Now in his eighth season, Rolando Lopes has put his stamp on the Stonehill women's soccer program. In his first six years, he has guided the Skyhawks to four appearances in the Northeast-10 Tournament (NE-10), while coaching several All-Conference and All-New England stars.

This past season, Lopes led the Skyhawks to an 11-7-2 overall record - the most wins in a single season for Lopes during his coaching tenure at Stonehill - and an 8-5-2 mark in the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10). Under Lopes watch, Stonehill advanced to the NE-10 semifinal round losing to the eventual tournament champions, Saint Rose. The Skyhawks, appearing in their eighth NE-10 semifinal round in program history this fall, led the NE-10 in goals against average (GAA) in conference play with a 0.58 GAA and ranked third overall in GAA at 0.68. Stonehill landed two players on the NE-10 All-Conference team in Sara Nagle (First Team) and Kelsey Mahoney (Third Team) along with All-Rookie Team honoree Maddie Manning. Along with their success on the pitch, the Skyhawks also performed well in the classroom as two members of the team earned CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America honors. Elizabeth Belanger earned her second career selection with a first team honor and Sara Nagle notched her first career honor with a selection to the second team.

In 2010, Stonehill went 8-8-2 overall and 6-7-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Despite missing the playoffs, several Skyhawks were honored throughout the season as Stonehill landed two players on the NE-10's All-Conference Team. Senior forward Kirstie St. Martin was selected to the All-Conference First Team for the second time in her career while sophomore back Sara Nagle earned All-Conference Third Team honors, her first selection at Stonehill. Lopes also guided three Skyhawks to NEWISA All-New England Team selections in St. Martin (first team), junior midfielder Kelsey Mahoney and Nagle, both second team honorees. St. Martin also earned her second-straight NSCAA All-Region Second Team selection to go along with Daktronics All-East Region Second Team and ESPN Academic All-District I Third Team honors.

Lopes led the 2009 Skyhawks to an overall record of 10-8-1 and their fourth postseason appearance in five years. The team posted a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) to close out the regular season, and finished the year ranked #10 in the NSCAA Division II regional rankings. Junior forward Kirstie St. Martin was named to the NSCAA All-East Region second team, the first honoree during Lopes' tenure. The team also claimed the NE-10's inaugural Team Academic Award in women's soccer, earning a team GPA of 3.44, and placed two players on the Academic All-Conference squad.

2008 proved to be a challenge for the Skyhawks following the departure of several 2007 standouts, as they finished 4-13-1 while coping with injuries and introducing fresh faces. A season highlight came at Bentley when the Skyhawks scored goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to rally for a dramatic 2-1 win over the Falcons.

In his first season at the helm, Lopes guided the Skyhawks to an 8-4-4 mark, including a season-opening six-match unbeaten streak, the longest such stretch for the program in five years. Under his watch, four players earned all-conference accolades as his high-powered offense produced nearly three goals per contest. In one four-game unbeaten stretch, Stonehill scored 17 goals as they picked up momentum during the final weeks of the season.

2006 saw much of the same, as Lopes' offensive-minded attack saw the Skyhawks go 5-1-0 when they scored two goals or more. During that campaign, the perfect storm of offensive excellence came together when Stonehill scored eight goals in a win over Bentley. The Skyhawks also asserted themselves on defense under Lopes, posting shutouts in four of five games during a crucial stretch of the season.

Lopes' charges returned to eight wins in 2007, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Tournament. With a strong cast of seniors leading the way, the Skyhawks won eight games in conference action and finished fifth in the ultra-competitive league. The 2007 squad placed two players on the NSCAA Division II Women All-New England Region team.

Prior to Stonehill, Lopes was a well-known figure in both youth and college soccer in the Metro South area. In his two seasons as co-Head Women's Soccer Coach at Massasoit Community College, Lopes helped guide the Warriors to the National Junior College Athletic Association New England Championship. In addition, he served as the Girls Coaching Director  and Coach for the South Shore Select squad in Rockland, Mass., where he led the team to three state championships and was a two-time Club Coach of the Year.

Lopes served as team captain and earned a chancellor's scholarship during his collegiate playing days at UMass-Dartmouth, where he graduated in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He earned an associate of science degree in electronics technology from Massasoit in 1993 and was an NJCAA All-America and Student-Athlete of the Year for the Warriors. He holds a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Advanced National License.

Career Records