Returning for her 15th season as Nazareth's women's soccer coach, Gail Mann has helped the Golden Flyers maintain their standing among the nation's elite programs for more than a decade.
Although last year's 9-7-3 overall record snapped a string of 11 straight seasons of double digit victories, Mann was able guide her team to an eighth straight Empire 8 Conference championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002.
Under Mann's direction, Nazareth made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1997 through 2002. Only a few stray penalty kicks denied them access in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In addition, the Golden Flyers' 13-6-2 overall record in 2005 included the ECAC Upstate title.
Mann has been at the coaching forefront for all of the Golden Flyers' most significant achievements since taking over as coach in 1993. In just her second season, the Golden Flyers finished 9-8-2 and reached the NYSWCAA Tournament. In 1996, they rolled to a 16-6-1 record and secured berths in both the NYSWCAA and ECAC Tournaments.
Nazareth's steady progression continued under Mann's direction in 1997 as the team finished 16-1-2 and landed its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Nazareth's first NCAA game was a memorable one -- a thrilling 3-2 triple overtime win over Oneonta. Mann was recognized that year as New York Region Coach of the Year, an honored that was duplicated in 2002. She was named Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 as Nazareth set a school record with 17 victories and captured the NCAA New York Region title.
Mann's 14-year coaching record of 175-74-23 computes to a .686 winning percentage, which ranks among the top 20 active coaches in Division III. Since 1995 she has coached 48 NYSWCAA all-stars, 36 regional All-Americans and five national All-Americans.
A native of Rochester, Mann came to Nazareth in '93 after five seasons as an assistant coach at SUNY Brockport. She was head coach of the New York West Olympic Development U-15 team from 1992-1998 and led the team to the Region 1 championship in 1995.
Mann graduated from Spencerport High School, where she excelled in soccer, basketball and softball. She played soccer at SUNY Cortland and was a starting striker on the 1986 team that reached the
Division III Final Four.
At Nazareth, in addition to coaching soccer, Mann was an assistant coach for the Golden Flyers' women's lacrosse team for 10 seasons (1995-2004) and helped the team to three NCAA tournament berths. She now serves as advisor to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.
