East Carolina Soccer Names Sharolta Nonen Assistant Coach
February 03, 2015 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Sharolta Nonen, a three-time All-America selection at the University of Nebraska and former player on the Canadian National Team, has been named assistant women's soccer coach at East Carolina University according to an announcement by head coach Rob Donnenwirth.
"We had a strong pool of candidates, but Shay rose to the top," Donnenwirth said. "It is exciting to have one of the best players in World Cup history join our staff. Her experience as a player, combined with her passion and teaching ability, will help take all of our players to another level."
Nonen arrives at ECU after spending the last two years at NAIA program Georgia Gwinnett College, where she was hired as an assistant coach in July 2013 before taking over as interim head coach prior to the 2014 season.
"This is a great opportunity to come to a great school with a lot of history," Nonen said. "I'm excited to work with and learn from Rob and Brian Periman, who have been in the college game longer than I have, but also to be around some great players and help get them to the next level. There will be a number of areas I look into from the tactical and technical sides of things to making sure our players are mentally tough and prepared to compete day-in and day-out."
A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, she was the University of Nebraska's first-ever African-American player in the history of the program and a three-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-American (1996-99) as a defender. Her list of accolades as a Cornhusker includes a First-Team All-America honor as a senior, three first-team all-region selections, a Big 12 Conference Player-of-the-Year award and a trio of First-Team All-Big 12 Conference nods as she helped her alma mater to 80 wins during her four-year career.
While still playing at Nebraska, Nonen earned a place on the Canadian National Team for the 1999 World Cup. She went on to start all three matches for her native country and earned all-tournament team honors.
Following her college career, she was drafted by the Atlanta Beat of the Women's United Soccer Association prior to its inaugural season in 2001. She earned two all-star distinctions, was the defender-of-the-year in 2003 and led the club to a pair of first-place finishes in the league.
While continuing to play for the Canadian National Team, she made 63-career international appearances, earned a spot on the 2003 World Cup roster and helped her homeland to its best result in history - a semifinal appearance and fourth-place finish, highlighted by a win over world power China - as she was named to the all-tournament team once again.
After three years with the Beat, Nonen continued to play professionally for Fortuna Hjorring in Denmark from 2005-07, but returned to Atlanta where she became the first player/coach for the Atlanta Silverbacks semi-professional women's team. After 10 years on the pro and international circuits, she retired from playing and began pursuing a coaching career.
A 2000 Nebraska graduate with a degree in sociology, Nonen has assisted mentoring young players within the Olympic Development Program and Region Premier League squads. She holds a United States Soccer Federation Class C coaching license and speaks fluent French.
