Kyle Venter

Assistant Coach Kyle Venter completed his third season with the University of Iowa women’s soccer program. Venter assists with all aspects of the Hawkeye program and helps spearhead player evaluation and the recruiting process.

Venter joined the Hawkeyes following his most recent stint as interim head coach at the University of Cincinnati.

In 2025, Iowa finished with a 12-5-4 overall record and posted a 6-2-3 Big Ten Conference mark, tying for third in the league’s regular-season standings. The Hawkeyes earned the second preseason ranking in program history, opening the season at No. 13 before rising as high as No. 5, the highest ranking in program history.

Iowa advanced to its 16th Big Ten Tournament appearance before falling to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Junior Sofia Bush earned Big Ten All-Tournament Team honors. Following the conference tournament, the Hawkeyes were selected as a five seed in the NCAA Tournament, earning their third consecutive NCAA berth, a program record. It also marked the third straight season Iowa hosted an NCAA Tournament match. Senior Kenzie Roling’s goal lifted the Hawkeyes past South Dakota State, advancing Iowa to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the third straight year. Iowa became one of just 11 programs nationally to reach the NCAA Second Round in three consecutive seasons.

The Hawkeyes faced LSU in Nashville in the NCAA Tournament Second Round, falling to the Tigers after the match was delayed one day due to weather.

Four Hawkeyes earned All-Big Ten postseason recognition, with juniors Sofia Bush and Millie Greer earning second-team honors. Freshmen Liana Tarasco and Elle Wildman were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, while senior Taylor Kane was Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award honoree. Bush and Greer also earned United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region honors.

Iowa excelled academically, with five student-athletes earning CSC Academic All-District honors. Seventeen Hawkeyes were named Academic All-Big Ten, while 14 earned Dean’s List recognition, including two who were also named to the President’s List.

Hawkeye fans continued to show strong support, as Iowa averaged 2,076 fans per home match, ranking fifth nationally and first in the Big Ten. Iowa’s home match against TCU drew 2,382 fans, setting a program record for regular-season attendance.

In 2024, Iowa posted a 15-3-4 overall record, including an 8-2-1 Big Ten regular-season mark. The 15 wins tied a program record, while the eight conference victories set a new program standard. Iowa finished third in the Big Ten regular-season standings, tying a program record.

The Hawkeyes earned a three seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest seed in program history, and hosted an NCAA Tournament match for the second time in program history. Iowa defeated Missouri State, 2-1, in the opening round before traveling to Los Angeles and defeating Georgetown, 1-0, to advance to the program’s first-ever Round of 16 appearance. Iowa’s season concluded with a 1-0 loss to Virginia Tech in the Round of 16.

Four Hawkeyes earned All-Big Ten postseason honors, marking a program record. Maggie Johnston and Millie Greer were named Second Team All-Big Ten, while Sofia Bush earned Third Team recognition. Berit Parten was named to the All-Freshman Team, and Miah Schueller was Iowa’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.

Bush and Johnston earned United Soccer Coaches All-North Region honors, with Bush named to the third team and Johnston to the fourth team.

Iowa’s defense allowed just 12 goals during the season, breaking the previous program record by four goals. The Hawkeyes posted 12 shutouts, one shy of the program-record 13 shutouts set in 2023.

Attendance at the Iowa Soccer Complex reached a program-record average of 1,479 fans per match in 2024, ranking 13th nationally and second among Big Ten programs. Venter was also named one of 10 assistant coaches nationally to Top Drawer Soccer’s “Women’s Division I Assistant Coaches to Know” list.

In his first season at Iowa, Venter helped guide the Hawkeyes to the second Big Ten Tournament championship in program history. Iowa defeated three ranked opponents during its postseason run, marking the first time the program accomplished the feat in a single postseason.

