Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- (719) 333-2061
Balconi played a role in the striking prowess of freshman Caeli Sherman, who scored a team-high four goals with one assist in 18 matches. Sherman was eventually named to the Mountain West All-Newcomer Team. Sherman’s nine points led all Falcon players, starting 16 of 18 matches. Sherman also led her team in shots (41) and shots on goal (19). She provided the lone score in Air Force’s 1-0 win over Colorado College in the 2022 season finale, earning the Falcons the inaugural City for Champions Cup.
Balconi worked to maintain the Falcons success in the classroom, as 13 cadet-athletes were named to the Academic All-Mountain West Team following the conclusion of the 2022 season.
On March 23, 2022, head women's soccer coach Laura Busby made the first addition to her inaugural Air Force coaching staff when Balconi joined the Falcons as an assistant coach.
Balconi returns to Colorado Springs after working alongside Busby at LSU.
"Lindsey is an extremely hard working and passionate coach that I've had the privilege of working with for the past two years," said Busby. "Her relentless pursuit for excellence in all she does will benefit our cadet student-athletes on and off the field. She will lead our efforts in identifying and recruiting top talent across the country and will work primarily with our midfield block. I am grateful that Lindsey has chosen to join our staff and I'm certain she will play a pivotal role in helping to build a championship culture."
Lindsey Balconi joined the LSU soccer staff in March of 2020 after serving two years on head coach Sian Hudson's staff at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Balconi worked closely with LSU's backline during her two years in Baton Rouge, where her impact was felt greatly. A season ago, the Tigers defense contributed to eight clean sheets in 20 games, the second-best average in the SEC. LSU held opponents to a 1.23 goals against average in 2021.
The Tigers allowed only 20 goals in 19 matches played in 2020. The Tigers had six shutouts during the 2020-21 season, including five in their last eight games played. Maya Gordon was named to the All-SEC Second Team under the instruction of Balconi; Gordon showed a prowess for goal saving tackles while also being a consistent marker of the opposition inside the box on crosses.
During her time at UCCS from 2018-19, Balconi served as the assistant coach while also handling the team's strength and conditioning program. Her two seasons as assistant coach saw the Mountain Lions accumulate a record of 35-5-3 and earn bids to the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. UCCS earned the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA Division II polls for the first time in program history in 2019 and stayed there for seven-straight weeks while also claiming the program's first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title.
Balconi served in a number of ways while at UCCS with tasks that included but were not limited to preparing training sessions, going over pre and post-game scout video reviews of opposing teams, and developing set pieces. Off the pitch, she recruited efficiently, served as the team's director of ops managing travel and hotel bookings, handled all equipment orders, and also helped update the program's social media pages.
Right after graduating from Cincinnati in 2009, Balconi co-founded and co-owned Balconi Top Training, an elite pro performance center that was based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It trained more than 500 athletes annually in a 9,000 square-foot facility.
Balconi designed and implemented personalized programs for women's soccer players at the U.S. National level and worked with more than 500 players annually. She also coordinated training programs for top Midwest clubs and local high school soccer teams. She was the financial and administrator officer for the company assisting in client relations, finances, technical support, sales, marketing, and advertising.
A standout Division I student-athlete from the University of Cincinnati, Balconi competed for the Bearcats from 2005-08, earning Big East Academic All-Star accolades all four years. A four-year starter, Balconi was chosen to be the team captain during her senior campaign in 2008.
Balconi was a prolific goal scorer on the high school level in Texas as she scored 46 goals and registered 30 assists en route to being named the Texas High School Gatorade Player of the year in 2003. Following her playing days at the University of Cincinnati, Balconi was offered a contract in 2009 to play professionally for the Buffalo Flash women's soccer club.
On the coaching level, Balconi holds a U.S Soccer B coaching license as well as a United Soccer Coaches Advanced National Diploma. Most recently, Balconi earned a United Soccer Coaches Coach Credentialing certificate.
Balconi graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2009 with a degree in political science. She is married to Reneé Balconi and they have one son.
