Annie Gerdes has been tabbed to lead the Prairie Fire women’s soccer program in the fall of 2023. The appointment was announced by Interim Director of Athletics Scott Sunderland on Wednesday. Gerdes is a familiar face as she was previously assistant women’s soccer coach from 2019-22.
Gerdes takes over for Rob Battisson, who led the team the past year. She will begin her duties on June 15. Men’s coaches Kevwe Akpore and Victor Dantas will continue to lead the team in the interim.
In her time as an assistant coach, Gerdes helped coach the women’s soccer team to their fourth and fifth straight Midwest Conference Regular Season Championships. She also coached goalkeepers for the men’s team.
Gerdes was a member of the 2016 women’s soccer team that was inducted into the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame last fall. That team kicked off a run of five dominant years by the program.
Since last summer, Gerdes has served as a Youth Camp Coach for the Chicago Red Stars and a Youth Head Coach for the Galaxy Soccer Club in Naperville. She also holds coaching certifications from NSCAA, United Soccer Coaches, and USSF.
Gerdes graduated from Knox in June 2019 with a bachelor of science in Psychology. She will earn her master of science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Adler University in June of 2023