Having led the women's soccer program to five straight winning campaigns for the first time in program history,
Kenny Fern enters his ninth year as head coach of the squad in 2025.
The Warriors have earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award seven times in his career and he enters the 2025 season as both the longest-tenured coach in program history and as the program's all-time wins leader.
The 2024 season was historic in many ways for the Warriors, as the team rewrote the program's record book, posting a record 15-3-3 record, finishing a program-best second in the Landmark Conference with a 6-1-2 record and winning the school's first postseason game, a 2-1 win over Moravian in the conference semifinal to reach a conference final for the first time in program history. The team entered regional rankings from both the NCAA and United Soccer Coaches for the second time in three years. The Warriors pitched a record 11 shutouts and also had three 20-point scorers, which helped the team yield five all-conference selections and a program-best two all-region picks. Junior goalkeeper Riley Block set school records for save percentage and goals-against average in a season and junior Aubrey Williamson broke the program's record for career assists.
The Warriors ended the 2022 season with a historic 12-6-2 overall record, going 5-3 in the MAC Freedom to finish third in the league and earn their first appearance in the conference playoffs in the program's 29-year history. The team started the season with a program-best 5-0-2 start and set the single-season shutout record at 10, earning the program's first regional ranking from both the NCAA and the United Soccer Coaches during the year.
The Warriors finished 11-7-1 in 2021, the second-most wins in program history. The team featured five players with at least 10 points and the defense posted seven shutouts, the third-most in program history, and Bella Green became Lycoming's first first-team all-conference performer in six years.
After a 2-16 season in 2018, the Warriors posted an 8.5-game improvement in 2019, the third-best mark in Division III, as the team finished 10-8-1. The Warriors improved their scoring offense by nearly half-a-goal per game and by more than a goal per game in scoring defense, as the team featured a young nucleus that included just five upperclassmen.
Fern came to Lycoming as an assistant coach in 2016 before being promoted at the end of the season.
Before coming to Lycoming, Fern served as the assistant manager and head of the academy with the Kaya Football Club in Manila, Phillipines, where he helped the club win the Phillipine Cup to qualify for the Asian Football Federation Cup in 2015.
He served as a girls’ coach with Oxford Soccer League in Connecticut as part of the program’s connections with UK International Soccer. He also worked with the Arsenal Football Club U-18 women’s program for four years and the Brighton Hove Albion U-21 men’s program for four years.
Fern graduated from the University of Sussex with a bachelor’s degree in business and management in 2000 and he worked in real estate for more than 15 years before becoming a full-time coach in 2010 with Arsenal. He holds level one and two coaching badges from the English Football Association (FA) and a Union of European Football Associations B license as well as a D license from the Asian Football Confederation.
Fern has also worked to grow the game of soccer in Central Pennsylvania, founding the Williamsport City Lions Soccer Club in 2022, the area's first semi-pro teams. Through the Lions, he also oversees a youth training program.
Fern and his wife, Kayla, a learning support teacher at Meadowbrook Christian School, reside in Williamsport. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Fern has four daughters, Olivia, Isla, Ellie and Callie.
| The Fern File |
| Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland |
| Wife: Kayla |
| Daughters: Olivia, Isla, Ellie, Callie |
|
Collegiate Coaching Experience |
|
| 2016 |
Lycoming College |
Assistant Women's Soccer Coach |
| 2017-Pres. |
Lycoming College |
Head Women's Soccer Coach |
|
|
|
|
Honors & Awards |
|
| 2024 |
Robert Darrow Curry Coach of the Year Award |
|
|
|
|
| Fern Year-By-Year |
| Year |
W |
L |
T |
Pct. |
Note |
| 2017 |
5 |
12 |
1 |
.306 |
Jordan Lazarich tied school's soccer record with 62 goals in career |
| 2018 |
2 |
16 |
0 |
.111 |
Freshmen accounted for 72 percent of the team's scoring |
| 2019 |
10 |
8 |
1 |
.553 |
Third-most improved team in NCAA Division III |
| 2020 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Season cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 |
11 |
7 |
1 |
.605 |
Team posts second-most wins in program history |
| 2022 |
12 |
6 |
2 |
.650 |
Helped team clinch first postseason berth in program history |
| 2023 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
.529 |
Team's fourth straight winning season |
| 2024 |
15 |
3 |
3 |
.786 |
Team reached conference final in program history |
| Total |
61 |
57 |
14 |
.515 |
|
