Honors and Awards
• 2024 United Soccer Coaches Division II Atlantic Region Staff of the Year
• 2024 PSAC East Coach of the Year
Sam Odell enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Shepherd women’s soccer program after being named the head coach in April 2021.
In 2024, Odell led the Rams to win all 3 trophies on offer, as en route to the NCAA Elite 8 they were crowned Atlantic Region champions, PSAC Champions, and PSAC Eastern Division Champions. The Rams finished the season ranked #8 in the final 2024 United Soccer Coaches National Poll for Division II.
In under four years, Odell and his staff have overseen a meteoric rise which has transformed the team from a 1-15-2 record and 9th out of 9 teams in the PSAC East at the start of 2021, to an 18-2-4 record (13-1-2 in conference play), the #1 team in the Atlantic Region, and a recognized force on the national stage of Division 2 Women’s Soccer.
While sitting in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll Top 25 for the entire fall of 2024 from week two onward, the historic year in Shepherd Women’s Soccer history saw many program records set. Some of the most notable include: Consecutive games without a loss (two separate streaks of 13 games unbeaten), Most Consecutive Wins (11), Most Wins in a Season (18), Most Conference Wins in a Season (13), Fewest Losses in a Season (2), Best Overall Win Percentage (.833) (18-2-4), Best Conference Win Percentage (.875) (13-1-2), Most Shutouts in a Season (11).
In Odell’s four seasons he has recruited and mentored several players who have gone on to achieve several prestigious athletic awards:
3 x United Soccer Coaches All-Americans: Delaney Bittner - 1st Team, Hannah Wilt - 1st Team, Lydia Gable - 3rd Team
1 x D2CCA All-American: Sarah Peternel - 3rd Team
1 x PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year: Delaney Bittner
1 x PSAC East Freshmen of the Year: Hannah Wilt
5 x United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Women's All-Atlantic Region Team Awards: 1st Team - Delaney Bittner, Hannah Wilt, Annabelle Wunderlich, Lydia Gable. 2nd - Sarah Peternel
6 x D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Team Awards: 1st Team - Annabelle Wunderlich, Sarah Peternel, Delaney Bittner. 2nd Team - Sara Hohn (2), Lydia Gable
10 x All-Conference Honors Awards: 1st Team - Annabelle Wunderlich, Lydia Gable and Delaney Bittner. 2nd Team - Reagan Ackermann, Sarah Peternel, Madison Herb, Hannah Wilt, Lydia Gable, Sara Hohn (2).
As well as team accolades, under Odell’s tutelage several Rams received individual honors, including the program’s first three United Soccer Coaches All-Americans: Delaney Bittner (1st Team), Hannah Wilt (1st Team), and Lydia Gable (3rd Team). Sarah Peternel also received D2CCA All-American third team honors.
In Odell’s previous seasons, the progress of the team and upwards trajectory has been evident. In 2023, Odell led the Rams to a 7-5-6 record, and the highest winning percentage in program history at the time with a mark of 0.555. The fall of 2023 was also the programs first winning season since 2005 - just narrowly missing out on the playoffs for the second year running and recording the team’s best finish in the PSAC since moving from the MEC in 2019. Odell also guided the Rams to their first regional ranking in program history.
Additionally, Odell has mentored numerous academic award winners in his tenure. To name but a few, in 2024, Bittner received PSAC Fall Top 10 accolades. Since 2022, there have been 18 players receive CSC Academic All-District honors. In 2021, Aly Nazarok was also named a finalist for the 2021 Truman Scholarship by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Furthermore, Delaney Bittner (first team) and Sara Hohn (third team) became the program's first Academic All-Americans.
Record by Season (PSAC East):
2024: 18-2-4
2023: 7-5-6
2022: 7-7-4
2021: 4-11-2
Prior to being named head coach, Odell spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Rams between 2019 and 2020 and was the interim head coach during the spring season of 2021.
A native of Walton-on-Thames, England, Odell is a 2018 graduate of Caldwell College where he was a four-year member of the men’s soccer team from 2014-17. He gained All-Conference honors as a midfielder, and was named to the CACC All-Tournament Team in 2015 and 2016. Odell played at Portsmouth Football Club’s FA accredited Academy from age 11-18 in his youth career prior to playing in the U.S. ?During his time at Portsmouth he played against the top academies in the U.K Academy System including teams such as Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as players who are now England internationals such as Raheem Sterling and Luke Shaw.
Odell holds his USSF C License (United States Soccer Federation) and an Advanced National Diploma (United Soccer Coaches).
He earned a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Caldwell in 2018 and graduated with an MBA from Shepherd in 2021.
