FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer announces the hiring of assistant coaches Allison Kempainen and Jamie Souza.

"We're thrilled to welcome Allison and Jamie to FGCU and the women's soccer family," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "Their wealth of experience and knowledge will be invaluable to our program and players, bringing significant benefits."

Souza arrives after two successful seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Rollins College. He helped direct the Tars to a winning season in 2021 (8-6-4), downed nationally ranked No. 16 Palm Beach Atlantic University and reached the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinals. Last season, Rollins pulled off another Top 25 win over No. 24 Ashland University.

Prior to Rollins, Souza spent a season at Stetson University as director of operations. Originally from Ipswich, England, he holds his UEFA B license, a bachelor's of science in coaching for performance in soccer and the FA Goalkeeping qualification among other soccer performance and player development qualifications.

Kempainen arrives from the University of St. Thomas. She took part in the Tommies' second year of transition from a Division III to a Division I program. In her first season, St. Thomas started off strong with a 6-2-3 record, even winning its first road Summit League game in program history against North Dakota State University.
 
She also helped the program's growth by having student athletes work with the exercise science department and introducing polar technology.

Kempainen brings an extensive history of coaching at the club and high school levels in Alabama and Minnesota. Prior to St. Thomas, she made a stop at Alabama State University. In spring 2021, Kempainen helped lead Alabama State through an unprecedented COVID-19 season in which the team won its third conference title in five years and had an undefeated run through the conference regular season and conference tournament.
 
The Lady Hornets posted four shutouts during conference play on their way to the NCAA Tournament, where they faced nationally ranked Pennsylvania State University in the first round.