NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion Athletics has announced its fourth women's soccer head coach in program history with the hiring of Will Roberts, Athletics Director Dr. Wood Selig announced on Monday. Roberts is coming to the 757 from ULM where he spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Warhawks.
In his three seasons as the head coach of the Warhawks he has compiled an overall record of 31-13-15. This past season with ULM, Roberts earned Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors and led his team past ODU in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Semifinal, 3-2, taking the Warhawks to their first Sun Belt Conference Championship game after winning the SBC Regular Season Championship for the first time in ULM’s history with an overall record of 13-3-4 (6-0-4 SBC).
“I want to sincerely thank Athletics Director Wood Selig and the athletic department for the opportunity to lead this program, as well as Angie Hind for building a strong culture and foundation that positions this program well for continued success,” said Roberts. “My vision is to build a program that competes for championships while developing confident, resilient student-athletes in a positive and high-performance environment.”
“First I would like to thank and congratulate Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director Danielle Cohea for conducting such an exhaustive national search so efficiently relative to the urgent nature of this hiring process,” said Selig. “Danielle and her committee; Nathan Jones, associate men’s soccer head coach, Amy Lynch associate athletics director for Academic Services and Student Success, and Ryan Parncutt assistant athletic director of marketing and digital strategy landed an absolute gem of a hire in Will Roberts. Will played collegiately for two of the most successful current men’s head soccer coaches in the country. He went on to prove himself after winning a national championship as a student-athlete as an impactful assistant head coach before becoming the University of Louisiana at Monroe head coach where all he did was win the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship in 2025.”
Roberts hails from Denbigh, North Wales and is an alumnus of the University of Charleston after playing all four years. He is a four-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American and a four-time national semifinalist. His 72 goals at Charleston rank him in the Top 25 all-time in the history of NCAA Division II soccer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Will Roberts to lead our women’s soccer program,” said ODU executive associate athletic director Danielle Cohea. “His commitment to student-athlete development, both on and off the field, aligns perfectly with our mission. Coach Roberts is known for creating environments where student-athletes feel supported, challenged, and empowered to grow as players, students, and people. He brings a high-performance mindset that will continue to position our program to compete for championships.”
“Congrats to Will on being named head coach of ODU, I think it’s not just a great hire, but the right hire,” said former ODU head coach Angie Hind. “We have spoken quite a bit recently regarding the position and I honestly feel he is the perfect fit. It’s clear he has similar values and ambitions to those that this program was built on. It’s so impressive what Will and his staff have been able to achieve at ULM and obviously I’ve seen this firsthand and so I am very excited to see him take over and look forward to seeing the future success I’m confident he will bring. I know I speak for many when welcoming him to the Monarch family”
In 2024, ULM finished third in the Sun Belt West division with a 9-8-3 overall record. During that season, the ULM women’s soccer team ranked first in shutouts with eight, third in wins with nine, and fifth with 37 goals in program history.
ULM finished with a program record four conference wins since the Warhawks joined the SBC in 2006. Roberts helped guide three Warhawks into earning spots on the all-conference awards list. Marking the first time in ULM history that two players were named to the First Team All-SBC as well as being the first time three players were named to an all-conference team in the same season.
Roberts took over as acting head coach midway through the 2022 season. With Roberts at the helm, the 2022 Warhawks finished the season with a 10-6-3 record. The 10 wins ranked as the second-most wins in program history in a single-season. ULM ranked first in the SBC in shots per game (18.5), second in points per game (5.3) and goals per game (38) and fourth in assists per game (1.3).
Roberts made his way down to Monroe, Louisiana in the summer of 2020 and served as an assistant coach with the Warhawks for two seasons. As an assistant, Roberts helped guide the Maroon and Gold to eight wins in the 2021 season. That marked the fifth-most wins in a single-season in program history. ULM advanced to the semifinals of the SBC Championship for the first time in program history.
Roberts came to ULM after working as a graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial University. At LMU, Roberts helped guide the women’s soccer program to a pair of South Atlantic Conference Tournament championships as well as an NCAA Division II Tournament appearance. Roberts was on staff as LMU finished 14-5-2 overall in 2018, while also recording a record of 7-3 in the SAC and winning the conference tournament. The Railsplitters made their way to the Sweet 16 and ended the campaign with a No. 18 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches DII National Poll. In 2019, Roberts assisted LMU’s run, helping the Railsplitters win the SAC Tournament for a second consecutive season and making their way to the second round of the NCAA DII Tournament. LMU ended the season with a No. 6 ranking by the United Soccer Coaches, it was the highest ranking in program history.
“Old Dominion stood out to me because of its people, its values, and its ambition, and I’m excited to work alongside our student-athletes, alumni, and the Monarch community to create a culture built on trust, accountability, and daily growth where players feel valued, challenged, and proud to represent Old Dominion University both on and off the field,” said Roberts.
“Coach Roberts impressed all of us with his overall coaching philosophy, style of play, relationship building and student athlete first approach,” added Selig. “I am confident Coach Roberts can continue to build upon the trajectory of national prominence for ODU women’s soccer established by Coach Angie Hind and her staff. I am confident our current and future ODU women’s soccer student-athletes will value their opportunity to be coached and lead by such a dynamic and knowledgeable head coach in Will Roberts.”