Girls' Soccer Coach Enters Hall of Fame

After eight years coaching college men’s soccer, Bill Mulvihill had to tweak his somewhat gruff, in-your-face leadership style when he took a job coaching Moorestown’s girls’ team.

“It was a little bit of an adjustment for me,” he recalled. “I pretty much coached with the same intensity, but the demeanor had to change a little bit. But it was still sort of a tough love kind of thing.”

Apparently, “tough love” works. His first year coaching Moorestown girls’ soccer—15 years ago—the team made it to the semis of the South Jersey final and over the course of the last 14 years has captured 13 division titles, making it all the way to the state Group 3 Championship final last year.

in an extremely close game that was scoreless with only a few minutes left to play, before Northern Highlands scored two quick goals to win the title.

In spite of the tough loss, after a distinguished career with Moorestown—13 league titles (including 12 in a row), four South Jersey titles, and two state titles—the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association (NJSCA) saw fit to honor Mulvihill with induction into their Hall of Fame last week.

Moorestown athletic director Neil Rosa nominated Mulvihill for induction, not just for his wins on the field, but for his ability to lead and mold his girls into well-rounded adults.

“His championships are only secondary to what he does for the student athletes in guiding them through the rigors of interscholastic competition,” Rosa said, explaining that, for Mulvihill, it’s “students first, winning second.”

Like most coaches, Mulvihill began his career as a player, playing soccer all four of his years at West Chester University. After graduating, he spent two years as an assistant at West Chester, before moving on to Rowan University, where he spent eight years as assistant coach for the men’s soccer program.

When Mulvihill took the helm of the Moorestown girls’ program 15 years ago, it didn’t take him long to establish the team’s winning reputation. Except for their 2010 season (5-9), the team has had a winning record every year, as well as the aforementioned titles. And according to Mulvihill, that disappointing 2010 season made the team more hungry for success in 2011.

The coach accepted his Hall of Fame induction at a special ceremony last Sunday in Edison.

Reflecting on the honor, Mulvihill deflected, praising the “great assistant coaches and great players who have bought into the system we’ve implemented over the last 15 years.”

But all those people follow the head coach’s lead. So what does he do that makes his teams so great? Mulvihill explained it’s a work ethic, carried over from his own days as a player.

“If you’re not willing to work hard, you won’t play,” he said. “I always said it—we may not have always had the most talent on the field, but we’ve never been outworked on the field.