Mark Sappington was named the assistant coach of the Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team in June of 2015 and will enter his fifth season at The Rock in 2019.
Sappington came to Slippery Rock after spending one year as the assistant coach of the women's soccer team at the University of Scranton. Prior to that he spent two years as a volunteer assistant with the Shippensburg University men’s and women’s soccer programs.
“I am excited to have Mark join our women’s soccer staff,” said Rock head coach Jessica Griggs. “He is familiar with the PSAC and is very knowledgeable in working with both goalkeepers as well as field players. Mark’s approach to coaching is more than just tactical and technical. With his psychology background, he will help to enhance the mentality and character of our student-athletes.”
Sappington’s primary roles with Slippery Rock are focusing with the defense and goalkeepers to create a strong defensive core. Sappington’s ability in the goalkeeper realm is impressive having two all-region goalkeepers, two all-conference goalkeepers and having two different goalkeepers listed as statistical leaders in their respective conferences.
A season ago, Sappington played an instrumental role in guiding a Rock defense that ranked fourth in the PSAC in goals allowed with 17, which was the 10th lowest total allowed by a Rock team over a single-season in program history. The Rock’s 0.89 goals allowed per game also ranks 10th in Slippery Rock single-season history.
Sappington is familiar with the Division II landscape after playing four years of collegiate soccer at Atlantic Region rival Wheeling Jesuit University. He played goalkeeper during his career with the Cardinals before earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology with minor in theology in 2011.
Sappington’s first college coaching experience came at conference opponents Shippensburg University. He spent two years working with the Raiders’ men’s and women’s teams. He helped both teams to reach the PSAC playoffs and was a member of the women’s staff in 2013 when the program reached the second round of the NCAA tournament and was eliminated by Slippery Rock on The Rock’s home field.
Sappington continued to be involved with all facets of running the program while at Scranton, He helped lead the team to a 10-8-2 overall record and an appearance in the Landmark Conference finals.
In addition to his work in the college arena, Sappington is a senior staff member at the prestigious Stan Andersons’s Camp Shutout, as well as previously being a senior staff member and director at Tony Dicicco’s SoccerPlus GK school. Sappington is also on the ODP state and regional goalkeeper staff, works for GK Icon Pittsburgh and is a head coach at Hotspurs soccer club in Pittsburgh.
On top of his coaching work, Sappington has two published scientific studies and is currently in the middle of conducting seven studies involving NCAA student-athletes risk-taking behavior and support system compared with perceived stress levels of different sports, gender and divisions of competition.
Sappington holds an Advanced National Goalkeeper Diploma, a National Diploma from the United Soccer Coaches, and also a National D license for USSF.
