ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer program and fourth-year head coach Sade Ayinde have announced the hiring of Meg Richardson as the program's newest assistant coach.
 
"I am excited to welcome Meg to the Capital Region and for her to get started with our team." Said coach Ayinde. "While her expertise is in goalkeeping, I know that she will be able to contribute to many other facets of our program to help us build on the foundation Gabe Kleinert and I developed over the past three years. Meg's desire to learn and grow as a coach, her past experiences working in a winning program, and her belief in developing strong relationships made her stand out as the right coach to bring into our environment."
 
Richardson spent the previous three seasons at Williams College as an assistant coach for the Ephs. During her first season in 2022 with the Ephs, the team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament and compiled an overall record of 11-5-3 and an NESCAC mark of 7-2-1. In 2023, Williams went 10-4-5 overall and 6-2-2 in the NESCAC and earned the second seed in the conference tournament for the second straight season. The Ephs reached the semifinals of the NESCAC playoffs and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 2024 saw the Ephs record an 8-5-3 record and a quarterfinal appearance in the NESCAC Tournament.
 
Richardson Worked primarily with Williams' goalkeepers which played a pivotal role in three consecutive seasons where the team ranked among the nation's top 25 in NCAA Division III for goals against average, posting a 0.566 GAA in both 2022 and 2023 (24th nationally) and improving to 0.435 in 2024 (12th nationally).
 
A 2023-2024 United Soccer Coaches 30 Under 30 Cohort Member, she Completed a year-long education and mentorship program comprised of 15 male and 15 female coaches under 30 years old. As a part of the program, in January 2024, Richardson presented with her group on Developing the Goal Scoring Mentality at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Chicago.
 
"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join the UAlbany Women's Soccer Program!" said Richardson. "I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations that I had throughout the hiring process, and I truly felt that my values and philosophy aligned with the goals of the program and mission of the department. I'm excited to work with Coach Ayinde and learn from her wealth of knowledge and experience in the game and look forward to coaching and mentoring a driven group of strong women who are committed to seeing success both on and off the field.
 
"I am honored to have the ability to add to the culture not only within the UAlbany women's soccer program, but also within the athletics department. I'm eternally grateful for my previous experiences, both as a player and as a coach, and I look forward to my new role here at UAlbany! "
 
Prior to her arrival at Springfield, Richardson was a standout goalkeeper for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) women's soccer team. Over her four years at MCLA, Richardson amassed 596 career saves (second most all-time in program history), with a .828 save percentage and 1.91 goals-against average. In 2019, Richardson was named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American All-East Region Third Team, a two-time MASCAC Defensive Player of the Year, a four-time All-MASCAC First Team selection, and a four-time MASCAC All-Academic Team member.
 
Through the United Soccer Coaches Association, Richardson possesses the National Diploma, Level 1-3 Goalkeeper Diplomas, 11v11 Diploma, Level 2 Diploma, and the LGBT: Diversity and Inclusion Certificate. Richardson has eight years of experience coaching at the youth and club level, and specialized goalkeeper coaching experience.
 
The Adams, Massachusetts, native earned a Master of Science in Psychology, with a concentration in athletic counseling, from Springfield College in May 2022. Through her program, she created a thesis titled "Feminist Beliefs of College Coaches" which evaluated how collegiate coaches of women's sports approach the profession through a feminist therapy perspective. She also served as the Disability and Accessibility Graduate Associate at Springfield, where she provided academic coaching and support to students with disabilities.