Bucknell University Women's Soccer

Phone: 570-577-1772 Email: kelly.kuss@bucknell.edu Record entering 2024 season: Overall: 83-59-24 Patriot League: 45-18-14 Kelly Cook, a former standout Patriot League student-athlete herself, was named head women’s soccer coach at Bucknell on March 24, 2015, and she has guided the Bison to the most successful era in program history. In just her second year as a head coach, she helped the Bison return to championship glory, and then the team repeated as Patriot League champions in 2017. Cook has since presided over three more conference titles, coming consecutively in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Cook's Bucknell sides have made five NCAA Tournament appearances, and the three-peat run from 2021-23 has included some impressive showings on the national stage. After dropping a hard-fought 2-0 loss at No. 1 national seed and eventual College Cup qualifier Rutgers in 2021, the Bison went to overtime in 2022 at Ohio State and in 2023 at Iowa before conceding in extra time. Cook wasted little time impacting the Bison program. In her very first season as a head coach in 2015, she guided the team to a 6-1-2 Patriot League record (11-6-3 overall), a first-round bye in the Patriot League Tournament, and an appearance in the championship game for the first time since 2007. The Bison set team records for shutouts (11), consecutive shutouts (6) and scoreless minutes (655:03) while going unbeaten in eight-straight contests. Cook was named Patriot League Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year in 2015, bec

Alexa Ream, most recently the head coach at Division 2 Clarion University in Pennsylvania, joined the Bucknell women’s soccer staff as an assistant coach in March 2023, and in her first season with the Bison helped lead the squad to a third straight Patriot League title. A native of nearby Jersey Shore, Pa., Ream played at both Clarion and Lock Haven during her undergraduate days. She was the team captain at Lock Haven as a senior and earned her bachelor’s degree in health science with a minor in coaching. Ream launched her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wheeling Jesuit, where she received her MBA in 2019. She spent the 2019 season as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst and helped the Lakers to an 11-6-1 record, its first season over .500 in ten years, and coached the PSAC Freshman of the Year and three all-region honorees. In March 2020, Ream was named head coach at Clarion, just in time for athletics to be halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her first full season with the Golden Eagles came in the fall of 2021, when she guided a very young squad to a 4-12-1 record, highlighted by a 2-1 win over No. 23 Slippery Rock. It was the program’s first-ever win against a ranked side. Ream coached multiple Clarion players to all-conference honors, and the team recorded its highest GPA and retention rate in the history of the program. In addition to her collegiate coaching, Ream has extensive experience at the club level, including as head coach of the STN North Penn Soccer C

Palmer “PJ” Steiner joined Kelly Cook’s Bucknell women’s soccer staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2023 season, and he was part of a Patriot League championship team in his first season in Lewisburg. Steiner, who coaches Bison goalkeepers among other duties, came to Bucknell from nearby Bloomsburg University, where he was the goalkeepers coach for the Huskies’ men’s squad. Steiner worked with two-time Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year Jenna Hall, who also earned Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after a sensational performance against Army in the PL title match. Hall made 13 saves over 110 scoreless minutes, and then she stopped three more shots in the penalty kick shootout. Steiner brought an extensive playing and coaching resume to Bucknell. A 2016 graduate of Misericordia University and a goalkeeper on the men’s soccer team, he helped the Cougars to an ECAC Championship, three MAC Freedom finals appearances, and two NCAA Tournament berths. Steiner later played semi-professional soccer with the Electric City Shock. After graduating with a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry, Steiner became the head soccer coach at Shamokin Area High School while also serving as head manager with The Edge of PA, where he organized soccer training sessions for kids aged 6-15. In 2018-19, Steiner was the director of athletics at Millville Jr./Sr. High School, where he led the school’s first-ever state championship boy’s soccer team. While at Millville, Steiner also worked