MARQUETTE---The Northern Michigan University athletic department announced Tuesday afternoon that David Poggi will serve as the interim head women's soccer coach.

Poggi, currently the head coach of the men's team, will lead the Wildcats for the remainder of the 2016 season as Matt Granstrand takes a leave of absence.

When Poggi was hired as the first head men's soccer coach on Sept. 12, 2015, he brought nearly 30 years of experience to Northern Michigan.

Poggi has coached two collegiate women's teams, NAIA Loyola University New Orleans (2005-07) and Division I Louisiana-Lafayette (2000-05). As the first head coach in Ragin' Cajun history, he built the program from scratch, and three of his student-athletes went on to earn all-Sun Belt accolades while 67 made the commissioner's honor roll.

Poggi has also coached women at the professional level. In the mid-1990s, he served as an assistant coach for Brøndby IF, a team in Denmark, as part of a coaching exchange with the DFTS and the NSCAA.