Veronica O'Brien
Head Coach • veronica.obrien@ucr.edu

Head Coach Veronica O’Brien has taken the UC Riverside women’s soccer team from merely a concept on paper to its first-ever NCAA postseason berth. Internationally known for her play on the Canadian National Team and as a University of New Hampshire Hall of Honor inductee, O’Brien became the Highlanders' first women's soccer coach prior to the team's inaugural campaign of 2001.

O'Brien has led the Highlanders to winning campaigns and 10 or more victories in five of the last six seasons. In addition to her team success, O'Brien earned her 100th career coaching victory with a 3-0 win over UC Irvine on October 20, 2006.

The 2005 season was a historic one for O’Brien and the Highlanders, who gained their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth with an 11-4-6 record. O’Brien led UCR to an undefeated 4-0-3 mark in the Big West Conference as Riverside placed a program-best second, reaching the Big West Tournament final. UCR then garnered the conference’s first-ever at-large bid to the postseason. During the regular season, the Highlanders put together an 11-match unbeaten run and tied the school record with 10 shutouts on the year.

Matching up against #19 Colorado in the first round, the Highlanders took the game into penalty kicks, eventually bowing out but proving that they deserved to be included among the nation’s elite. For her efforts, O’Brien was named the conference’s co-Coach of the Year.

A native of Barrie, Ontario, Canada, O’Brien was selected by the University of California, Riverside to usher in the Highlander program in the fall of 2001. In just a short period of time, the Highlanders have earned the respect of their opponents and shown that they are capable of top NCAA Division I promise. After a third place finish and berth in the 2003 Big West Conference Championship, she guided the Highlanders to their third consecutive 10-win season in 2004. That squad also set school records for most wins (13), goals (45), points (129), and shutouts (nine), while also allowing the fewest goals of any Highlander team (14). With two overtime losses leaving UCR with a 13-2-4 record, the 2004 Highlanders were also one of just two teams in Division I to go the entire season without a loss in regulation play.

Prior to UCR, O’Brien was hired by the University of Texas, El Paso to lead its inaugural program for the 1996 season. In her five years at UTEP, the Miners evolved into a league power, earning a final Central Region top-10 ranking in both 1998 and 1999. In 1998 she received the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Coach of the Year Award while guiding her team to the WAC Mountain Division title, notching wins over Pac-10, Big Ten, and Big 12 Conference teams.

Her dedication to physical and scholastic growth has led to numerous Academic All-America and academic all-conference honorees as well as dozens of on-field national, regional and conference honors.

O’Brien joined UTEP after spending 1994 and 1995 as an assistant coach at her alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. During her tenure at UNH she worked with the Olympic Development Program as an assistant and started the women’s Division I volleyball program, serving as head coach in 1995.

O’Brien was an outstanding center midfielder for UNH from 1990-93. A three-time All-North Atlantic Conference honoree, a two-time Northeast Region All-American and an adidas Scholar Athlete All-American in 1993, she finished her career as the fourth-highest point scorer in NAC history as a defensive center midfielder with 51 points (16 goals, 19 assists).

On the international scene, O’Brien was an outstanding center midfielder for the Canadian National team from 1989-1998 and was the starting center midfielder for the 1995 Canadian team that competed in the 1995 World Cup in Sweden. She also represented Canada in the 1993 World University Games and 1991 World Cup Qualification Games, as well as Team Ontario in the 1992 Canada Olympic Games. In her career she has played soccer matches in over 20 different countries.

Just as impressive as her soccer teams’ stats on the field has been their progress in the classroom. O’Brien’s athletes have helped set a standard of academic excellence for UCR athletes. O’Brien’s penchant for academic success was evident during her playing years as she was named the UNH Scholar Athlete of the Year her junior year. In addition, she was awarded the Barbara King Newman Scholar Award as a top student in her major after six semesters in a row earning a 4.0 GPA. She was inducted into the UNH Hall of Honor in 2001.

Her commitment to the classroom is evidenced by the perennial academic success of her squad. In her tenure at UC Riverside, O’Brien’s teams have consistently posted over a 3.0 GPA. In addition, the team was awarded the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and adidas Academic Award for exceptional academic performance as a team for the year of 2002.

O’Brien is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In her free time she enjoys running, hiking and biking. She resides in Murrieta with her husband, York Strother, who is the Highlander’s men’s tennis coach, and their dog, Jake.

Lane Davis
Assistant Coach • lane.davis@ucr.edu
Lane Davis joined the UC Riverside women’s soccer coaching staff in the spring of 2007 as an assistant coach. Davis will primarily work with the Highlander goalkeepers and is responsible for maintaining the recruiting database.

Davis is currently a goalkeeping coach for the Cal South Olympic Development Program (ODP) in Fullerton and is on staff with the Region II Girls ODP Team. That followed successful stints at two other ODP teams in Missouri and Kansas, including serving as the Head Coach of the Kansas 1987 Boys ODP team in 2002.

Collegiately, Davis spent three years as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Kansas, winning a Big 12 Conference title with an 18-5 mark in 2004. During his tenure, the Jayhawks made two trips to the NCAA Tournament, making the Sweet 16 in 2003 and the second round in 2004. He moved on to Missouri State University as an assistant coach in 2005-2006, where he was responsible for scouting upcoming opponents, coordinating team travel, constructing a recruiting database, and implementing a new strength and conditioning program. He helped lead the Bears to a 9-4-5 record in 2005 and coached their goalkeeper to a first team all-conference selection. In addition, his 2006 recruiting class included the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year.

At the club level, Davis was most recently a head coach with the Carlsbad Lightning in Carlsbad, CA. He was also the Head Coach at SC United in Wichita, KS, and Kaw Valley Soccer Club in Lawrence, KS, before coaching with the Kansas Soccer Academy in Lawrence from 2004-05.

Davis played one season at McPherson College in McPherson, KS before a knee injury ended his playing career. He moved to the sidelines, spending a total of 13 seasons coaching both boys and girls soccer at various Kansas high schools.

A 1999 graduate of Wichita State University with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, Davis received his Masters of Education in Sports Administration from the University of Kansas in 2002. Davis is a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and holds his NSCAA National Diploma and earned his NSCAA Advanced National Goalkeeping Diploma in the summer of 2007. He also carries a National “B” License from the United States Soccer Federation.

Davis resides in San Diego.

Kerri Patterson
Assistant Coach • kerri.patterson@ucr.edu
Former UC Riverside soccer player Kerri Patterson returned to the Highlander program for her second stint as an assistant coach in the summer of 2007. Pattersno, who was a three-year letterwinner for the Highlanders from 2001-03 after transferring from Wyoming, was a student-assistant coach in 2004 and 2005.

Patterson was a three-year letterwinner and team captain for the Highlanders from 2001 through 2003. She earned two Big West Academic All-Conference Awards during her career. Her career highlights include a pair of game-winning goals during the 2002 season.

After graduating from UCR in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in sociology, she then went on to be the head soccer coach at Upland High School in 2006. She guided the program to a 23-1-1 record and a No. 1 ranking in the nation by the NSCAA.

The Etiwanda HS graduate has a bachelor's degree in sociology from UC Riverside and a Masters of Sports Science with an emphasis in coaching from the United States Sports Academy. She holds a United States Soccer Federation "B" Coaching License.

Her hobbies include running at the beach, reading, and hanging out with her husband (Michael Paterson) whom she tied the knot with in the spring of 2008. She resides in Alta Loma.