Ken Lolla is a soccer coach who was formerly head men's soccer coach at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. He is also a writer and professional speaker. Lolla played collegiate soccer at Duke University and professionally at various US professional soccer teams. He has earned several accolades as both a player and coach.

Player

Lolla attended St. Rose High School in

Belmar, New Jersey Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated on the Jersey Shore. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,794,Duke University from 1980 to 1983 where he was a three-time all-conference selection of the Atlantic Coast Conference and earned All-South and All-America in 1981 and 1983. He graduated in 1983 with a degree in Biology. He was selected in the fourth round of the North American Soccer League draft by the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. Lolla played professional soccer for the Charlotte Gold of the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. He also played for the Canton Invaders of the National Professional Soccer League from 1984 to 1988. He also served as the Youth Development Director for the Canton Invaders in 1985 and 1986. He handled community and public relations in 1987 and 1988 in conjunction with appearances as a player for the NPSL franchise. In the Spring 1988, he moved to the New Jersey Eagles of the American Professional Soccer League. In 1990, he played for the

Penn-Jersey Spirit Penn-Jersey Spirit played in the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 and 1991. The team's home stadium was Lions Stadium in Ewing, New Jersey, on the campus of Trenton State College (today known as the College of New Jersey). The team ...

, but he left the team on June 14, 1990 when he was hired as head coach of

Belmont Abbey College Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The school is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. I ...

. In 2002, Lolla was one of 55 players named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary Men's Soccer Team.

Coach

Lolla began coaching during his playing career when he served as an assistant at

Monmouth College Monmouth College is a private Presbyterian liberal arts college in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth enrolls approximately 900 students from 21 countries who choose courses from 40 major programs, 43 minors, and 17 pre-professional programs in a ...

in 1984. In 1985, he spent time as an assistant coach with his alma mater, Duke, then served as the head coach at Lake High School in

Uniontown, Ohio Uniontown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stark County, Ohio, United States with 3,309 inhabitants at the 2010 census. The Industrial Excess Landfill, now a superfund site, is located south of Uniontown. Uniontown is part of the Canto ...

in 1987. He returned as an assistant coach with Duke in 1988 and 1989. In 1993, he became the head coach of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

soccer team. In his three seasons as head coach, he compiled a 49–16–3 record and the team won three consecutive Carolinas Conference Championships. Lolla was named the Carolinas Conference Coach of the Year in 1990 and NSCAA-NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1992. For the next thirteen years Lolla went on to coach the

Akron Zips Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pr ...

where he was the winningest coach in school history compiling a 160–68–25 record along with eight

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

Championships and a school record five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Lolla coached 38 first team All-MAC players while at Akron and was named MAC coach of the year three times. Coach Lolla is a member of the Akron Hall of Fame. On December 16, 2005,

announced it had hired Lolla as the school's new head coach. In his second season at Louisville, the Cardinals finished 11–7–4 with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament's second round, where they lost to eventual National runner up

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. In the past five seasons, Coach Lolla has taken

from a losing program to the 2010 NCAA College Cup Final, 2010

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Championship, No. 1 national ranking, and 20–1–3 record. Lolla was named the 2010 National Coach of the Year and his staff was named the 2010 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year. In Fall 1999, he was appointed head coach of the U.S. Soccer Federation Under-15 National Team. After the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

season, Lolla resigned after 13 years and a 155–77–39 record with the team.

Personal

Ken, his wife Tina, and their three children reside in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

References

External links

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Louisville profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lolla, Ken Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Belmont Abbey College people Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Charlotte Gold players United Soccer League (1984–85) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Canton Invaders players American Soccer League (1988–89) players New Jersey Eagles players American Professional Soccer League players Penn-Jersey Spirit players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer coaches Akron Zips men's soccer coaches Louisville Cardinals men's soccer coaches Soccer players from New Jersey St. Rose High School alumni Tampa Bay Rowdies draft picks Association football midfielders Year of birth missing (living people)