Michael Marchiano serves as the Terps’ interim head coach.
Maryland women’s soccer made a coaching change Thursday morning, parting ways with head coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer and promoting assistant coach Michael Marchiano to interim head coach.
“I want to thank Meg for all she’s done for me and for everything she’s done for this program,” Marchiano said. “I feel upset like the rest of the group. It’s a difficult situation, but we have to move forward, and our focus is going to be on how we create the best possible possible experience over the next couple of weeks for these girls.”
Two games into his tenure, Marchiano already has the Terps winning.
On Sunday, Maryland earned its first Big Ten win and goal since October 2022, defeating Nebraska, 2-0.
“I spoke about my pride and my passion for this place, and it makes me feel good that we can have a day here at Ludwig [Field] where we come away with three points, and we want that to be the expectation moving forward.” Marchiano said.
Marchiano is a motivator to this team and it has shown in his first two matches as head coach.
“I would say Mike has been the glue of this team. He stepped up in a big moment, and he’s kept us together. Also, he’s motivated us to keep going no matter what.” Delaney DeMartino said. “I’m so grateful for him and everything he’s done for us.”
After Sunday’s win, the players showered Marchiano in Gatorado. Despite his dismay, it was a sign of the appreciation they have for him in a unique situation.
“I think that just shows how much we appreciate him. It was a very weird situation for all of us, and he stepped up, and we just wanted to show him how much that means to us.” DeMartino said.
The coaching change occurred hours before Thursday night’s 5-0 loss to No. 20 Penn State at home. With three days in between matches and five matches remaining in the season prior to Thursday’s contest, the timing of the move was interesting.
“There was some communication in the morning from our administration to the team. There were some meetings. It’s not some long, drawn out process, it’s just some communication,” Marchiano said. “We tried to process information. The team got together in the afternoon to try to reflect on that and then turn to the pitch to prepare for the game tonight.”
There was no question that Ryan Nemzer was on the hot seat with the team’s struggles in conference play. A 10-25-14 overall record under her didn’t help either.
Although it is Marchiano’s first season with Maryland women’s soccer, he is not new to College Park.
“I’m a Terp, so I think that the one thing that we’re going to continue to ask is for people to show up with some self pride, despite all the adversity,” Marchiano said. “That’s definitely one thing I’m going to give, I want the best for this school and what it’s given me.”
Marchiano was a member of the Maryland men’s soccer team from 2005-08, and graduated in 2009. He was a two-time team captain and a two-time NCAA champion under head coach Sasho Cirovski. Marchiano appeared in 59 total games for Maryland.
“I have too much pride for this place to make sure people aren’t giving that, and that includes myself,” Marchiano said.
Prior to finding himself back in College Park this season, Marchiano was the head coach of Drexel men’s soccer from 2020-2022 and guided the Dragons to back-to-back Coastal Athletic Association Tournament appearances. He was also the head coach of Loyola Blakefield High School’s varsity soccer team in 2023.
Before his time at Drexel, Marchiano spent six seasons as an assistant coach with Loyola (Md.) men’s soccer.
“The game of soccer is not that complicated, and obviously we have had some struggles in recent times,” Marchiano said. “So, we’re just going to try to make sure that we have a group who comes to training and comes to the games with a good mindset is ready to work together …. we try to be as organized as we can be from game to game, but it’s not complex.”
Marchiano will look to prove himself over the final three matches of the season to remove the interim tag and remain Maryland’s head coach.