BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University head men's soccer coach Jason O'Keefe announced the addition of Daniel Louisignau and Shaun Utterson as assistant coaches on Wednesday.
"First, I want to thank Jeff Bilyk, Ronnie Hreha and Cole Atkins for all of their hard work and efforts in my first year here at Appalachian State. They were great in the transition," O'Keefe said. "I am extremely excited to have Dan and Shaun join the App State family. They both have accomplished the things we are working with our players to achieve here at App State each and every day. They will be great role models on and off the field and will help our players grow and develop. They both are conference and national champions and winners in life. They have hit the ground sprinting and will continue to every day. They have already made us better and will continue to for a long time."
Louisignau comes to Appalachian State after four seasons as an assistant coach at UMBC, helping lead them to the America East regular season title in 2013 and 2014 and league tournament championships in three straight years. In 2014, the team made it to the College Cup for the first time in program history. The coaching staff at UMBC earned America East Coaching Staff of the Year honors, while their head coach, Pete Caringi, won NSCAA and Soccer America Coach of the Year Honors. Working primarily with goalkeepers and defenders, Louisignau also worked in recruiting and evaluating academically and athletically qualified student-athletes, as well as working with the alumni base.
He oversaw the development of goalkeeper Phil Saunders, who signed a professional contract with BÍ Bolungarvík of the Icelandic First Division in 2013 after being voted America East Conference Tournament MVP the year prior. Louisignau also coached Billy Heavner, who led the conference in goals-against average (.830) and shutouts (10) in 2014. Through five games in the 2014 NCAA tournament run, UMBC posted four shutouts as the Retrievers became the first unseeded team in NCAA history to post four clean sheets in as many games on the road.
Prior to coaching at UMBC, Louisignau also played as their goalkeeper from 2009-11 after transferring from the University of Virginia. During his time there, the Retrievers posted a winning percentage of .731 and an overall record of 41-11-15 for the winningest three-year period in UMBC men's soccer history.
In 2011, Louisignau was named the America East Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors after leading the conference in saves, save percentage and shutouts. In 2010, he had an 84.5 save percentage that was good for 10th in the nation, as well as leading the America East Conference in save percentage and saves per game (5.57) during league games. In more than 200 minutes of action in the NCAA tournament, Louisignau only allowed one goal and had a six-save effort against then-No. 9 William & Mary for a 0-0 double overtime draw.
"I would like to thank Jason O'Keefe and the entire search committee for selecting me to represent the Appalachian State men's soccer program," Louisignau said. "Jason's reputation speaks for itself and after one conversation with him, I was convinced that it is a special time to be at Appalachian State. I am extremely humbled by this unique opportunity, and I look forward to building a soccer program for all of the Appalachian State community to be proud of."
A Wilmington, Del. native, Louisignau graduated from UMBC in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. While living in Delaware, he played club soccer for the Baltimore Bays, where he won the USYSA National Championship in 2006 and 2009 and won the US Soccer Developmental Academy in 2008. Louisignau was also invited to train with the U18 U.S. National Team in 2007.
Utterson comes to Appalachian from Wingate University, where he was an assistant coach from 2014-16. During his tenure, Utterson was responsible for the domestic and international recruitment, scouting and analysis of opponents and team training sessions. With the Bulldogs, the team won the Division II National Championship (2016), a South-East Regional Championship (2016), one SAC Tournament Conference Championship (2015) and three-straight SAC Regular-Season Conference Championships (2014-16). During the title run in 2016, Utterson helped the team lead the nation in winning percentage and goals-against-average while being a part of a coaching staff that won NSCAA Southeast Regional and National Staff of the Year awards.
The 2016 team was the first NCAA program to go unbeaten and untied in a regular season (14-0) and the first NCAA Division II Champion to not concede a goal in the tournament. The Bulldogs were also being unbeaten at home for three years (23-0-2), ending with the team's first NCAA No. 1 national ranking in school history in 2016.
Utterson worked with seven all-Americans, 17 all-Region selections, 22 all-SAC selections, three SAC Players of the Year, two NCAA Final Four MVP's and one National Player of the Year.
Prior to coaching, Utterson was a four-year starter for UNC Wilmington from 2008-11 before playing semi-professionally in the English Conference North with the Blyth Spartans and professionally for the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro division in 2013-14. As a Seahawk, Utterson recorded 76 starts, scored three goals and helped keep the defense finish in the top 10 nationally in goals-against-average in 2009-10.
Utterson made 50 appearances with the Spartans, scoring two goals as a defender. During his time with the Hammerheads, he made 20 starts in his rookie season
"I am extremely excited to be joining the Appalachian State soccer family, and I can't wait to get started with the team," Utterson said. "I'd like to thank coach O'Keefe and the selection committee for giving me this fantastic opportunity. I am delighted to be joining such a passionate and enthusiastic athletics department and look forward to learning from coach O'Keefe. I am committed to working as hard as possible to ensure that our student-athletes can be successful in the classroom, in the community and on the field."
A Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England native, Utterson graduated from UNC Wilmington in 2011 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in economics and earned an M.A. in sports management from Wingate University in 2016. He also holds English Football Association Level 1 & 2 Coaching Awards and Youth Module 1 qualifications, as well as NSCAA Premier, Advanced National, Director of Coaching and Diversity & inclusion Diplomas.
