Villanova, Pa.- Head women's soccer coach Samar Azem has announced the addition of assistant coach Courtney Owen to her staff.  Owen comes to Villanova after serving as an assistant coach at her alma mater Wake Forest for the last six seasons.
 
"Our priority first and foremost is to put good people in and around our program," says Azem.  "Courtney meets that standard exceptionally well.  She is a person of high integrity, quality leadership and a drive to serve student-athletes. For the past five years Courtney has been an important part of Wake Forest's success nationally and has assisted the program in achieving a mirrored reputation off the field.  She understands and is passionate about the blueprint we are establishing our program on."
 
During her time at Wake Forest the team advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times and advanced to the sweet 16 in 2018.  In ACC play the Demon Deacons in 2021 played in the tournament semifinal round and in the quarterfinals in 2017.  Owen worked with forwards Jenna Menta and Shayla Smart, both who earned All-Region honors in this past season. Menta was named to the 3^rd team while Smart was 2^nd team and 3^rd team All-ACC. 
 
In her day-to-day at Wake Forest Owen was heavily involved in all facets of the program including; assisting in planning, organizing, and running training sessions, preparing film, evaluating talent, and organizing camps. 
 
Owen shared "I'm extremely excited for the opportunity to be the Assistant Coach here at Villanova. I'd like to thank Samar Azem, Colby Cunningham, and Mark Jackson for the chance to join the Women's Soccer Staff and become a member of the Villanova Family. I'd also like to thank Tony da Luz, John Currie and the rest of my Wake Forest Soccer Family for the incredible journey, support, and guidance over the past 5 years.  Villanova is a University I've always admired, and I am grateful to be part of such a wonderful place. I'm looking forward to getting started!"
 
Owen played at Wake Forest from 2010-13, increasing her role on the team each season.   During Owen's freshman season the Demon Deacons won the ACC Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  The following season Wake Forest advanced to the College Cup Final Four and in 2012 made it to the second round.  The team finished ranked all four years in the NSCAA final poll, with the best coming in 2011 with a #4 ranking.   
 
A 2014 cum laude graduate of Wake Forest with a degree in psychology, Owen joined the coaching ranks in 2014, working as a coach at Twin City Soccer Academy in Winston-Salem. She then served as assistant coach both with Lake Braddock Secondary School and Braddock Road Youth Club in Virginia from 2015-16.
 
While at Wake Forest, she was heavily involved in the team's soccer camps, serving as an instructor for three years before working as camp director in 2014. She also served as an intern in the Deacon Club in 2013.
 
Azem continues, "She has an incredible ability to identify talent and to help student-athletes learn to bring out the best in themselves.   I couldn't be more grateful to have Colby and Courtney on this journey with me and with our players.  Starting with the coaching staff we have built, into our support staff and most importantly into our players, we have great people in our program, the future has a lot in store for Villanova women's soccer."