MarcConnolly enters his first year at Holy Cross in 2010, where he willbe reuniting with head coach Ted Priestly, as the two were togetherfor three seasons at UMass Lowell.
In hisfour years at UMass Lowell, Connolly helped guide the River Hawksto two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, which included a trip tothe Elite Eight in 2008. That same season, UML won a share of theNortheast-10 Conference title.
A longtimecoach at the youth level, Connolly led the FC Stars ofMassachusetts U-17 squad to the Massachusetts State Cupchampionship this past June and to the Region I finals in July. In2009, his U-18 Stars team also won the state title after making thefinals in 2007 and 2008. In addition to being the club’stechnical director on the boys side, he also coaches the U-17 andU-18 teams.
Beforemoving to Massachusetts, Connolly guided the U-15, U-16 and U-19teams to Connecticut State Cup championships, as well as two bronzemedals in Region I, while with the Oakwood Soccer Club.
Inaddition to coaching soccer, Connolly serves as the chiefresearcher and editorial consultant for ESPN’s MLSand U.S. National Team soccer broadcasts, where he works alongsideon-air talents JP Dellacamera and John Harkes.
Connollyspent nine years covering the U.S. National Team forESPN.com, and has been a contributor to USAToday, ESPN The Magazine, Boston Magazineand Four Four Two. He has been the recipient of theNSCAA’s Deadline Game Story Award on three occasions.
In May of2006, Connolly received the Distinguished Alumni Award from hisalma mater, Ithaca College, from where he graduated in 1996. ADean’s List student, he graduated with a degree in sportsinformation and communication.
Connolly was a former soccerstandout at Westford Academy, where he was a teammate of TedPriestly. He currently resides in Boxboro, Mass.
