Sean Driscoll completed his ninth year as Princeton head coach in 2023.

In Driscoll’s first eight seasons of competition, Princeton won three Ivy League titles, five NCAA Tournament berths, made the NCAA Tournament six times and made a quarterfinal appearance in 2017, earning a No. 7 finish in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. Driscoll’s players have been named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year three times and All-Ivy League Players a total of 44 times, including nine times in 2017 – a program record. Accordingly, Driscoll has been named Ivy League Coach of the Year three times, in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

In eight competitive seasons at Princeton, Driscoll compiled a record of 93-36-16, making him the second-winningest coach in program history.

In his first season at Princeton in 2015, Driscoll was named Ivy League Coach of the Year, led the team to the second round of the NCAA, and became the third coach in Ivy League history to win a league title in his first year of tenure.

Princeton’s 2015 team snapped an 11-game winning streak and a 13-game winning streak, including an undefeated Ivy League season at 6-0-1 and the first home NCAA Tournament game in eight seasons at Roberts Stadium, a 4-2 victory over Boston College. Driscoll is only the second coach in Ivy League history to win an NCAA Tournament game in his first year in the role.

The 2015 Tigers under Driscoll earned six All-Ivy League honors, including three of the four major awards, including Tyler Lussi’s Offensive Player of the Year award and Mimi Asom’s Rookie of the Year award, as well as Driscoll’s Coach of the Year award. In two seasons, Princeton players have earned 12 All-Ivy League honors, including four first-team honors.

After a 2016 season in which Princeton started 6-0, the Tigers picked up a pair of wins at No. 20 NC State and No. 18 Wake Forest over Labor Day weekend to start 6-0 again in 2017. Princeton finished the regular season 14-2, with its only losses coming against No. 6 West Virginia and Columbia, which finished as the Ivy League runner-up. Princeton earned another first-round NCAA home game and clinched the second and third NCAA Tournament berths outside of Princeton in program history with a penalty kick win over No. 21 NC State before surprising No. 2 North Carolina on the Tar Heels’ home field for the season in Cary, NC.

On the 2017 team, nine Tigers earned All-Ivy League honors, including the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year award for midfielder Vanessa Gregoire and Driscoll’s second Ivy Coach of the Year award. The team’s 16 wins were the second most in program history and the Tigers shutout 12 opponents, which is the second most in program history.

In 2018, another Princeton player was named Ivy Offensive Player of the Year, this time Mimi Asom, who earned seven All-Ivy League honors and Driscoll’s third Ivy Coach of the Year honor. The Tigers won their final four games, including a showdown with Penn to close the regular season, to earn the Ivy’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2021 team secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament, winning an NCAA first-round game and winning 15 games overall, shutting out 11 opponents, marking the third time in four seasons of competition that the team has achieved that number of shutouts. Two years later, Princeton secured another berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament by defeating Michigan in the first NCAA Tournament game at the new Roberts Stadium before knocking off fourth-seeded Texas Tech in the second round, sending the game to a shootout.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sean to our team of extremely talented coaches at Princeton,” Mollie Marcoux ’91, Princeton’s Ford Family Director of Athletics at the time, said of Driscoll’s hiring on January 12, 2015. “Sean is a tireless worker with a proven track record of success at all levels of the game. He has both a passion for coaching and a firm commitment to providing student-athletes with a first-class experience – on and off the field. His football knowledge and network are extensive, and we are confident that under his leadership his team can build on the program’s long history of success.

“I couldn’t imagine a better place,” Driscoll said upon his hiring. “Unparalleled academics, an incredible athletic department, exceptional athletic facilities, a passionate alumni following and a tradition like no other – Princeton is the finest institution in the world and embodies everything I look for. The opportunity to serve as the next head coach of the women’s soccer team is truly a dream come true. I am beyond excited to continue the fantastic tradition of Princeton soccer and can’t wait to meet the players and get started. I want to thank Mollie Marcoux, Anthony Archbald and the search committee for the opportunity to give me, and (Fairfield athletic director) Gene Doris and (Fairfield women’s soccer coach) Jim O’Brien for my time in Fairfield.”

Driscoll served as the associate head coach at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut for five seasons from 2010-14, where he helped head coach Jim O’Brien compile a 51-32-17 overall record and a 31-10-6 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, including back-to-back appearances in the MAAC Tournament finals in 2013 and 2014.

During his time at Fairfield, three Stags players won MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in three consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2013. In the last four seasons, Fairfield players won 11 first team All-MAAC honors.

From 2005 to 2009, Driscoll was the head coach at Manhattan College, where Manhattan’s six wins in his first year were the most since 2002. In 2006 and 2007, Manhattan finished .500 or better in two consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, including a program record of 12-5-2 in 2006, giving Driscoll the best winning percentage in school history.

Driscoll gained his first NCAA coaching experience in 2004 at Western Connecticut State University, where he served as an assistant coach helping lead the team to an 18-5-2 record and an ECAC New England title.

After graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio with a degree in history, Driscoll was a highly successful high school head coach for nine seasons. Between his stops at New Canaan High School, Brookfield High School and Greens Farms Academy, Driscoll had a record of 116-38-13, including a 21-0-1 record at New Canaan in 2002. Driscoll’s New Canaan teams won state titles in 2001 and 2002, and the 2002 team was ranked No. 3 nationally.

While in Connecticut, Driscoll co-founded the Connecticut Football Club, which coaches premier developmental and elite teams from U9 to U23, serving nearly 1,800 boys and girls on 90 teams. The club plays in the Elite Clubs National League, the nation’s top girls league, and has achieved top-20 national rankings. In its history, the club has sent nearly 1,000 student-athletes to NCAA soccer opportunities – including Claire Pinciaro (Class of 2013), who was named All-Ivy League in 2012 – including opportunities for NCAA College Cup programs, as well as numerous players on ODP Regional Pool and National Pool teams, including both the U18 and U23 national teams.

For two years, Driscoll served as director of the Connecticut Girls ODP program, and during his 15 years with the state ODP, Driscoll served as coach of the Region I U15 girls team.

The Trumbull, Connecticut native is married to University of Maine soccer alumnus Heather Hathorn and has two daughters, Braelyn and Beckett.