In December 2021, Meg Ryan Nemzer took on her dream job – head women’s soccer coach at the University of Maryland. For the Maryland native, getting offered the role was a ‘full circle’ moment.

 Nemzer attended Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she was co-captain for three consecutive seasons and a key pillar of what many called the best defense in the country.

In 2006, the team conceded just six goals and achieved 16 clean sheets – the most in Rutgers’ history.

Nemzer went on to coach at Rutgers, spending 14 years there and working her way up from the bottom - through volunteer director of operations, second assistant, first assistant and recruiting coordinator, before spending the last eight seasons of her spell there as associate head coach.

In her last season at Rutgers, the team won the Big Ten Championship and achieved a final ranking of number three in the nation.

In 2015, Nemzer became the first female head coach to win an ECNL National Championship, in charge of the Arsenal Players Development Academy.

This path of success is one that Nemzer has forged for herself – and she has used every step along the way to prepare herself to excel in the head coach role.