June 2, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Erica Demers has been named interim assistant coach with the University of Iowa soccer program, UI head coach Dave DiIanni announced Monday.
“I am excited Erica has chosen to follow our path to Iowa,” said DiIanni. “She has been a valuable piece of the coaching staff at Grand Valley State for the past nine years working with the attackers, as recruiting coordinator and with our camps. She is a great role model for the student-athletes, and I am looking forward to having her as a member of the Hawkeye coaching staff.”
Demers joins the Hawkeyes after spending the past nine seasons with DiIanni at Grand Valley State, the last two as associate head coach. She helped the Lakers post a 189-12-17 record, capture three NCAA Division II national titles, win nine-straight GLIAC championships and nine NCAA regional championships.
Under Demers’ offensive tutelage, Grand Valley State became one of the best offensive programs in the nation. The team set program scoring records in six-straight seasons, including a school-best 92 goals in 2010.
Demers was instrumental in the development of All-America forward Katy Tafler, who holds the top spot in the GVSU record books with 269 points (114 goals, 41 assists) — a total that ranks third in NCAA history. She also coached five GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year selections.
In addition to her coaching duties, Demers served as the school’s recruiting coordinator, camps coordinator and instructor, strength and conditioning coach, and fundraising director. She also was instrumental in the team’s academic success, as she coached two Academic All-American of the Year honorees, eight Academic All-Americans, one Elite 88 Award winner and more than 40 athletes to GLIAC All-Academic honors during her tenure.
Demers began her coaching career at The Citadel, where she served one season as a graduate assistant.
As a student-athlete, Demers played four years of Division I soccer at Oakland University, where she led the Grizzlies to four-straight conference tournament titles and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She was a two-time first-team Mid-Continent Conference selection and was Mid-Con Player of the Year in 2002. She ended her career with 55 points on 15 goals and 25 assists.
Demers played for the Canadian U-21 National Team Pool and was part of the Canadian National Championship team in 2000. In 1997-98, she played for the National Training Centre team and was a member of the Ontario Provincial Team for five years.
The Welland, Ontario, Canada, native graduated from Oakland with a bachelor of science in health science in 2004 and earned her master’s degree in education from Grand Valley State in 2009.