Renee Pilch

Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Belmont University

Renee Pilch begins her second year on Army's staff after being retained as the goalkeeping coach by newly-appinted head coach Marcia McDermott.

With no collegiate experience among Army's three goalkeepers when she took over that position last year, Pilch molded that group into a cohesive unit that combined for a 1.44 team goals-against average to rank third among the Patriot League schools.

Prior to arriving at West Point, Pilch held a similar position the previous two years as a graduate assistant at Gardner-Webb University breaking into the coaching ranks.

Her first year at Gardner-Webb (2010) saw the Runnin' Bulldogs reach the championship finals of the Big South Tournament for the first time in school history. Seventh-seeded Gardner-Webb took No. 5 seeded High Point into overtime before bowing 1-0 to close out the season 7-10-5 to include nine shutouts.

Pilch mentored goalkeeper Chelsea Hearne, who earned all-conference and all-tournament honors en route to recording a 7-7-5 mark and a 1.02 goals-against average with eight shutouts. Heame allowed just one goal over three GWU matches at the conference tournament. Included in her performance were a pair of saves in the PK shootout versus Liberty in a 0-0 draw as the Runnin' Bulldogs advanced to the championship game after winning the shootout 4-2.

In 2011, Gardner-Webb posted a 4-4-2 conference mark to earn the No. 6 seed in the Big South Tournament where the Runnin' Bulldogs fell to third-seeded Campbell in the opening round in closing out the season with six wins and five shutouts.

Pilch coached the Academy Boys' and Girls' club teams for the Greater Cleveland County Soccer Association as well as the North Carolina ODP 96 and 97 girls' teams while earning her master's degree in sports science and pedagogy from Gardner-Webb.

As an undergraduate, Pilch lettered on the pitch at the University of Pittsburgh for two years prior to transferring to Belmont University where she helped the Bruins to the 2008 Atlantic Sun tournament title and NCAA bid as a junior. Pilch was part of a goalkeeper unit her senior year that ranked 35th nationally in save percentage when the Bruins captured the regular-season conference title. The 2010 graduate earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science with a minor in sociology.

A native of Peckville, Pa., Pilch starred at Valley View where the two-time all-region selection as a goalkeeper set a school mark for scoreless minutes (723) in goal. As team captain her senior year, she led Valley View to the district championship after finishing runner-up the previous year.

Pilch currently resides in Ft. Montgomery, N.Y.