Aliceann Wilber
Head Coach
Phone: (315) 781-3933
Email:
wilber@hws.edu
The only soccer coach William Smith has ever known, Aliceann Wilber built the Herons from the ground up into one of the most successful and widely respected programs in the nation. Along the way, she has solidified her place among the legendary names of collegiate soccer coaches. Including the 1988 national championship, Wilber's career record with the Herons stands at 403-118-48 (.750). She is the first woman in collegiate soccer history to earn 400 career wins.
Last season, in her 30th year at the helm, Wilber led William Smith to its record 20th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Herons posted a 14-3-3 record, won their third consecutive Liberty League Championship, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2008, Wilber led William Smith to the national semifinals for the sixth time in program history. The Herons notched a 16-2-5 record, won the Liberty League title, and finished the year as the fourth-ranked team in the nation. Wilber and her staff earned NSCAA National Coach of the Year, NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year, and Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Wilber's 2007 Herons captured the program’s first Liberty League Tournament Championship and earned their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance. William Smith finished the season with a 17-1-1 overall record and ranked sixth in the final coaches poll.
In 2003, Wilber received the NSCAA’s prestigious Bill Jeffrey Award for her outstanding achievement and longtime dedication to college soccer. She is the first woman to win the award. Wilber earned back-to-back Division III Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year Awards in 1987 and 1988. After winning the same honor in 1991 and 2008, she remains one of three NCAA coaches (and the first woman) to win the award four times at any level. Wilber was honored again in 1993, 1995, 1999, and 2008 as the NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year. She also won four consecutive NYSWCAA Coach of the Year Awards between 1999 and 2002. In 2007, Wilber was honored again by the NYSWCAA, this time with a Service Award for her meritorious commitment to women in intercollegiate athletics.
An exceptional mentor, Wilber has coached more Division III first-team All-Americans (17)—including 2008 selection Brelynn Nasypany '11—than any other Division III women’s coach. In fact, William Smith is one of only 11 Division III schools to have two players named first-team All-Americans in the same season. Just three schools have accomplished the feat more than once, while only the Herons have had two first-team All-Americans in three different seasons (1988, 1991, 2001). In 2002, goalie Leah Cornwell ’03 became the first Heron to be named NSCAA Player of the Year.
Since the NCAA instituted regional tournament play in 1993, William Smith has won six Northeast Region Championships (1993, ’95, ’97, 2000, ’01, ’02), and advanced to the championship round in 1987, ’88, ’93, ’95, ’97, and 2002.
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