NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After his sixth year leading the Christopher Newport women's soccer team, head coach
Dan Weiler has been named the D3soccer.com National Coach of the Year for his efforts in 2018. In an announcement made Thursday morning, senior
Gabby Gillis was also named the National Midfielder of the Year and was joined by sophomore
Riley Cook as a first team All-America selection.
The historical 2018 season culminated in the Captains reaching the program's first ever national semifinals, led by Weiler on the sidelines. CNU finished 21-2-0 overall with a third straight conference championship behind Weiler, who was also named the VaSID State Coach of the Year and the United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year. It was the third straight season Weiler garnered State Coach of the Year honors, becoming only the second guide in history to earn as many selections.
With his National Coach of the Year honor, Weiler joins a elite group of CNU coaches to earn the top honor in his or her sport. He is the fourth CNU coach to be named National Coach of the Year after Vince Brown (Track & Field),
Carrie Moura (Field Hockey), and
John Krikorian (Men's Basketball). Weiler improved to 97-19-9 overall through six seasons at CNU for a winning percentage of 81.2%. In conference games, Weiler has led the Captains to a 47-2-2 mark for a record of over 94%.
On the field, two-time CAC Player of the Year and first-team All-American midfielder
Gabby Gillis continues to pile up her postseason accolades by becoming the first National Player of the Year in CNU soccer history. She is the first women's student-athlete since Chelsie Schweers (Women's Basketball) in 2011 to earn top honors in her sport and just the fourth Captain, men's or women's, to collect the honor in the last 20 years (Kenny Moreland - 2008, Baseball; Richard Roethell - 2012, Track & Field).
The D3soccer.com announcement listed four national players of the year with Gillis being tabbed the National Midfielder of the Year. The Captains leader in the middle of the pitch was a first-team All-American as a junior and followed up that campaign with an even finer senior season. She set personal highs with 15 goals, 11 assists, and 41 points while posting a pair of hat tricks and three game-winning goals. Defensively, she helped CNU post the second finest goals-against average in program history while continuing to prove herself the most reliable player in program history. Gillis set program marks for starts, games played, consecutive starts, and consecutive games played while also leading the team off the field as the United Soccer Coaches Scholar Player of the Year.
Joining Gillis at the top of the dangerous CNU attack, forward
Riley Cook earned first team All-American honors from both the USC and D3soccer.com in her second year. With the two picks, Christopher Newport is the only team represented with multiple players on the first team. Cook was one of only four sophomores overall and only two underclassmen on the first team.
The second-year forward pieced together the finest offensive season in the history of Christopher Newport soccer after a record-shattering year. She scored 25 goals and added 6 assists to become the first captain to eclipse 50 points in a single year, finishing with 56. She led the nation in game-winning goals, with 12, and also picked up a pair of hat tricks during the year. She started all 23 games and has already moved into fourth on the all-time scoring chart with 90 career points. During the season, she scored a goal in 11 straight games and a point in 16 straight contests, obliterating the previous CNU marks and inserting herself among the NCAA leaders all-time across all three divisions.
Christopher Newport finished the year ranked No. 4 in the nation in both the USC and D3soccer.com Top 25 polls. The Captains graduate Gillis from this year's championship-caliber team, but return 10 starters to the 2019 version of the squad.
| 2018 WOMEN'S PLAYERS OF THE YEAR |
| Forward of the Year: Caitlin Mertens (Sr.), Lynchburg |
| Midfielder of the Year: Gabby Gillis (Sr.), Chris. Newport |
| Defender of the Year: DJ Cole (Sr.), Messiah |
| Goalkeeper of the Year: Emily Janiszewski (Sr.), SUNY Geneseo |
| 2018 WOMEN'S ALL-AMERICANS |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
Year |
School |
| F |
Caitlin Mertens |
Sr. |
Lynchburg |
| F |
Riley Cook |
So. |
Chris. Newport |
| M |
Gabby Gillis * |
Sr. |
Chris. Newport |
| M |
Maggie Crist ** |
Sr. |
Washington U. |
| M |
Megan Barwick * |
Sr. |
William Smith |
| M |
Jenna McKinney ** |
Sr. |
Chicago |
| D |
DJ Cole ** |
Sr. |
Messiah |
| D |
Kristen Canepa |
Jr. |
Trinity (Texas) |
| D |
Jessie Turner |
Jr. |
Centre |
| D |
Faith Eichenour |
So. |
TCNJ |
| GK |
Emily Janiszewski |
Sr. |
Geneseo State |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
Year |
School |
| F |
Ashley St. Aubin |
Jr. |
Augsburg |
| F |
Rubii Tamen |
Sr. |
Amherst |
| F |
Alana Hughes |
Jr. |
Centre |
| M |
Darcy Cunningham * |
Sr. |
Washington U. |
| M |
Kennedy Jakubek |
Sr. |
Lynchburg |
| M |
Maddie Peña |
Sr. |
New York Univ. |
| M |
Sophia Struckman |
Jr. |
MIT |
| D |
Hannah Menard |
Sr. |
Washington U. |
| D |
Emilie Sauvayre |
Jr. |
William Smith |
| D |
Sarah Krisa |
Sr. |
Hardin-Simmons |
| GK |
Hannah Miller |
Jr. |
Nazareth |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Pos. |
Player |
Year |
School |
| F |
Chelsea Cole |
Sr. |
Trinity (Texas) |
| F |
Marin McCoy * |
Sr. |
Swarthmore |
| F |
Brooke Firestone |
Jr. |
Messiah |
| M |
Julia Panko |
Jr. |
Stevens |
| M |
Bella Shivley |
So. |
Otterbein |
| M |
Margaret Harings |
Sr. |
UW-La Crosse |
| M |
Claire Robinson |
Sr. |
Middlebury |
| D |
Sarah Kelly |
Jr. |
Williams |
| D |
Sarah Tomich |
So. |
Wheaton (Ill.) |
| D |
Kristen Ritter |
Sr. |
Misericordia |
| GK |
Olivia Barnhill * |
Sr. |
Williams |
| * previous D3soccer.com All-America honors |
| 2018 WOMEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR |
| Dan Weiler, Christopher Newport (21-2-0) - 2018 National Semifinalist |
