Lucey Announces Departure from Florida Southern Women's Soccer

LAKELAND, Fla. – Florida Southern College women's soccer head coach Gerry Lucey has announced that he will be departing the program after three years at the helm of the Moccasins. Lucey will be leaving Florida Southern to join his family, who are moving to Long Island at the end of the year.
 
"Coach Lucey has been a great leader for our women's soccer program, and his impact on our student-athletes extends far beyond the field," said Director of Athletics and Dean of Wellness Drew Howard. "We are saddened to see him leave and wish him the best in his future."
 
Over his three seasons leading the Mocs, Lucey has a 22-17-14 record, guiding the Mocs to two Sunshine State Conference semifinal appearances in that span. He coached nine All-SSC winners for the Mocs, including the program's first SSC Goalkeeper of the Year honoree, Carly Brodsky, as the 2025 recipient. In the 2024 season, Ashley Shimberg was named D2 CCA All-South under the tutelage of Lucey.
 
"The opportunity to coach at Florida Southern has meant a lot to my family and me," said Lucey on his time at FSC. "From the moment we stepped on campus, we felt welcomed, and it was definitely a home away from home. The administration led by Drew Howard has been exceptional in their help throughout my three seasons here and has always displayed trust and faith in me. I'd especially like to thank Drew Howard and Jill Stephens for their care and leadership qualities in guiding the women's soccer program, but also this entire department. I'd like to say a huge thanks to my fellow coaches at FSC, who again have been kind and supportive, and are always looking out for each other.  It has also been wonderful to see the President of the College, Dr. Jeremy Martin, at many of our games and for taking the time to converse with the players and me."
 
In his first year at the helm for Florida Southern, Lucey helped the Mocs to a conference postseason appearance that included the first FSC win in the Sunshine State Conference tournament since 2013. The Mocs finished the 2023 season with a 9-7-3 overall record that was highlighted by not only the conference postseason win but a win over then-No. 3 Embry-Riddle as the highest-ranking win in program history since 2013. Lucey coached three All-SSC winners in 2023 and finished a postseason run in the SSC semifinal. 

For the 2024 season, Lucey coached two All-SSC winners with an All-SSC First Team selection by Ashley Shimberg and a Third Team nod for Rilee Hasegawa. Shimberg went on to be named D2CCA All-South Second Team as well, the first regional winner for Lucey at FSC. Mocs' season was highlighted by a hat trick from Shimberg in a 3-1 win over No. 25 Embry-Riddle, the first road win against ERAU since the 1998 season. He also had five CSC Academic All-District selections, the most in program history for a single year. 
 
In 2025, Lucey continued with another big year for the Mocs, with a 9-3-6 record, the second nine-win season for Lucey at FSC. He coached four All-SSC selections, including the SSC Goalkeeper of the Year. An upset of (RV) Embry-Riddle on the road in the SSC quarterfinal led to a semifinal appearance at Nova Southeastern, ending the season with one of the best defenses in the conference and all of NCAA DII. They set program records in GAA with a 0.44 average, with a program-best 11 shutouts in 2025. FSC only allowed eight goals during the season, the lowest in program history and one of the best in the league.
 
Lucey brought 23 years of college coaching experience to the Mocs at his hire, including 12 years as a head coach. Lucey was the associate head coach at Hofstra University from 2019-23, after spending a year as the head coach at Dixie State University in 2018. The trip to Hofstra was his second stint with the program after spending 2017 as the assistant coach.
 
Before his time at Hofstra, Lucey was a Hall of Fame head coach at the University of Tampa, winning the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship. Lucey holds the most wins in program history at Tampa with 114. He has 15 NCAA tournament berths on his resume, 10 conference tournament titles, and nine regular-season titles. The Dublin, Ireland native has eight Coaching Staff of the Year awards, including the SSC Coach of the Year and three CAA Coaching Staff of the Year honors. At the time of his departure from Florida Southern, Lucey recorded 188 wins over his 15-year career as a head coach.
 
MORE FROM COACH LUCEY
"Of course, a massive thank you to all the players over the past three seasons, who believed in what we have been trying to accomplish, those who gave 100 % all the time, and those who put the team before themselves. We have experienced a good level of success here, and this past season has been excellent. Of course, we always hope for more, but I can't fault in any way the commitment of the group.
 
I'm not exactly sure of my next move, but we will be back on Long Island, where my wife received a great offer within her aviation company. I'll definitely be back working with Long Island Soccer Club and hope to be back in the college game soon.
 
Finally, I'd like to thank our coaching staff of Ricky Davis, Jamie McGuinness, and Sammy Kirn for sacrificing so much to prepare the team and get them ready for games. I'm honored to have coached alongside them and wish the program every success moving forward. In addition a huge thanks to Kat Malik, our athletic trainer, for caring so much about our student athletes and for keeping them healthy"."