon League quarterfinals for the third straight season in 2014.
The program posted one of the best offensive seasons in school history scoring 65 total points, which ranked tied for third in school history. The Penguins scored 23 goals, by 11 different players, and had 19 assists. The 23 goals ranked tied for third on the single-season list while the 19 assists are the fourth-most in a single year.
Brittany Tenis and Kathy Baquero were named to the All-Horizon League First-Team and Second-Team, respectively, becoming the sixth and seventh players since 2011 to earn postseason accolades from the league.
Tenis, a midfielder, scored two of her three goals in a 2-1 win over Cleveland State, including the game-winner with just 2:29 left in regulation. Baquero, who led the team with six goals, scored the game-winner against Milwaukee in double-overtime to secure a 3-2 win.
Marissa Martin, a defender, was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team and became the became the fifth YSU player in the last five years to earn all-newcomer/all-freshman honors.
Chelsey Haney, who scored three goals and had five assists, moved into fourth place on the career scoring list with 32 points, third all-time with 10 assists and tied for seventh with 11 career goals.
Jackie Podolsky set the all-times wins record with 14 and set the career goals-against average with 1.30. Podolsky, who posted five wins with 62 saves, also moved into seventh place all-time with 176 career saves.
Katie Hohmann, who scored two goals with three assists, moved into second all-time with 11 career assists and ranks tied for 10th with 21 career points.
In 2013, the program moved across the street and played its inaugural season Farmers National Bank Field. It marked the first time in school history that the Guins have a home of their own. The Penguins won four games for just the fourth time since 1999 during the campaign. Three of those have come under his direction.
Seniors Brittany Dowd and Allison Ludwig each earned All-Horizon League Second-Team accolades, marking the fifth and sixth different players to earn postseason honors since 2012.
Chelsey Haney led the team in scoring for the second straight season with three goals and two assists for eight total points.
Junior Cara Armstrong tied for the team lead with three goals and had six points. Ludwig posted two goals and two assists in her final season.
In 2012, Lemke guided the Penguins to the most wins in the program's history with an overall mark of 8-9 and a fourth-place finish in the Horizon League, the highest finish in school history.
The Penguins also won a school record three league games and hosted a Horizon League Tournament game for the first time in school history.
Four players earned all-league postseason awards in 2012, which is the highest total for Youngstown State since joining the Horizon League.
Jade Flory became the first Youngstown State player named All-Horizon League First-Team since 2006 and and just the second first-team pick since joining the Horizon League in 2001.
Haney, who led the team with five goals and 13 points, was named All-Horizon League Second-Team and selected to the All-Newcomer Team.
Joining Haney on the All-Newcomer Team was Tyesha Kizer and Shay Sade.
Goalkeepers Jacki Podolsky and Ali Viola each had tremendous seasons in the net in 2012. Podolsky posted a 5-4 record with 45 saves and a school-record 1.15 goals-against average. Viola posted three shutouts and carried a goals-against average of 1.16, the second-best average in school history.
In 2011, Flory became the second straight freshman to lead the team in total points and goals with 17 points and seven goals. Flory, who was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team, also led all newcomers with seven goals, scored more goals than 20 of the 22 players on the all-league teams and scored more total points than 19 of the 22 members of the all-league teams.
In 2010, Allison Ludwig led the team in goals and points scored and was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team. Her eight goals marked the second consecutive season a YSU player scored that many goals.
Kelsey Kempton became the first Youngtown State soccer player to earn GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team honors.
Lemke began his head coaching career when he took over the V-Hawks program in 2001 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Division II Winona State (1998-01).
Lemke posted an 84-55-7 mark in his eight seasons with the V-Hawks. He led the program to two NAIA Regional Tournament appearances and was the Midwest Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2006.
He helped turn Viterbo into a perennial conference-title contender after the program had won just 24 games in the six years prior to his arrival. At Youngstown State, Lemke faces a similar task in turning a relatively new program -- 16 years -- into a contender in the highly-competitive Horizon League.
After posting a 3-12-1 mark his first season, Viterbo posted seven straight winning campaigns. His 12 wins in 2002 were a school best at the time. The school won MCC Championships in 2005 and 2006. The 2005 squad won a school-record 16 games and posted a .800 winning percentage. They finished 6-1-0 in the MCC that year and followed it the next season with a perfect 7-0-0 mark in 2006.
The V-Hawks had the schools’ only two NAIA Regional Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006 as well. The 2005 bid came after winning the conference’s postseason tournament.
Lemke’s teams won at least 11 games in all but two of his seasons at the helm of the V-Hawks. After the squad finished fourth in the MCC for three straight campaigns, the program finished in the top three in each of his final four seasons. In 2008, the V-Hawks were 11-8-1 overall placing second in the conference at 6-2.
During his time at Viterbo he served as the Athletic Department’s Event Management Coordinator. His duties included overseeing management support systems for all athletic events on campus as well as developing policies and management system procedures. Lemke was responsible for directing annual fundraising actives for soccer program that grossed more than the annual operating budget.
While an assistant coach at Winona State, he worked with the head coach to help develop and maintain a Top 20 NCAA Division II program. Lemke was directly responsible for developing the goalkeepers who were voted all-conference each year. He helped with recruiting and worked as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. The Warriors won two conference championships and two tournament championships in a three-year span.
Lemke served as the district select director and coach of the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association Olympic Development Program. He worked to create a new ODP district in Winona, Minn., and developed training programs. Lemke also served as a recruiter and trainer for 25 ODP District Select participants.
Lemke also worked as the technical director of the La Crescent Soccer Club in La Crescent, Minn. He created a training and certification program for all club coaches and year round youth training programs. He also coached a Minnesota state championship team and two runner-up teams.
Lemke played basketball and soccer at the University of Wisconsin Rock County and soccer at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. While at UW-Rock County, Lemke was a two-time all-conference and all-regional performer as well as team captain. Lemke played for the LaCrosse United Premier Soccer Club from 1992-2001.
In his free time Lemke is involved with Habitat for Humanity. He co-founded the UW-LaCrosse Collegiate Chapter for Habitat for Humanity and held the position of President for two years and vice president for a year. Lemke has stayed actively involved with the organization for more than 14 years.
Lemke, an Edgerton, Wis., native, earned an Associate’s Degree from UW-Rock County in 1992. He furthered his education at the UW-LaCrosse where earned his bachelors in Education and History in 1996. Most recently Lemke completed his Masters of Educational Leadership from Winona State University in 2007.
In soccer circles, Lemke holds a NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, a NSCAA National Diploma and a NSCAA Level II Goalkeeping Diploma.
