NC State head women's soccer coach Gary Higgins has made the first addition to his staff, as Joanna Fennema will now serve as the Associate Head Coach for the Wolfpack program. The Raleigh native brings a wealth of experience as a player and coach to the role.

Fennema joins Higgins after serving as the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne for the past season. The team posted a 13-2-5 record, including an 8-0-3 mark in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC). The Bears played in the SAC championship game and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to her stint with the Bears, Fennema had a successful three-year run as the assistant coach at Columbus St. She helped lead the Cougars to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Regional Championship in 2022 as they entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. That season, Fennema was part of the United Soccer Coaches' Southeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year as the team went 19-3-2.

In addition, she helped the Columbus St. program reach a pair of Peach Belt regular season championships and a PBC Tournament title. Under her guidance, 30 players went on to be named all-conference, seven earned All-America honors, five were Scholar-All Americans and she coached the 2022 Elite 90 award winner. In total, Columbus St. was 53-10-5 in her three seasons on the sidelines.

https://gopack.com/news/2025/1/6/womens-soccer-fennema-joins-coaching-staff-as-associate-head-coach