Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- soccer@kent.edu
- Phone:
- 330-672-8424
Abby Richter recently completed her 14th season on the Kent State women’s soccer staff after rejoining the program as an assistant coach in April 2008. Richter, who previously served on the Golden Flashes staff as a graduate assistant under head coach Rob Marinaro from 2003-04, returned to Kent State after spending the two seasons at Ball State and one at Iowa.
The Golden Flashes have been perhaps the most consistently successful Mid-American Conference program since Richter came back a little more than a decade ago. Kent State earned at least 10 victories and qualified for the MAC Tournament in eight consecutive seasons from 2011-18, the only school to accomplish these feats. During Richter’s 14 years with the program, the Flashes have posted championship seasons five times, including a MAC Tournament title in 2016, three regular season titles (2003, 2004, 2017) and two MAC East Division titles (2011, 2016).
Richter mentors Kent State’s goalkeepers and serves as the defensive coordinator. The Flashes posted a goals against average of less than 1.00 in five of six seasons from 2012-17, which included a program record-tying 11 shutouts in 2017. Ashleah McDonald became the first Kent State goalkeeper to earn all-region honors in 2016, being named to third-team. McDonald was stellar between the pipes and allowed just a single goal during the Flashes’ MAC Tournament championship run that season.
During her first stint on the KSU staff, the Flashes won back-to-back regular season MAC titles, posting a 23-9-8 overall record and a 15-4-5 league mark during the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Along with her work at Kent State, Richter has also coached elite soccer players internationally. In 2013, she served as the head coach for the United States Women’s Open team at the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel. In 2009, Richter served as the assistant coach for the United States Women’s Open team at the 18th Maccabiah Games held in Haifa, Israel. The team posted five shutouts during the event, including a 4-0 shutout against Israel to capture the first gold medal by a men’s or women’s team from the United States in the open competition. Richter was an assistant coach for the U.S. Open Women’s National Team in 2004, where she aided the team to a silver-medal finish.
Richter’s collegiate coaching career also includes stops at Ball State, Iowa and Earlham College. As an assistant for two years at Ball State, Richter oversaw the goalkeepers development, monitored the team academics and assisted in the program's recruiting process. In her two seasons with the Cardinals, BSU posted 17 shutouts while winning a pair MAC regular season titles in 2006 and 2007 with a combined 17-3-2 mark in the conference and a 26-9-5 overall record. Richter joined the Ball State staff after serving one year as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa, following her time as a graduate assistant at Kent State.
A 2001 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Richter earned a bachelor’s degree in broad field social science and history. She received her master’s degree in sports and recreational management from Kent State in 2005.
During her collegiate playing career, Richter (then Rabinovitz) starred on the field at UW-Stevens Point as a goalkeeper and four-year starter guiding the team to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a 44-0 conference record. As a senior, she led the Pointers to the NCAA Division III Final Four and was a First Team Central Region All-America selection.
In 2010, Richter added to her soccer accreditation when she received an Advanced National Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). She has been a NSCAA member since 2002.
Richter and her husband Jeremy reside in Stow with their daughter, Grace.
