MOBILE, Ala. – South Alabama women's soccer head coach Chris Hennessey announced Friday the addition of Kate Dirkse and Marissa Williams as assistant coaches, which will round out Hennessey's 2024 staff.
 
Dirkse, a five-year letter winner under Hennessey at Lee University, comes to Mobile after a dominant career with the Lady Flames. During her five-year stint at Lee, Dirkse started all 91 games of her career, totaling 19 career goals and six assists as a defender.
 
Dirkse finished her career with a multitude of accolades, including being named a two-time All-American, two-time Academic All-American and the GSC Defensive Player of the Year in her final season.
 
After serving as a captain for three seasons, Dirkse developed leadership skills that have prepared her for her first coaching stop at South Alabama.
 
Williams, who will primarily work with goalkeepers, joins the South Alabama staff after coaching stops at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Carson-Newman University and Desales University.
 
During her time at UCCS, she worked with both the men's and women's programs and helped develop multiple goalkeepers, including Declan Domyan, who earned all-conference second team & all-region first team (2022) and Soren Russell, who earned 3x GK of the Week awards with the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament (2023). On the women's squad, Alexis Walker earned all-conference first team, all-tournament, GK of the year and all-region first team while creating the single-season shutout record (11) for the program (2022), while Isabella Whitmore (2023) earned all-conference first team, GK of the year, all-region first team, & all-American third team while boosting the program shutout record to 12.
 
Williams holds regular season championships (2021 & 2023), a tournament championship (2021) and a regional championship (2023) while competing in the NCAA tournament each season (2021-2023). Additionally, in 2023, she was named as part of South Central Region Staff of the Year by NSCAA.
 
Williams joined the Carson-Newman University women's soccer program as a graduate assistant working with the goalkeepers and helped develop Goalkeeper Jackie Burns, who earned all-conference second-team honors before continuing an outstanding collegiate and professional career. The Eagles finished 17-4-1 and won both the regular season & conference tournament before competing in the NCAA tournament. The CN staff was also named Southeast Region Staff of the Year (2016) by NSCAA.
 
Williams was a staff member of the DeSales University women's soccer program in 2015 as a graduate assistant coach. Winning the conference with the program's first-ever MAC Freedom tournament title and NCAA bid, she primarily worked with the goalkeepers. Goalkeeper Emily Hoats still holds the program record for GAA with 0.94 for the 2015 season.
 
Williams is a 2015 graduate of Tusculum College (Greeneville, TN) with a bachelor's degree in middle grades education, Carson-Newman University with an M.Ed in curriculum and instruction, and is finishing her Ph.D. in educational leadership, research, and policy through UCCS. A native of Canton, MI., Williams holds her National D and Goalkeeping I & II licenses.
 
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