Al Alvine was named the fifth head coach of Duquesne women's soccer Dec. 29, 2011, and the 2024 campaign marks his 13th season on the sideline for the Dukes.
A steady presence on the Bluff, Alvine is the program's all-time leader for wins, having amassed an overall record of 84-99-29 (.465) in 12 years at Duquesne, including a mark of 43-54-17 (.452) in Atlantic 10 action.Â
It took just four seasons for him to accomplish what nobody had done in program history - capture an Atlantic 10 championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Alvine, who inherited a three-win team prior to the 2012 season, quadrupled that total in four short years, setting a program record with 12 victories in 2015. His teams have totaled 11 or more wins three times during his tenure and have qualified for the Atlantic 10 Championship six times in the last nine years.
In his first year with the Dukes, Alvine doubled the team's win total and followed with six more victories in 2013. The 2013 team helped form the foundation for later success with Maddie Layman and Maggie Mayo both earning spots on the All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team. It marked the first time since 2004 that Duquesne had two players earn the top rookie distinction and the first time since 2007 that the Dukes had a member of the all-rookie squad.
In that memorable 2015 postseason, Alvine guided the seventh-seeded Dukes to the program's first post season win, 1-1 on penalty kicks over second-seeded Dayton. It was the first time since 1999 that DU had defeated the Flyers, who were the defending A-10 champions. In the semifinal round, the Dukes upset La Salle, 2-1, before shutting out Fordham, 2-0, to secure the program's first NCAA Championship bid.
During his time leading Duquesne, Alvine has coached seven All-Atlantic 10 picks, including four on the first team and three on the second. Included among that group is former midfielder Linnea Faccenda (2014-17), who was named the 2017 Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year and is a two-time All-Atlantic 10 First Team (2016, 2017) selection. Faccenda began her career with the Dukes by being named to the All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team, one of 10 student-athletes during Alvine's tenure that he has coached who have received the honor, including two in each of the last two seasons.
Alvine's teams have established a winning mentality, especially at Rooney Field. Over the past nine seasons (2015-2023), the Dukes have boasted a 50-23-13 (.589) record on the Bluff. Off the field, a total of nine Dukes have earned Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team distinction a total of 11 times, with former forward Lauren Bell (2017-20) and former midfielder Deena DeBaldo (2017-20) each receiving the honor in consecutive years in 2019 and 2020.
Alvine came to the Bluff after spending five seasons as head coach at California University of Pennsylvania where he was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2009 & 2011.
Alvine, who went 4-15-1 in his first season, led the Vulcans to a 73-28-11 (.701) record, including a 38-2-6 (.891) mark over his final two seasons. In 2011, he guided Cal U to an undefeated regular season before falling to eventual national champion Saint Rose in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Championship. The 2011 Vulcans finished 20-1-2 (.913), won their first-ever Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and finished ranked No. 6 in the final NSCAA Top 25 Poll. Cal U qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship in each of Alvine's last three seasons.
Alvine produced 21 All-PSAC selections, two PSAC Athletes of the Year, two PSAC Freshmen of the Year and two Academic All-Americans in his five seasons at Cal U.
A native of Butler, N.J., Alvine began his coaching career at Castleton (Vt.) State in 2002Â and moved on to Saint Anselm (N.H.) prior to the 2005 season. He accepted the Cal U position after leading Saint Anselm to the Northeast 10 semifinals in 2006.
ALVINE YEAR-BY-YEAR
| Season |
Team |
Overall |
Conf. |
Finish |
Postseason |
| 2002 |
Castleton State |
6-13-1 |
|
|
|
| 2003 |
Castleton State |
15-5-1 |
|
|
|
| 2004 |
Castleton State |
16-4-1 |
|
|
|
| Total |
Castleton State (3 seasons) |
37-22-3 |
|
|
|
| 2005 |
Saint Anselm |
10-6-1 |
7-6-1 |
10th |
|
| 2006 |
Saint Anselm |
10-7-3 |
6-5-3 |
6th |
Northeast 10 Semifinals |
| Total |
Saint Anselm (2 seasons) |
20-13-4 |
13-11-4 |
|
|
| 2007 |
California (Pa.) |
4-15-1 |
1-8-1 |
6th West |
|
| 2008 |
California (Pa.) |
12-5-3 |
7-5-2 |
5th West |
|
| 2009 |
California (Pa.) |
19-6-1 |
10-3-1 |
1st West |
PSACÂ Quarterfinals, NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2010 |
California (Pa.) |
18-1-4 |
12-1-1 |
2nd |
PSACÂ Runner-up, NCAA Third Round |
| 2011 |
California (Pa.) |
20-1-2 |
12-0-1 |
1st |
PSAC Champions, NCAA Elite Eight |
| Total |
California (Pa.) (5 seasons) |
73-28-11 |
42-17-6 |
|
|
| 2012 |
Duquesne |
6-11-2 |
2-6-1 |
T-13th |
|
| 2013 |
Duquesne |
6-9-2 |
2-5-1 |
12th |
|
| 2014 |
Duquesne |
5-10-3 |
2-5-1 |
T-12th |
|
| 2015 |
Duquesne |
12-10-1 |
5-5-0 |
7th |
Atlantic 10 Champions, NCAA First Round |
| 2016 |
Duquesne |
11-6-3 |
7-2-1 |
3rd |
Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals |
| 2017 |
Duquesne |
11-6-3 |
6-3-1 |
4th |
Atlantic 10 Semifinals |
| 2018 |
Duquesne |
6-9-2 |
2-6-2 |
10th |
|
| 2019 |
Duquesne |
6-8-3 |
4-5-1 |
8th |
Atlantic 10 First Round |
| 2020 |
Duquesne* |
3-5-1 |
3-4-1 |
3rd West |
|
| 2021 |
Duquesne |
4-10-2 |
2-7-1 |
12th |
|
| 2022 |
Duquesne |
6-7-3 |
4-3-3 |
5th |
Atlantic 10 First Round |
| 2023 |
Duquesne |
8-8-4 |
4-2-4 |
5th |
Atlantic 10 Semifinals |
| Total |
Duquesne (12 seasons) |
84-99-29 |
43-54-17 |
|
|
| Total |
Career (22Â seasons) |
214-162-47 |
|
|
|
* - The Atlantic 10 played an abbreviated divisional season and four-team Championship in the spring of 2021 due to a national pandemic (Duquesne competed in the West Division); DU did not play a full non-conference schedule in 2020
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