Renee Montana was named head coach in August 2006, becoming the second coach since the program's inception in 2000. The Long Island, NY native arrived at the Metropolitan campus via the College of Florham, FDU's Division III program.
In 2008, Montana led the Fairleigh Dickinson University women's soccer program to the Northeast Conference Tournament, the Knights' first berth since 2004, and her first during her tenure at the Metropolitan Campus.
A win in the regular-season finale clinched the team's NEC Tournament No. 4 seed and also marked the 100th victory of Montana's 12-year collegiate head coaching career.
In 2007, Fairleigh Dickinson finished on fire. Montana's squad landed in a three-way tie for third place in the Northeast Conference but missed the postseason due to a thorough tie-breaker. After winning four of their final six contests, the Knights ultimately posted a 5-4 record versus league foes.
In her first season at the helm, FDU's young squad gained valuable field time, with 16 players starting various games. The team finished the season 4-12-1 overall and 3-6 in the NEC. More importantly, they secured a winning record at home for a third-consecutive season, going 4-3-1 in Teaneck.
In 2005, Montana guided the Division III Devils to a 13-5-1 overall record, including a 5-2 record in the Middle Atlantic Conference. The campaign ended in a fourth-consecutive conference playoff berth for the Devils, in addition to an East Coast Athletic Conference Metro Championship. At Florham, Montana coached seven players in 2005 to Mid-Atlantic All-Conference selection, compiling an 80-63-8 career record through eight seasons. The veteran coach was twice named Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year (2000 & 2004).
Montana was a standout forward at Sachem High School, a nationally-ranked program, earning a collegiate roster spot at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC. In her prep playing days, she led Sachem to two New York State Championship games and four-straight Regional final appearances. During Montana's collegiate career, the attacker helped the Bears to four-consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championship games. A two-year member of the Dean's List, she graduated in 1995, earning a bachelor's degree in Physical Education and achieving All-Conference status twice.
Montana taught special education in North Carolina's Catawba County and health education in Burke County for two years. Meanwhile, she coached multiple teams in the Catawba County Soccer Club, as well as Burke County Select squads.
Following her move to the Garden State in 1997, Montana spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Randolph High School and as a Professional Trainer with Soccer Excellence. She was also the Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Conference for women's soccer over three years.
Fairleigh Dickinson's sixth-year coach resides in Hillsborough, NJ and is working towards a M.A. in Administrative Science.
