University of Northern Iowa tabs Alex Place Thomas as interim head coach

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – University of Northern Iowa Director of Athletics Megan Franklin announced on Friday that Alex Place Thomas will serve as the interim head coach of the Panther women’s soccer team for the 2025 season.

“I am thrilled for the women of the UNI soccer program to compete for a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) championship under the direction of Alex Place Thomas in the 2025 campaign,” said Franklin. “I am proud of the resilience, focus, patience and trust of the team throughout the search process. It is their collegiate soccer experience that was most important in crafting the coaching staff for the upcoming season.”

“We are fortunate to have a coach of Alex’s caliber in the Cedar Valley,” Franklin added. “She will serve in an interim role this fall, where her heart and passion for UNI means she wants the women to have a productive, meaningful and fun season under her leadership. She is committed to leading the Panthers in support of both individual accomplishments and team goals. Alex has the approach and mindset to support the UNI women’s soccer in their collective quest for a championship!”

The Denver, Iowa native has spent the last eight years as the head girls soccer coach at Cedar Falls High School. The Tigers won 56 matches under Place Thomas, notching five seasons with 10 or more wins along with three Iowa Class 3A District Tournament Championship match appearances in the last five seasons (2021, 2022, 2025).

A two-time Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) Coach of the Year (2021, 2022) and the 2022 Iowa Class 3A District East Coach of the Year, she helped Cedar Falls finish first in the MVC’s Valley Division in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025 for the first time in school history, posting an unbeaten conference record this spring. The Tigers also earned consecutive MVC Player of the Year winners in each of the previous two seasons, including current Panther Ella Ubben in 2024.

“I am honored to accept the position as interim head women’s soccer coach at UNI,” Place Thomas said. “I look forward to building a strong and cohesive team that will compete at the highest level and represent the university with Panther Pride!”

Place Thomas has also coached at the collegiate level, joining the women’s coaching staff at nearby Wartburg College in Waverly last fall. Last season with the Knights, she collaborated on recruiting efforts, led social media campaigns and managed recruiting databases. On the field, she specialized in coaching the team’s defensive strategies and techniques. The Knights went 10-7-3 in 2024 with Place Thomas on staff, finishing third in the American Rivers Conference (ARC) and reaching the conference tournament semifinals.

Place Thomas’ first collegiate coaching opportunity came at Grinnell College from 2019 to 2021. The Pioneers posted a 7-7-3 record in 2019 with Valencia Alvarez, Lauren Edwards and Simo Bambi earning All-Midwest Conference honors.

From 2018 to 2024, Place Thomas served with Iowa Rush Soccer Club in Waverly, helping coach young soccer players from ages three through 18 years by leading creative and effective practice plans to improve player and team development. In the role she also administered and organized road games and tournaments across the Midwest.

Over a seven year span, Place Thomas also worked at the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls in Massachusetts, a premier summer soccer camp where she coached girls aged nine to 18 years alongside professionals from the U.S. women’s national team, other professional players and college coaches from around the country. She also spent one season as a girls high school assistant soccer coach at Cedar Rapids Xavier in the spring of 2017.

Place Thomas played her collegiate soccer career at Cornell College in Mount Vernon (2013 to 2016) and was a four-year starting defender/midfielder and two-year team captain, scoring a total of five goals with seven assists during her career. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Cornell in 2017, and would spend two years as a graduate student and teaching assistant at UNI before graduating with a Master’s of Science degree in Biology in 2019.

Place Thomas and her husband John currently reside in Cedar Falls and are parents of a daughter, Linnlee.

PLACE THOMAS’ COACHING CAREER

2025-Present: University of Northern Iowa (Interim Head Women’s Coach)
2024: Wartburg College (Assistant Women’s Coach)
2019-21: Grinnell College (Assistant Women’s Coach)
2018-Present: Cedar Falls High School (Head Girls Coach)
2018-24: Iowa Rush Soccer Club (Head Coach)
2017: Cedar Rapids Xavier High School (Assistant Girls Coach)
2015-Present: Berkshire Soccer Academy For Girls (Master Coach)

UNI WOMEN’S SOCCER HEAD COACHING HISTORY

Linda Whitehead, 2000-04
Kathy Kakoyianni-Bering, 2005-07
Jen Plante, 2008
James Price, 2009-15
Chris Logan, 2016
Bruce Erickson, 2017-25
Alex Place Thomas, 2025-Present (Interim)