Nick Bochette’s biggest problem right now is finding a legal parking space.
After coaching at the University at Albany for three years, Bochette is adjusting to life in Philadelphia.
“I’ve played and coached in Philly a couple times, but have really only been here for recruiting purposes honestly,” he said. “I took the subway in for the first time and that was a whole new thing. I’m still figuring out all the ins-and-outs of, you know, trying not to get my car towed and things like that.”
Bochette was hired as the Temple women’s soccer head coach earlier this month after former coach Seamus O’Connor resigned in November 2019.
O’Connor served as coach for seven seasons, in which the Owls amassed a 50-73-11 record.
Bochette posted a record of 29-24-6 from 2016-19 as the head coach of the Great Danes. In his time at Albany, the team made the NCAA Tournament three times.
Bochette enjoyed his time at Albany and “could have stayed there indefinitely,” but the decision to move to Temple wasn’t a hard one, he said.
“One of the things that made my eyes was the growth potential at Albany was in a very different stratosphere,” Bochette added. “Our goal here is creating a program that competes in the American Athletic Conference. From the standpoint of where me and my family make decisions, this is something we really want to pursue.”
Bochette wants to be competitive in The American Athletic Conference right away with the current players rather than waiting for his own recruits, he said.
The Owls have failed to win a game in the AAC Tournament in their last four tries.
It’s a “confidence builder” to hear her new coach wants to compete right away, junior midfielder Julia Dolan said.
Over the last two seasons, Dolan, a team captain, has started 37 of 38 games and recorded one assist in 3,050 minutes played.
“It just shows what type of coach, but also what type of person he is that he wants to start off on the right foot with us,” Dolan said. “Especially with the upperclassmen on the team, we’re in our last year or two. He’s coming in and wants to have the most successful season possible, and he hasn’t even seen us play yet. It’s a confidence builder because we know that he’s going to come and give us his all, and we’re going to give that to him in return.”
Bochette knows he needs to develop a team identity before they can compete in the American Conference Tournament, he said.
Last season, the Owls struggled keeping possession of the ball and scoring goals. They averaged 0.89 goals per game and scored zero goals in nine of 19 their games.
“Every soccer team wants to be a very possession-oriented, Barcelona or Manchester City-esque team,” Bochette said. “Certainly my preference is always to have more possession. But in the interim, we want to develop an identity both offensively and defensively that the girls feel comfortable in.”
After O’Connor resigned, Dolan and the rest of the team were “upset” by the news and nervous about who would replace him, but after meeting with Bochette, they’re excited to see what the next few months have to offer, Dolan said.
“We didn’t expect that, and it just happened all kinda quickly,” she added. “[O’Connor] recruited all of us, so I think we were all shocked. But after meeting with [Bochette], we’re all really excited to get started with him. This change is going to help the program a lot.”
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