Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
The 2019 season will be David Nikolic's ninth as an assistant coach with the Northwestern women's soccer program. He came to Northwestern after spending the previous 18 seasons alongside head coach Michael Moynihan.
Throughout Nikolic’s tenure, he has helped push the ‘Cats to become one of the premier development centers for top talent in the country.
Most recently, he helped groom three Wildcats who went on to play professional soccer in the NWSL. Nikolic oversaw the development of midfielder Marissa Viggiano, from a Big Ten All-Freshman selection to a two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection and second all-time in Wildcat history in assists. Viggiano was drafted to Orlando Pride and has already made five starts and 10 appearances in her rookie season.
Nikolic also was instrumental in the growth of the center back pairing of Kayla Sharples and Hannah Davison, who both were drafted by the Chicago Red Stars. Sharples earned a spot on the All-America Third Team twice and on the All-Big Ten First Team three times. During the four years with both center backs, Northwestern boasted one of the best defenses in the country, delivering 47 shutouts over eight years.
"I'm very excited to come to Northwestern and be a part of the Wildcat family," Nikolic said after his hiring. "I appreciate everything that Mike Moynihan, along with Dr. Jim Phillips and Janna Blais, have done to bring me on staff. The support I've already received and the welcome that I have felt is beyond words. Mike and I have had a great working relationship for the last 18 years and I expect that to continue. We've known each other about 30 years, so we're pretty in tune with what each other can do, and I look to support him in every possible way. We have great aspirations for this program."
Nikolic helped the 2012 Wildcats to a five-win improvement from the year before. In tandem with Moynihan, the duo captured their 200th career victory with a 1-0 shutout of Michigan State in the season finale.
In his fourth year on staff, Nikolic helped lead the 2015 Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament bid in 17 seasons. That year was the most successful for Moynihan and Nikolic to-date in their time at Northwestern. In addition to their NCAA Tournament appearance, the Wildcats won 14 games on the year, including a school record seven wins in the Big Ten.
Following the 2015 season, Nikolic was elevated to associate head coach.
Nikolic helped led NU to NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year in 2016. The squad reached the Round of 16 for just the second time in program history with the first coming in 1998.
Northwestern finished the season 16-3-4 overall to tie the renowned 1998 team for most wins in a single season. The Wildcats did not lose a single match against a team ranked outside the RPI top 22 (based on the end of season RPI data).
The #B1GCats tournament bid was bolstered by the stalwart play of the NU defense. Lauren Clem, the program-first NSCAA All-American, anchored a backline that posted a program-best and NCAA-leading 17 shutouts as well as a goals-against-average of .271 to lead the country.
Nikolic helped Moynihan build UWM into a program that won 12-straight Horizon League titles and made nine NCAA Tournament appearances during their tenure. In 2011, He was named NSCAA Great Lakes Regional Assistant Coach of the Year as he helped coach the Panthers to one of their best seasons in program history. During the 2011 campaign, UWM won a school-record 19 matches, made its ninth NCAA appearance and rose as high as No. 10 in the NSCAA Top 25 and No. 9 in the Soccer America national poll.
The Milwaukee, Wis., native, is a USSF `B' licensed coach and also has coached the Chicago Red Eleven of the USL W-League, was the Region II ODP age group head coach for the 1992 age group in 2009 and 2010 and was a head coach in the Wisconsin State ODP program (Region II ODP finalists in 1999, 2001 and 2003). Additionally, Nikolic was the head coach for the Milwaukee Kickers Adult Men's Majors Team from 2004-08 and took the F.C. Milwaukee U-23 men's team to the national semifinal in 2001.
In addition to his collegiate and club coaching career, Nikolic has coaching experience at the high school level. He was the assistant coach at Wauwatosa East High School before moving to Milwaukee Pius XI, where he led the Lady Popes to an undefeated season, a state championship and a No. 16 national ranking.
Nikolic earned his bachelor's degree from UWM in 1992, graduating with degrees in mass communication and history. David and his wife Brittany, who is the head women's soccer coach at Alverno College, gave birth to their son, George, in January 2012.
