2018 is Doherty's 23rd year as head coach of the women's soccer team at Delaware Valley University and he is the program's all-time leader with 152 victories. He has led the Aggies to five Freedom Conference (now MAC Freedom) tournament berths, one Freedom runner-up finish and one Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) quarterfinal playoff berth during his tenure.
Doherty's program has produced 44 all-conference and five conference Player of the Year selections. Emilie Replogle burst onto the scene in the mid 1990s and earned three conference Player of the Year awards while placing in the top 10 on the all-time NCAA Division III scoring lists. In 2005, Ana Mecaj was named the Freedom Conference Player of the Year while Elise Dauber earned the honor for the 2007 campaign.
Doherty's players excel in the classroom as well as the Aggies have had 102 honorees on the Freedom Conference/MAC Freedom Academic Honor Roll during his tenure. Three players have also combined to earn four Academic All-American honors. DelVal has also received the prestigious Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (now United Soccer Coaches) in six of the last eight years. In addition, the Aggies were recipients of the association's Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017
One of DelVal's conference playoff runs occurred in 2014 as DelVal, which was picked to finish last in the Freedom, made a run to a third-place finish in the regular season and a berth in the semifinals.
Doherty and his squad had their most successful year in 2008 as the Aggies, who were picked to finish sixth in the conference, set a school-record with their 14-4-1 mark. They were ranked regionally during the season for the first time in program history and also hosted a playoff game for the first time. That game was the Freedom semifinals and a double-overtime goal sent the team to their first-ever appearance in the conference championship game. The Aggies fell 1-0 on the road to an Eastern team that eventually reached the NCAA Elite Eight. DelVal was then selected to host the ECAC South Region quarterfinals where it fell on penalty kicks to eventual champion Swarthmore.
Doherty was recognized for the achievements by picking up his first Freedom Conference Coach of the Year award. He was then named the Southeast Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Women’s Soccer College Coach of the Year.
Doherty became the head coach in 1996 after serving as the assistant head coach the previous year. He led the team to an 11-4-1 record in his first year, and battled seven-time defending conference champ Scranton for the final tournament berth on the last day of the season.
The team followed with back-to-back 12-win campaigns (12-7 in 1997 and 12-4-1 in 1998) and finished third in the Freedom Conference each time. In 1999, the Aggies went 9-10 and finished third in the league despite losing its all-time leading scorer to graduation then had its top defender go down with a season-ending injury in game four.
The 2000 squad became the first soccer team - male or female - in school history to reach the conference tournament. In 2005, Doherty led a young squad with five freshmen in the starting lineup to a return trip to the postseason. After a scoreless match, they succumbed to a late goal and a 1-0 loss. DelVal made another run to the postseason in 2007 and fell to the eventual conference champions in the semifinals.
Prior to his role with the women's team, Doherty was an assistant coach for the Aggie men's squad from 1990 to 1995. He picked up the title of assistant head coach in 1993.
Doherty's name can be found in the men's soccer record books as he scored three goals and assisted on four others for 10 points in a 1985 game versus Beaver College. The assist and point totals are still team records while the goal output is tied for the school mark.
