Wisconsin Soccer Central

UW-Green Bay rang in the new year with two new soccer coaches.

The Phoenix turned to well-regarded NCAA Division I assistants to take over their programs, naming Jeremy Bonomo men's coach on Monday and following that up by announcing Kim Brandão as their women's coach the next day.

Bonomo, an assistant at Cincinnati for the past five years, takes over the Green Bay men's program from Marc Baumbach – he was the interim head coach last fall, leading the Phoenix to a 6-9-3 overall record after Dan Popik stepped down less than two weeks before practice started in August.

“In the not-so-distant past, this program was on top and that’s where we want to be once again," said Bonomo, the 11th coach in program history.

Bonomo was a defender for NCAA Division III Southern New Hampshire and also was part of the Cape Cod Crusaders team that won the USL Premier Development League championship in 2003.

He started his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater before taking over Northeast-10 Conference rival Assumption (Mass.) in 2007. He led the Greyhounds to a 21-22-11 record in three seasons and was named conference Co-Coach of the Year in 2009 before leaving Assumption to join Hylton Dayes' staff at Cincinnati.

"Jeremy is a great choice to be the next head coach for Green Bay men’s soccer," said Hartford coach Tom Poitras, who led the Phoenix to a 72-46-18 record in seven seasons from 2004 to '10 – including an NCAA tournament berth in 2009. "He will energize the current student-athletes, excite recruits and engage the alumni and community. I look forward to seeing Jeremy lead Green Bay back to the top of the Horizon League."

The 30-year-old Brandão, the 11th coach in Phoenix women's soccer history, inherits a side that enjoyed its best season in more than a decade last fall.

Green Bay finished 11-7-2 under coach Kacey Burke and advanced to the Horizon tournament semifinals, scoring 36 goals in the process – the victory total and offensive output were the most for the program since 1993. Burke took over the team on a one-year contract after Trevor Warren retired after six seasons last July.

Brandão is a native of New Jersey and starred at Rutgers before embarking on a professional career that included stops in Sweden and Spain in addition to Women's Professional Soccer and the USL W-League in the U.S. The center back also captained the Portugal national team, earning 32 caps from 2007 to '12.

She has been an assistant at Buffalo for the past five seasons, helping coach Shawn Burke build the roster for a team that won the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament titles last fall. Buffalo finished 16-3-3 overall and earned its first NCAA appearance before falling to Penn State 4-1 in the first round.

“Kim is a fantastic hire for Green Bay. She has played a major role in building our program here at UB and will be greatly missed," Burke said. "Green Bay just gained a very good soccer mind, but an even better person. I'm excited to see the new heights Kim will take the program and have no doubt she will be successful."

• Three state women's teams earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Awards, which are based on the number of cards issued to teams during the season. Alverno and UW-La Crosse were among 82 teams nationwide to claim Silver Awards for having no red cards and no more than five yellow cards – the Inferno and Eagles each received only three cautions during the 2014 season. UW-Milwaukee, which received seven yellows, collected the Bronze Award for having no reds and between six and 10 cautions. The Michigan Tech women's team, which has 13 Wisconsin players on its roster and is coached by Michelle Jacob (Neenah/UW-Stevens Point) and assistant Chuck Coan (Neenah), also received the Silver Award after picking up four yellows during the season.