Simon Kenton head girls soccer coach Rob Zoeller takes same job at Elizabethtown

They say the third time is a charm, but Rob Zoeller has already led a charmed life at Elizabethtown High School.

Zoeller, Simon Kenton’s head girls soccer coach, will leave SK to be the head coach at Elizabethtown for the upcoming season. It is the third time he has been head coach of that program. The two other times, his teams won seven Fifth Region championships, including five straight from 2001-05.

Zoeller met with his new team and their parents Wednesday. Not without visits to his old stomping grounds first.

“I looked at it through the month of April,” he said. “I wanted to see how it felt and it felt like home. That’s the message conveyed by people down here, people I know. They’re glad we were coming back. It’s not easy leaving Simon Kenton. It wasn’t something we were looking to do, but sometimes God has a different path for you and we took a leap of faith.”

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Zoeller cited several reasons for the move. He has one daughter who lives in Fort Campbell on the Tennessee border, so Elizabethtown, which is several exits south of Louisville, is much closer.

His family lives in SK’s school district. He has two children ages 6 and 8 who would have more athletic opportunities at a smaller school district (E’town is 3A in football).

His daughter Abigail, one of SK’s all-time most decorated soccer players who played for the University of Kentucky and Mercer, was on his staff and SK and will move to E’town, where she attended elementary school. Daughter Emma, a junior on the SK soccer team, will be an Elizabethtown Panther for her senior year.

“There are a lot of great people at Simon Kenton who I will miss,” Zoeller said. “Troy Roberts is a fantastic AD, Jeff Marksberry (previous AD) was always great with us.”

E’town is a regular contender in the Fifth Region and has not won the title since 2014, but is likely the title favorite this fall.

“They bring back 10 starters and their best kid missed all last year,” Zoeller said. “We played them in preseason and she was fantastic.”

Zoeller has an all-time record of 325-132-24. That includes the two stints at Elizabethtown and six years as boys head coach at Louisville Ballard from 2009-14, where his teams were regional runner-up three times. He was also head boys coach at Elizabethtown for one season while also being the girls coach.

In seven seasons at SK, his teams won the Eighth Region five times. The Pioneers went to the state semifinals in 2016, losing to West Jessamine in penalty kicks. They last won the region in 2020, when they beat a powerhouse South Oldham team that was state runner-up in 2021. His overall record with the Pioneers was 111-55-5.

“That final four run was fantastic,” Zoeller said. “One of my best memories was the 2020 group winning the region. That South Oldham team had about nine DI commits on that team, freshman through senior They made it to the finals this year. Our seniors (Aubrey Nipper, Samantha Prather, Ashley Taylor, Abby Waddell), they pulled us through some hard moments."

He will always have fond memories of being a Pioneer.

“I had a lot of kids reaching out and showing their appreciation,” he said. “Those are the things you remember along the way. I love winning, but the relationships I’ve built with those players and their families have made it a special time. I’m looking forward to seeing them have a successful fall.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Simon Kenton head coach Rob Zoeller leaves for former school