Marisa Kresge

On May 23, 2022, Marisa Kresge was announced as Illinois State's head soccer coach, the sixth in program history and second female head coach. Her first season as head coach is 2022 and she enters the 2022 campaign with a 0-0-0 record as a collegiate head coach.

Illinois State Athletics Director Kyle Brennan at the time of the hire: "We are extremely excited to have Marisa Kresge lead our soccer program at Illinois State and welcome her back to campus. Marisa has been a proven winner at every stop of her career, as a player at Maryland and Wisconsin and as a coach here at Illinois State and Wisconsin. She is extremely competitive and structured in her approach as a coach and a recruiter, which we believe will translate into success for our soccer program. Her tough, blue-collar mentality as a leader fits well with the culture of our department and we look forward to watching her get this program to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference."

Kresge at the time of the hire: "I could not be more excited or honored to be named the next head coach of Illinois State Soccer. I want to thank Director of Athletics Kyle Brennan, Executive Associate AD Nona Richardson and everyone involved in the hiring process. The energy of the administration, their investment into the program and their drive to be successful was something I was immediately drawn to. Illinois State has a rich history of success, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with our student-athletes and lead this program into the next chapter."

Kresge was an assistant coach for the Redbirds in 2016.

A former team captain and standout for the Wisconsin women's soccer program, Kresge spent 2017-2021 as an assistant coach for the Badgers.

In 2020, UW reached the Big Ten Tournament final while Jordyn Bloomer earned second-team All-America honors and was named the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year for a second-straight year.

In 2019, the Badgers won the regular-season Big Ten title thanks to an undefeated record in league play and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second-straight year. Three Badgers (Jordyn Bloomer, Camryn Biegalski and Dani Rhodes) all earned All-America honors to set a school record for most All-Americans in a single season.

In 2018, Kresge helped lead Wisconsin to a 14-4-4 record, the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament and the second Sweet 16 NCAA appearance in program history.

In Kresge's first year she was able to assist Wisconsin on a 14-6-2 record, advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and advance to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

After graduating from UW in 2016, Kresge spent one season with Illinois State, helping the Redbirds to a 14-6-3 record. With Kresge’s assistance on the sidelines, ISU won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and earning a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Additional coaching experience for Kresge includes time with the Verona Soccer Club, where she served as the head bench boss for the U-11 and U-12 girls' teams, was the assistant coach for the U-11 girls' team and the U-12 boys' team, while also coaching a skills clinic ranging from U-6 to U-15.

Kresge earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology, physical education and adapted physical education during her time as a student-athlete at Wisconsin, where she competed three years for the Badgers. She spent two seasons at Maryland prior to transferring to Wisconsin

The Severna Park, Maryland, native started 19 of the 20 matches during her senior season and was the team captain while earning Academic All-Big Ten honors for the second year in a row.

Off the field, Kresge was named to the UW-Madison School of Education Dean's List in 2014 and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2011. She was also the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2013 and a member of the Leadership Group at Wisconsin in 2015.

With Kresge on the squad, that Badgers had two of the most successful seasons in program history, claiming the Big Ten tournament title in 2014 and the league's regular season crown in 2015. Kresge finished her career with seven goals, including one game-winning goal and a pair of assists.