William Smith College Head Coach Aliceann Wilber was voted the National Soccer Coaches Association of America East Region Women's Coach of the Year. It's the second time in three seasons she has earned the award.
 
In her 34th season with the Herons, Wilber has led her charges to a school record 21 victories heading into Friday's NCAA Division III Championship semifinals. The Herons are riding a 21-match winning streak, having suffered their only loss of the year way back on Aug. 30, a 2-1 defeat at then No. 24 TCNJ.
 
Featuring one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, William Smith played the final 31:15 of its Sept. 28 match at St. Lawrence without allowing a goal. Little more than the length of a sitcom, that shutout streak has grown to 1,292:07 following the Herons' 1-0 shutout of Ithaca in the NCAA quarterfinals. It's the longest shutout streak in school history.
 
In total, William Smith has a school record tying 19 shutouts. The 2011 Herons, who advanced to the NCAA semifinals, earned a then school record 20 wins, against one loss and one tie, with 19 shutouts.
 
The streak includes a 1-0 triumph over then No. 24 RIT in the Liberty League Tournament championship match, securing William Smith's seventh consecutive league title and an automatic berth in the 64-team NCAA Championship field.
 
Wilber's Herons have appeared in 24 NCAA Championships, no school has more appearances. William Smith has reached the national semifinals for the 10th time. The third-ranked Herons will play Capital University (19-4-2) in San Antonio, Texas, for a spot in Saturday's national championship match. William Smith has played in three national championship games (1987, 1988, 1997), winning the school's first team national championship in 1988.
 
As the East Region Coach of the Year, Wilber is now a candidate for the Division III National Coach of the Year, an honor she previously won in 1987, 1988, 1991, and 2008.
 
The all-time wins leader in NCAA Division III women's soccer history, Wilber's career record stands at 478-125-54, a winning percentage of .769. In all of NCAA women's soccer, only North Carolina's Anson Dorrance (763) and Connecticut's Len Tsantiris (511) have more career wins.
 
Wilber and her assistant coaches were voted the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year last month.