Nichols College Athletics

Natalie (Lavin) Soffen begins her third season at the helm of the Nichols women’s basketball program after leading the Bison to another appearance in playoffs as the top seed in both The Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament and ECAC tournaments. Soffen coached the Bison to a program record 25 wins against only five losses, and also led the team to their first ever appearance in the ECAC Division III New England Women’s Basketball Championship title game. Soffen was named TCCC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year after coaching the Bison to a program record 21 game winning streak. Soffen was also inducted into the Nichols College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 for her achievements on the basketball court, softball field, and soccer field in her time as a player at Nichols.  

In her first year as head coach, Soffen guided the Bison to a 21-8 record and an appearance in The Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament semifinals and second round of the ECAC Divison III New England Women’s Basketball Championship.

Soffen was appointed head women’s basketball coach at Nichols in July 2007 after serving as an assistant coach at Nichols for two seasons, during which time she helped lead the Bison to a 37-19 record and two ECAC Tournament appearances.

Soffen becomes the third current Nichols head coach to be a graduate of the College, joining head men’s basketball coach David Sokolnicki '96 and head football coach William Carven ’94. A 2004 graduate, she was a three-sport athlete for the Bison, lettering in basketball, soccer and softball. She received Nichols’ Charles M. Hopkins Award at the end of her senior year for her academic and athlete achievements.

“I am very proud and pleased to bring Natalie on board as head coach. She is a passionate coach with great energy for basketball and has done an admirable job with assisting in recruiting the talented incoming freshmen class,” said Robert upon Soffen’s hiring. “Natalie has been such a part of the foundation work as a player and as an assistant coach to position the team for another successful year.”

Soffen closed out her basketball career as Nichols fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,135 points, which now ranks sixth all-time. She averaged 11.6 points per game and pulled down over 500 rebounds during her four years with the program, helping lead the Bison to three straight seasons with over ten wins. She served as a team captain for two years as well.

On the softball field, Soffen played in 103 games and recorded 87 hits. She co-captained the team her senior year and earned Second Team All-TCCC honors as a junior in 2003. As a sophomore in 2002, she received an All-TCCC Honorable Mention as well. Soffen returned to the program in 2005 and 2006 when she was an assistant coach for the team.

Soffen played one year of soccer as a junior in 2002, when the Bison earned their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite never having played soccer before, she immediately stepped into the starting goalkeeper position and was once named the Rookie of the Week.

Prior to joining the staff at Nichols, Soffen spent a year at Worcester State as an assistant women’s basketball coach.

A native of Barre, Vt., Soffen currently resides in Palmer, Mass., with her husband, Ken and daughter, Kamryn.