Former Lakeland soccer head coach Tony Pierce returns as an assistant coach and is part of a staff of three assistant coaches with the Lakeland University men's soccer team this year, head coach Kyle Quintell has announced.

Pierce is joined by former Muskies standouts Carson Galla and Alessandro Bianchi in making up the staff in Quintell's second year as head coach. Pierce and Galla will be in their first years back with the program while Bianchi begins his second year.

"We're thrilled to announce our new additions to the coaching staff," said Quintell. "I'm excited for both Tony and Carson being a part of the staff and am looking forward to seeing both impact the program right away.

Pierce comes with considerable collegiate head coaching experience, including at Lakeland. He most recently spent 10 years as the head coach of the women's soccer team at Wisconsin Lutheran College, with tenures in 1996-97 and then again from 2012-19. Pierce won 53 games at WLC, making him the second-winningest coach in program history.

In between his stints at Wisconsin Lutheran, Pierce spent two years as head coach of both the Lakeland men's and women's soccer teams in 2010 and 2011. He led the Muskies men's program to its most recent winning season with an 8-7-3 record in 2011 before leaving to take over the women's program at WLC.

Pierce was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Hall of Fame in 2017 and has nearly 40 years of coaching experience across multiple levels. He played collegiately at the University of Connecticut and also played for the Milwaukee Wave from 1985-93 as a goalkeeper and is a member of the Milwaukee Wave Hall of Fame.

"I am very excited to be named the new men's assistant soccer coach and returning to Lakeland," said Pierce. "Coach Quintell has done a great job with the men's soccer program (and) I look forward to working with him to continue to grow and build success for the program. Youth and experience sounds like a winning combination."

"Tony brings a wealth of knowledge, having played and coached at the college and pro levels for over 25 years," said Quintell. "He has a deep understanding of the landscape within the state. Having experience playing collegiately, professionally in goal, and coaching college at the division 1 and 3 levels, Coach Tony will be instrumental in strengthening our goalkeeping group."

Galla returns to Lakeland after a four-year playing career with the Muskies from 2020-23 and a grad year playing at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls last year. He appeared in 49 matches in his career playing in goal and in the field, posting three shutouts as a goalkeeper and scoring two goals and adding two assists in the field.

Galla graduated from Lakeland in May 2024 with a degree in business, and last year he worked on his MBA at UW-River Falls while also playing for the Falcons. He appeared in 17 games in the Falcons' first season of competition, including starting the program's first-ever match in goal.

"Carson provides a familiar face, with a fresh prospective," said Quintell. "He was a captain for us, an all-conference player, and demonstrates hard work in everything he does. Carson has a great understanding of Lakeland as a whole, and we are looking forward to seeing Carson take on a new leadership role."

Bianchi returns to the Lakeland staff again as a volunteer assistant coach. 'Ale' had a strong career playing for the Muskies as a five-year starter for the team, appearing in 63 career matches. As a midfielder he scored six goals and added four assists, and he was named an honorable mention all-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference selection in 2021.

Bianchi is a native of Italy who also was part of the men's tennis team for five years, playing as high as Number 2 singles. He also was a member of the men's volleyball team last year and was a resident assistant on campus before graduating with his degree in business administration. "Ale takes pride in everything he does and will be a great person to have around once again," said Quintell.