Email Coach LaRoche
As she begins her fifth year directing the Cornell women's soccer program, Danielle LaRoche has made significant progress turning the program around. Her teams have improved every season and feature an entertaining style of play that has proven its ability to compete among the best the Ivy League has to offer.
In her fourth season at the helm of the Big Red, the team posted its best overall record since the 2005 season, finishing the year at 6-8-1 to raise her career mark to 13-45-3. She also led the Big Red to three points in the Ivy League standings in 2010, the most since the 2005 campaign.
Statistically, the team has taken huge strides under LaRoche's direction. Defensively, the Big Red has cut its goals-allowed total in half from 2008, while Cornell's goalkeepers have increased their save percentage from .765 in 2008 to .817 in 2010. Additionally, Cornell posted six shutouts in 2010, more than the combined total from the two pervious seasons. On offense, Cornell tallied 20 goals in 2010, equal to the total number of goals from 2008 and 2009, while taking fewer shots than either of those two seasons.
Her players have also been recognized for their efforts. The 2010 season saw Cornell place a pair of players - juniors Sidra Bonner and Megan Bartlett - on the All-Ivy League Second-Team. Sophomore Maneesha Chitanvis also garnered honorable mention after being the first player to score double-digit points since 2007.
In 2009, the Big Red saw an infusion of young players throughout the lineup, with a significant increase in performance on the field, though the overall record did not reflect the improvement. Cornell's defense allowed 10 fewer goals in 2009 than in 2008, including allowing only 11 goals in Ivy League play after conceding 22 goals in league play the year before.
The 2008 season saw LaRoche pick up her first career win in Ivy League play when the Big Red shut out Brown on Oct. 26. Cornell also gained its first win away from home when it won the season opener against Oakland in Rochester, N.Y., by a 4-1 score.
In 2007, the Big Red went 4-12 on the year, but more impressively, went 4-4 in defending its home field, going 4-1 in non-conference play at home. Additionally, the Big Red dropped five games by just one goal, a marked improvement over the year before LaRoche’s arrival at Cornell, despite her having taken over the program just four months before the first game of the 2007 season.
LaRoche came to Cornell after spending the 2006 season as an assistant coach with the women’s soccer program at George Mason University. Her coaching career also includes assistant coaching stops at Binghamton Univeristy and Howard University.
While at George Mason, LaRoche helped the Patriots to an 8-9-2 overall record and a 5-5-1 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. She also served as recruiting coordinator and was responsible for bringing in a highly-decorated six-member class for the 2007 season.
Prior to her stint with the Patriots, she was an assistant coach at Binghamton University for two seasons, helping the Bearcats to a 24-12-5 record over that span. The Bearcats went to the NCAA tournament as the America East Conference champion in 2004 and finished the season ranked fourth in the Northeast Region by the NSCAA and by Soccer Buzz. LaRoche also served for three years as an assistant coach at Howard University, where she helped in the development and creation of a new program. At each of her stops, she also was a coach within the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program.
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, LaRoche spent four years as the director at One Touch Soccer Academy, organizing the coaching efforts for 28 adult and youth programs while also running 35 camps per year. She is currently a member of the senior staff of the Olympic Development Program Region I U-13 team.
LaRoche received a Bachelor of Arts in Afro-American Studies from the University of Maryland, where she was a member of the women’s soccer team under April Heinrichs, who would later go on to serve as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team. She also holds numerous national coaching licenses and certificates, including a USSF National A License and a NSCAA Premier License. LaRoche was also selected to attend and graduated from the NCAA Women Coaches Academy in December of 2007.
LaRoche is married to Dan King, the Director of Sports Medicine at Binghamton University, and the pair resides in Ithaca with their daughter, Jade.
Danielle LaRoche's Head Coaching Career
| Year |
Overall |
League |
Player Recognition |
| 2007 |
4-12-0 |
0-7-0 |
Leslie Campbell (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)
Eva Dixon (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)
Lena Russomagno (Honorable Mention All-Ivy) |
| 2008 |
2-12-1 |
1-6-0 |
Sidra Bonner (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)
Eva Dixon (Honorable Mention All-Ivy) |
| 2009 |
1-13-1 |
0-7-0 |
Sidra Bonner (Honorable Mention All-Ivy)
Kala Neilson (Honorable Mention All-Ivy) |
| 2010 |
6-8-1 |
1-5-1 |
Sidra Bonner (Second Team All-Ivy)
Megan Bartlett (Second Team All-Ivy)
Maneesha Chitanvis (Honorable Mention All-Ivy) |
| Totals |
13-45-3 |
2-25-1 |
2 players Second Team All-Ivy
8 players Honorable Mention All-Ivy League |
