STATESBORO, Ga. – Assistant coach Brian Dunleavy has been named head coach of the Georgia Southern women's soccer program, as announced today by Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein.

"After conducting a national search and reviewing our list of candidates, we feel confident that Brian is the best fit for Georgia Southern," said Kleinlein. "Brian helped turn our women's soccer team into a championship-level program during his time as an assistant, and with his leadership, the program can continue to do great things."

Dunleavy has worked for the previous two seasons under former head coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel and was an integral part of the Eagles 2012 SoCon championship season. Georgia Southern finished the 2012 campaign with a 10-8-5 overall record, winning the league championship over Furman on penalty kicks (5-4) before falling 4-0 to Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I'd like to thank Tom Kleinlein and the University for trusting me to lead the women's soccer program," said Dunleavy. "I also want to thank Coach Vanderspiegel for her guidance over the past two years. She has prepared me for this opportunity, and I am very grateful. I'm very excited about our future here at Georgia Southern. We have a very good team coming back this season, and we will do our best to defend our SoCon Championship."

Dunleavy joined the Eagles in 2011 after a two-year coaching stint at Saint Leo University in Dade City, Fla., where he worked with the men's soccer program. While at Saint Leo, the Lions, who compete in the Division II Sunshine State Conference, posted a 15-15 overall record.

Before coming to Saint Leo, Dunleavy was the head men's soccer coach at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, an NCAA Division III institution in the Bronx, N.Y., where he spent a year directing the Dolphins.

Prior to his stint in the Bronx, he spent two years as a staff coach for the Long Island Rough Riders in the Professional Development League's Youth Academy located in Long Island, N.Y.

After a four year playing career at Hofstra University, from 1999-2002, Dunleavy joined the coaching staff as an Assistant Coach in 2003. He helped the program to win back-to-back Colonial Athletic Association Championships along with NCAA appearances in 2004 and 2005.

Dunleavy holds an NSCAA National Coaching Diploma. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature from the Hofstra University.

A native of Levittown, N.Y., Dunleavy currently resides in Statesboro with his wife Janine and their son Owen.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.