Bloomsburg Alumni and former Assistant coach for the Huskies, Allison Mack was recently hired at Michigan State as the Assistant Women’s soccer coach. Michigan State is one of the premier Women’s Soccer programs in the country, being ranked fifth in the nation last season.
Mack spent three years in Bloomsburg, with that run being one of the most successful spans in the team’s history. Each year of her tenure, the teams continued to outperform their previous season. In her three seasons, the Huskies won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship, and made two deep runs into the NCAA playoffs. The team’s back to back Elite Eight appearances are the first time that the team made it to the quarter finals since 2000.
During her time at Bloomsburg, the team went 44-12-7 with significant improvements each year statistically. In the three years, the Huskies outscored their opponents by a point differential of +17 in 2017, +28 in 2018, and a whopping +44 in 2019. Coach Mack’s knowledge about the sport allowed players to feel comfortable in their play, “She was super knowledgeable about tactics and helped to improve myself as a defender with coordinating set pieces and being able to communicate effectively with the rest of the team,” said Natalie Holmes who played for Mack for three years. Mack’s track record for player development is one of the reasons for her elevation throughout collegiate soccer.
After Bloomsburg, she worked in Fargo, North Dakota, as the North Dakota State Assistant coach. Here she expanded on her already impressive resume, becoming an integral part of the Bison’s program. Mack was an important part of the program’s scouting process, where she heavily assisted in the recruitment of many student-athletes. She was an integral part of the development of many of her players, as they earned multiple accolades such as three all-league, two all-academic, and a United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team player.
Her time in East Lansing is highly anticipated for the Spartans who hope that adding the former Husky will allow them to reach that elusive National Championship. Her abilities as a coach predict a period of growth and development for Michigan State. Former players like Holmes rave about her, “She is a fantastic coach, a great motivator, very knowledgeable about the sport and will excel in this new role”. The Spartans hope to improve from their 14-7-3 season last year where they fell in the third round of the NCAA Tournament to #1 ranked BYU.
