Stony Brook Women’s Soccer Head Coach Brendan Faherty left from his position on Wednesday, Dec. 19 to become the new head coach for the Yale Bulldogs beginning in the 2019 season.

“Thank you to Brendan for elevating Stony Brook Women’s Soccer to new heights,” Director of Athletics Shawn Heilbron tweeted. “His impact over the last three years has been immeasurable. We will work quickly to find a new leader who believes in our student-athletes as much as he did.”

Faherty was the program’s second head coach in its Division I history and took over for Sue Ryan in 2015. His leadership guided Stony Brook to an America East playoff appearance in each of his three seasons.

The 2017 postseason was the Seawolves’ most successful under Faherty as the team upset No.1-seeded New Hampshire 1-0 from the fifth seed in the America East Semifinals. They went on to top Vermont 2-1 in the finals en route to the second conference title in program history. Stony Brook advanced to the opening round of NCAA Tournament but fell to Penn State 7-0.

Faherty, alongside assistant coaches Sarah Martinez and Sade Ayinde, earned the 2018 America East Coaching Staff award. Stony Brook went 6-1-1 in conference matches and earned the top playoff seed for the first time in team history.

“I would also like to thank Shawn Heilbron, Patrick Muffley and Stony Brook Athletics for their support and guidance the past three years,” Faherty said in a press release. “I was fortunate to work with a fantastic group of young women and I am forever thankful for their trust in me along with their investment in the women’s soccer program.”

The Bulldogs will be the second team Faherty has head coached. He served as an assistant coach for the Washington Huskies for three years prior to coaching Stony Brook. The Huskies earned an appearance at the 2014 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 and finishing as the fourth seed.

A nationwide search for Faherty’s replacement will begin immediately, according to a Stony Brook press release.