Maria Piechocki

Coach Piechocki enters her third year as the head coach of the Fairfield University Women’s Soccer team and is the third coach in the program’s history. Piechocki’s numbers speak for themselves. She wasted no time during her first season, leading the Stags to a perfect MAAC regular season, a MAAC Tournament championship and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Those accomplishments did not go unnoticed as she was voted by her peers as the MAAC Coach of the Year for 1997.

In 1998, Piechocki found a way to improve those numbers by leading the Stags to a second straight undefeated MAAC regular season title, another MAAC Tournament championship, their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and nearly knocked off Maryland in the first round of the national tournament. Piechocki was once again named MAAC Coach of the Year. In two years, Piechocki has guided Fairfield to a remarkable 36-6 overall record and is a perfect 18-0 in MAAC regular season play. After guiding the Stags to a program record 18-4 overall mark in 1997, she led the team to a better overall mark at 18-2 in 1998, tying the school record for wins in a season and setting a new record for best winning percentage at .900

Piechocki came to Fairfield after starting the women’s soccer program at Marist College where she was head coach for two years. During those two seasons she led the Red Foxes to two Northeast Conference Tournament appearances, including a championship game appearance in their first season of varsity play.

Along with a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “A” License and NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, Piechocki carries a wealth of coaching experience including several positions across the nation. She spent one season as an assistant coach at Division I Colorado College in 1993 before heading to New York in 1994. Since 1994 she has selected and trained girls for the under-14, under-16 and under-17 teams in the Eastern New York Olympic Development program. She is also currently a regional staff coach with Region I USYSA-ODP. Piechocki also spent time in California from 1991 to 1993 working with the state’s Olympic Development Program.

While in California, Piechocki held the head coaching position at American River College (NJCCA) where she led the team to a second place finish in the Camino Norte Conference and a regional tournament appearance, both in 1992. Her other coaching positions include time as head coach at Davis Senior High School (1992-93), head coach for the Sacramento Thunder (1991) – a women’s open division club team, and as an assistant coach at the University of California-Davis (1987-90). Piechocki was also responsible for starting the women’s lacrosse program and assisting with the softball team at Marist College.

Coach Piechocki holds a bachelor of science degree in Biological Science from the University of California-Davis.
 

Christen Veach
 

Christen Veach is in her third season as assistant women's soccer coach at Fairfield University. Veach completed a stellar four-year career with the Stags, graduating in the spring of 1997.
Veach assists with all aspects of the Fairfield women's soccer program. Her main responsibilities focus on goalkeeping development, recruiting, on-field instruction and general office administration.
In two years under her tutelage, Stag goalkeepers have posted a 0.88 goals against average, 22 shutouts and have not lost a conference game. During the two years, they have set and tied a program single season record for shutouts with 11 in 1997 and 1998. Last year the Stags set a new MAAC record with a 0.83 GAA.
In four years as netminder for the Stags, Veach was a virtual wall. During her career, she played and started in all 77 Stag games. Veach won 46 of those games with 20 shutouts and stopped a total of 371 shots. Her 1.37 career goals against average is a standard that her current keepers will be shooting for.
Her achievements in net did not go unnoticed as she received several honors during her career, including being named to the All-MAAC team for three straight years from 1993-1995. In 1993 as she helped guide the Stags to their first-ever MAAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, Veach was named MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year, MAAC Tournament MVP and NEWISA All-New England second team. In 1995 as the Stags won their second MAAC Tournament Championship, she earned MAAC Tournament MVP and ISAA All-Northeast Region laurels.
Veach, a Glastonbury, Connecticut native, received a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology at Fairfield University. She recently added a NSCAA National Diploma to her credentials
 

Samantha Andersch
 

Samantha Andersch is in her second year as a member of the Stag coaching staff after completing an outstanding career at James Madison University. Along with her on-field duties with the varsity team, Andersch also heads up the Junior Varsity program.
Andersch was a four-year starter at the center midfield position for the Dukes. She finished her career in third place on James Madison's all-time assists list and fourth all-time in points.
She was often rewarded for her accomplishments on the field as she was named All-Conference, All-State and All-East in 1997. Following the 1997 season she was also selected to play in the prestigious Umbro Classic Senior All-Star game held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where she started at right midfield.
Andersch has already accumulated a great deal of coaching experience. Between 1993 and 1999 she has served as an instructor at several soccer schools and camps on the east-coast. Included in that time is a stint as an assistant coach with the McLean Mystics U-13 Travel team in McLean, Virginia.
Andersch also brings a wealth of international experience with her as she served as the Eastern Regional Olympic Development Team captain in 1992 and 1993. With that squad Andersch competed competitively in England, Holland, Denmark and France at the sweeper position.
Andersch earned a bachelor of arts degree in English with a minor in Secondary Education at James Madison University. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in Computers in Education.