Margaret Rodriguez

Assistant Coach
First Season
Connecticut, 1999

Margaret (Tietjen) Rodriguez returns to her alma mater to begin her first season as a full-time assistant coach at the University of Connecticut.

A 1999 Connecticut graduate, Rodriguez played for the Huskies from 1995-98. She is tied for fourth on the all-time Husky scoring list with 128 points. Her 43 goals and 42 assists make her one of only four UConn alumni to be a part of the elite NCAA "40-40" Club. She played in 99 games, making 91 starts, and her teams had an overall record of 85-12-4. Rodriguez led her team to three NCAA quarterfinals and one NCAA finals appearance in 1997. She earned All-BIG EAST second team honors in 1998 and was named Connecticut's Outstanding Senior Athlete that year. In 1997, she helped lead the Huskies to the National Championship game. After graduating with a Kinesiology/Fitness Management Degree from Connecticut, she went on to play professional soccer for three years in the WUSA. Rodriguez was drafted in the eighth round (64th pick overall) by the San Diego Spirit. She played two seasons (2001-02) with San Diego, and then finished out her professional career with the New York Power from 2003-04.

Prior to returning to Connecticut, Rodriguez spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Hartford. While at Hartford, she helped lead the team to the 2006 America East regular season and tournament championships, as well as a berth in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. For her efforts, she was named part of the 2006 America East Coaching Staff of the Year.

Rodriguez began her coaching career in 1999 as a graduate assistant at Connecticut. After playing in the WUSA, she then moved onto the head coaching position at Santana High School in Santee, CA from 2003-04. While at Hartford, she also served as an assistant coach for the U-14 Girls premier team at the Farmington Sports Arena, and in 2005 she was a staff member for the Girls U-14 Olympic Development program. Rodriguez currently holds an NSCAA National Soccer Coaches License. 

A native of Huntington, N.Y. she was named an All-American, All-East Region and New York State Co-Player of the Year (with her twin sister Jennifer Tietjen) while at Huntington High School. She currently resides in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, with her husband Casey Rodriguez.