The Panther women’s soccer team finally got their man.

Eastern announced Tim Nowak as its new women’s soccer coach Tuesday, ending nearly a two-month stretch the team was without a coach.

“I’m very happy with the position I’m in and with the confidence the administration has put in me,” Nowak said.

The Panthers are coming off their fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Women’s College Cup.

The team’s past success played a major role in Nowak accepting the position.

“The history and tradition of the program made it an obvious choice,” he said. “There’s a lot of ability there already, and there’s a lot of potential.”

Nowak replaces Steve Ballard, the only person to coach the Eastern women’s soccer team. Ballard resigned on Jan. 25 to start the women’s soccer program at Texas-San Antonio.

Eastern Director of Athletics Dr. Rich McDuffie said Nowak was the clear choice for the job.

“We had three good finalists, and he just received overwhelming reviews from the players and search committee,” McDuffie said. “Ninety percent of everybody involved was in favor of him.

“He was the top choice by far; there’s no question about that.”

Nowak heads to Eastern after four years on the sidelines at Louisville as an assistant coach. The Cardinals finished with a 12-5-3 record while reaching the Conference USA Tournament semifinals in the 2004 season.

Nowak said as soon as the Panthers’ job became available, he wanted to head to Charleston.

“I really wanted it right away,” he said. “As soon as the Eastern job became open, I inquired with the people I know from the area about the job.”

Nowak had ties to the area, growing up in St. Louis before attending Western Illinois. While at Western, Nowak played four years in goal before becoming a graduate assistant on the men’s soccer team. He also lived in the Chicago area for a few years.

“I’ve recruited the area before,” he said.

Nowak will have the difficult task of getting the Panthers ready for next season, with a good chunk of the offseason already past.

However, he said the adjustment should be mutually smooth.

“It’ll be a short amount of time before I feel comfortable around them and before they feel comfortable with me.”

McDuffie said a Nowak-led team should produce the same winning tradition the team’s used to.

“The foundation remains the same,” he said. “I think it’s important to have found somebody that will keep the performing well on and off the field.”

After finding a place to live in the area, Nowak will settle in to his first head-coaching job. His first day will be April 1, he said.

“I’m really excited about all of this,” Nowak said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

While the Panthers will be playing under just their second head coach in the program’s 10-year history, Nowak said the team won’t look all that different.

“I’m not going to come in and throw a wrench into what’s not broken,” he said.