B.A.S., Phillip Institute of Technology (Melbourne, Australia), 1991
M.S., Long Island University, Brooklyn
Sarah Cooper is in her fourth year as the head women's soccer coach at Skidmore College. Cooper's teams have a 44-18- 6 regular season record (.709 win percentage) and have advanced to the post season for the past three years.
Since Sarah Cooper took over Skidmore in the fall of 2003, the program has had its best seasons since 1994. In 2004, Cooper led the team to the Liberty League playoffs for the first time since it's inception. The team finished the regular season with a 13-4-1 record and was invited to the ECAC Tournament. Two players were placed on the 2004 All-Liberty League teams and five players were Liberty All-Academic.
The 2005 season saw the team finish again with a 13-4-1 regular season record and make the Liberty league play-offs as the third seed. Rachael Sushner '09 was awarded Liberty League Rookie of the Year and Morgan Cadwell '06 was selected in the Liberty League first team. She was also All-Region for the second consecutive year. Six players made the league's All-Academic team.
In 2006, Cooper took the team to its most successful season since 1994, finishing with a 12-3-3 record. The Thoroughbreds entered the Liberty League play-off as the third seed and lost on penalties in the semi-final. The team hosted the ECAC Tournament as the top seed, were ranked as one of the top teams in the state and at one time achieved a national ranking of #22. Four players made Liberty League All-League teams and an astounding 12 players made the league's All-Academic team. The team currently boasts an average GPA of 3.52, which is the highest of any of Skidmore's sporting teams. Three players, Anna Cerio '08, Liza Mills '08 and Marianna Grigorov '10 were all -Region selections.
An outstanding international player, Cooper was a 10-year member of the Australian women's national team, representing her country in the 1995 and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup championships. Cooper captained the Australian national team in 1996. In 1999 and 2000, she played on the World All-Stars team in a 24 game professional tour against the U.S. women's national team.
In 1997, Cooper was awarded a coaching scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, Australia's base for many national training programs. She was the first female to be awarded this in the sport of soccer. Cooper was an ambassador for Australia and presented at the World Congress on Health in 2000 and was a team leader for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Prior to arriving at Skidmore, Cooper was an assistant coach at Division 1 Long Island University in Brooklyn from 2001-2003, where she obtained her master's in Computer Science. Cooper received a bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, (Melbourne, Australia) in 1991.
Cooper holds the NSCAA Advanced National Coaching License.
Cooper is originally from Darwin, Australia and now resides in Glens Falls, NY.
