Daniel Louisignau was announced as the Appalachian State men's soccer assistant coach on Feb. 22, 2017.'
In his first season with the Apps, the goalkeepers were some of the best in the conference with Jake Chasteen posting four shutouts along with a 1.083 goals against average, which both were among the top two in the league.
The six shutouts for App doubled its 2016 output and was also tied for second. For one stretch of the season, the Mountaineers posted three straight blank sheets. App's defense played a pivotal role in defeating three eventual NCAA Tournament teams. The three wins at Ted Mack were the most since 2015 when the Black and Gold won five matches.
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.
