Five-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year
Brenda van Stralen returns for her 15th season at Saint Francis University with the women’s soccer team in 2018.
Saint Francis won its fourth NEC title in its last seven years in 2017, going 6-1-1 in NEC play and then posting two shutout victories in the NEC Tournament.
Sophomore Alyssa McGhee was named the 2017 NEC Offensive Player of the Year and the Golden Boot Winner while senior Siobhan Bross was awarded the NEC Midfielder of the Year. The Red Flash produced three first team all-conference selections, three second-team nods, and three all-rookie members.
In her 14 seasons, van Stralen has produced 46 All-Conference players (20 First Team, 26 2nd Team) and 12 All-Rookie selections since the NEC enacted the award in 2011. Additionally, she has coached six Offensive Players of the Year, three Defensive Players of the Year, one Rookie of the Year and six Golden Boot Award Winners. The individual success has exceed the conference's limits as 10 players have earned NSCAA All-Region honors.
The NEC Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016, van Stralen has claimed four regular-season titles in addition to her four tournament championships.
In addition to its success on the pitch, the Red Flash have also excelled in the classroom and in the community under van Stralen. One of the most active teams on campus in community service efforts, the Red Flash posted a cumulative Team GPA of 3.469 in the Fall and Team GPA of 3.522 in the Spring of the 2017-18 academic year. Four players have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Accolades during van Stralen's tenure and five more have claimed NSCAA Scholar All-American status.
van Stralen claimed her fifth NEC Coach of the Year award in 2016 after guiding the Red Flash to its third NEC title in program history. The Red Flash went 6-2 in conference play to win the regular-season, then didn't allow a goal in the conference tournament as it cruised to the title. Junior Gabi Morales was named the NEC Player of the Year, joining Tesa McKibben as the only other Saint Francis player to win the award. She led the league in goals on the way to the Golden Boot Award. The Red Flash had four first team all-conference selections, one second team selection and three all-rookie honorees.
Saint Francis clinched its sixth consecutive berth in the NEC Tournament in 2015, finishing the regular season with a 4-3-1 record in conference play. SFU clinched the No. 4 seed in the tournament before falling to eventual champion Fairleigh Dickinson in the semifinals. In 12 seasons, the Red Flash has never had a losing record in NEC play under van Stralen. The team's 4-0 start in NEC play was its third such start in the previous four seasons. SFU has also opened with a 2-0 NEC record for five straight seasons. The 2015 Red Flash had four players earn five All-NEC selections. Gabi Morales was named All-NEC First Team while Casey Gallaher, Kelly Beegle and Shannon McGinnis earned All-NEC Second Team selections. McGinnis was also named to the NEC All-Rookie Team.
Despite playing another tough non-conference schedule, the Red Flash rallied to string together enough wins to earn the No. 4 seed in the Northeast Conference postseason tournament in 2014. This marked the fifth straight year they advanced to the postseason. Van Stralen saw three players earn All-NEC Second Team honors in Casey Gallaher, Gabi Morales, and Mackenzie Walter. Allison LaDuke and Morales each earned a place on the All-NEC Rookie Team.
SFU had arguably its best season in 2013 when the Flash won the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament. Van Stralen picked up her fourth NEC Coach of the Year honor and saw six players earn All-NEC postseason recognition.
Van Stralen welcomed back 16 letterwinners from the 2012 squad including three-time NEC Player of the Year Tesa McKibben, who entered the season as the NCAA’s top active point scorer, and two-time NEC Defender of the Year Alecia McNiff, who helped SFU to a league best nine shutouts in 2012.
In 2011, the Red Flash went 12-6-3, earning the program's first-ever NEC regular season championship. SFU compiled an 8-1-1 mark in league play – the best in team history – and earned its first ever NSCAA Regional Ranking, finishing the season in the 10th spot.
After coaxing eight wins out of an injury-plagued squad in 2009, the upstart Red Flash splashed on to the national scene in 2010 with the best season in program history. van Stralen guided Saint Francis to a 15-5-2 record en route to its first-ever Northeast Conference Championship and a date with No. 17 Ohio State in the opening round of the NCAA Women’s College Cup tournament.
The Red Flash quickly showed they fit in on a national stage, taking the Big Ten Champion Buckeyes to double-overtime before succumbing in the 106th minute.
In 2005, van Stralen directed the Red Flash to its first-ever winning season, posting an 11-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark in the Northeast Conference, on its way to the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2001.
In the summer of 2005, she coached the Pittsburgh-based Steel City Sparks of the Women’s Premier Soccer League, where she was named the league’s Coach of the Year. The Sparks finished with a 7-3-3 overall record and advanced to the WPSL championship tournament.
The WPSL is the only national women’s soccer league in the United States and was rated the second-best women’s league in the world by the Women’s World Football Ranking Service.
Prior to arriving in Loretto, van Stralen served as an assistant coach at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., for three seasons (2001-03). The Penmen posted an 11-5-4 final record in 2003 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Southern New Hampshire ranked as high as fourth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s (NSCAA) New England Division II poll in 2003.
A 1999 graduate of Franklin Pierce College, van Stralen also attended the Frans Hals College Sports Academy in Overveen, Holland from 1992-95. As a player, she helped lead Franklin Pierce to NCAA Division II national championships in 1996, 1997 and 1999, earning NSCAA first-team All-America honors in 1998 and 1999. van Stralen earned Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors at Franklin Pierce in 1996, and currently ranks 19th on the Raven’s all-time scoring list with 67 points (25 goals, 17 assists).
A native of Holland, van Stralen competed on the Dutch National Team from 1994-95. She has coached the last four years in the Pennsylvania Olympic Development Program after spending five years in the Massachusetts ODP system.
Also an eight-year member of the Region I coaching staff, van Stralen has been a member of the Dutch Coaches Association (KNVB) for the past 14 years, where she holds the Oefenmeester (License III).
Brenda van Stralen File
| SAINT FRANCIS COACHING RECORD |
| Season |
Record |
NEC Record |
Tournament |
| 2004 |
6-10-2 |
4-3-2 |
|
| 2005 |
11-7-3 |
5-2-2 |
#3 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2006 |
8-8-2 |
4-3-2 |
|
| 2007 |
7-9-3 |
4-3-2 |
|
| 2008 |
7-6-6 |
4-3-2 |
|
| 2009 |
8-8-2 |
5-5-0 |
|
| 2010 |
15-5-2 |
8-2-0 |
#2 Seed, Won NEC Title |
| 2011 |
12-6-3 |
8-1-1 |
#1 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2012 |
14-5-2 |
10-0-0 |
#1 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2013 |
13-8-4 |
7-1-0 |
#1 Seed, Won NEC Title |
| 2014 |
3-12-5 |
3-2-3 |
#4 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2015 |
4-13-2 |
4-3-1 |
#1 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2016 |
10-12-0 |
6-2 |
#4 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| 2017 |
10-8-3 |
6-1-1 |
#2 Seed in NEC Tournament |
| TOTALS (14 Years) |
128-117-39 |
78-31-16 |
|
