The 2022 season will be Lauren Lukis' 20th as the head coach of the Bentley University women’s soccer program.
Lukis led the Falcons to another standout season in 2021 that saw the team post an 8-4-1 record in the Northeast-10 Conference to finish in 3rd place in the standings. That matched the program's best ever regular season finish. The team finished the season ranked 6th in the East Region and just narrowly missed out on a second straight NCAA Tournament bid.
Five student-athletes from that team earned NE10 All-Conference honors and Dana Goulet and Kat Hassapis were named All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches. The duo were also voted to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team, and Maeli Cherry was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 1 Team for women’s soccer. Additionally, 93 percent of the team's student-athletes were named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester. For the spring semester, the team had 100% representation on the Academic Honor Roll.
The 2019 season saw Lukis lead the Falcons to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Backed by a stifling defense and timely goalscoring, the Falcons went 10-8-2 overall and 7-5-1 in the NE10 Conference. During the season's stretch run, the Falcons posted five straight shutouts and had a streak of over 500 minutes without conceeding a goal. The team went into the NE10 playoffs as the No. 4 seed, where they defeated Southern New Hampshire in the quarterfinals, 1-0. That led to a selection to the NCAA Tournament in the East Region as the No. 6 seed.
At the end of the 2019 season the honors rolled in. Center back Riane Hunt was named first team All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches. Five student-athletes were named NE10 All-Conference, and Hunt and goalkeeper Kat Hassapis were named NE10 Academic All-Conference.
Lukis has led the Falcons to a 42-34-11 record since the 2016 season, while competing in the highly competitive NE10 Conference. She led the Falcons to the NE10 playoffs in 2017, which capped off a strong campaign that saw the team qualify for the postseason on the final day of the regular season with an overtime win over New Haven.
Lukis' program also excels in the classroom. They have earned a Team Academic Award from the United Soccer Coaches five years in a row and six out of the last seven years. In 2018, they earned the NE10 Team Academic Excellence Award for women's soccer for having the best team grade point average in the conference. Also for the 2018 season, every student-athlete on the roster qualified for the NE10 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Two student-athletes, Brandi McDonald and Sammy Millmann, were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team.
Lukis, a Holliston native, came to Bentley after two years as an assistant coach at Brandeis University (2001-2002) and one at UMass-Lowell (2000). She has earned a national coaching diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Lukis played two seasons at Bentley as a starting midfielder both seasons. She amassed 20 points in 39 career games. She also was a two-year letterwinner in track while at Bentley.
She finished her collegiate career at Clark, where she was also a two-year starter before receiving her degree in psychology in 1999. In 1998, the Cougars finished 17-2-1, were ranked third in Division III, and captured the league championship.
Post college, Lukis played with the Azzurri in the Eastern Massachusetts Division I Women’s Soccer League and the Rhode Island Rays of the W-League for six seasons. She also served as captain of the Massachusetts Regional Select Team, who she led to four regional championships.
Lukis was named to the USASA National Select Team (also known as the USA National “B” Team). She was one of just 36 players to make the squad and participate in the USASA National Select Team Camp.