Iowa finished the 2023 season with a 13-5-4 overall record, including a 6-0-1 nonconference start and a 3-4-3 conference record. The Hawkeyes went 3-2-1 against ranked opponents and earned the eighth and final seed in the Big Ten Tournament before defeating No. 12 Michigan State, No. 5 Penn State and No. 12 Wisconsin en route to the conference title. Iowa became the lowest seed in Big Ten history to win the tournament.

Following the Big Ten Tournament championship, Iowa climbed to the highest national rankings in program history, reaching No. 14 in the College Soccer News rankings and No. 17 according to Top Drawer Soccer. Iowa finished the season ranked 30th in the RPI and earned a five seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Hawkeyes earned the second NCAA Tournament victory in program history with a 2-0 win over Bucknell, played in front of a program-record crowd of 2,639 at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Iowa’s season concluded with a 3-2 loss to fourth-seeded Georgia in the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Riggs Field in Clemson, South Carolina.

Iowa’s defense posted a program-record 13 shutouts in 2023, while the Hawkeyes outscored opponents 36-17 and held significant advantages in shots (307-164) and shots on goal (149-75).

Senior goalkeeper Macy Enneking tied for fifth nationally in shutouts, setting a new single-season school record with 12.5 clean sheets. Enneking finished her career ranked third in program history in shutouts (22) and fourth in wins (26).

Fourteen different Hawkeyes contributed to Iowa’s 36 goals. Senior transfer Kelli McGroarty led the team with 18 points, while McGroarty and seventh-year senior Josie Durr tied for the team lead with seven goals. Juniors Elle Otto and Kenzie Roling also recorded double-digit point totals.

Fifth-year senior Samantha Cary earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors, while freshman Sofia Bush was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Redshirt junior Zoë Bessert earned Big Ten Sportsmanship honors. Academically, five Hawkeyes were named CSC Academic All-District, a program record.

Venter arrived at Iowa with extensive experience as both a coach and former professional player. During his season coaching defense at Cincinnati, he helped improve the Bearcats’ goals-against average from 1.53 in 2021 to 1.00 in 2022. Venter assumed interim head coaching duties during the fall of 2022 amid a leadership transition.

Prior to Cincinnati, Venter served as an assistant coach at Florida during the 2021 season and at Arizona from November 2020 to May 2021, after beginning his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Arizona in 2019.

At Florida, Venter mentored goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg during her first season as a starter, as Goldberg led the SEC with 4.80 saves per game, including a 13-save performance against No. 20 South Florida.

At Arizona, Venter helped guide the Wildcats to the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, while the defense posted 10 shutouts, the program’s highest total since 2016. Over his first two seasons, Arizona improved its goals-against average from 1.41 to 0.79, including six shutouts during the shortened Spring 2021 season. The Wildcats compiled a 21-13-3 record during that span, and Venter was promoted from volunteer to assistant coach following the spring campaign.

Venter played seven years professionally following a decorated collegiate career at the University of New Mexico. He became the program’s first three-time All-American and helped lead the Lobos to the 2013 NCAA College Cup.

As a senior, Venter was named a Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy semifinalist and earned Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. He also earned NSCAA Scholar All-America recognition in 2012 and Conference USA All-Academic honors in 2013.

Venter finished his collegiate career as New Mexico’s all-time leader in minutes played (7,859) and was the first Lobo to earn Senior CLASS Award Team honors. The Lobos advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of Venter’s seasons.

Selected 23rd overall by the LA Galaxy in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, Venter helped the Galaxy win the MLS Cup during his rookie season. He also played professionally for the Tulsa Roughnecks, Ottawa Fury and Penn FC, and served as team captain for FC Tucson and the Richmond Kickers.

Venter was selected as the USL Players Association team representative for FC Tucson and Richmond, helping guide both clubs through successful unionization efforts. He also assisted in negotiating a Return to Play Agreement between the USLPA and USL League One during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Venter earned a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in human resources management and organizational leadership from the University of New Mexico in December 2013.