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Kristen St. Clair
Kristen St. Clair was named the California Baptist University women's soccer head coach in March 2007 and has staked her claim as a coaching star in collegiate women's soccer. St. Clair, the four-time NAIA All-American goalkeeper as a player, wasted little time making a name for herself and her program. She has led the Lancers to the most wins in program history, consecutive 15-win seasons, and three PacWest Conference and NCCAA National Championships (2011, 2012).
Since joining the NCAA DI ranks, St. Clair and her teams haven't missed a beat. She has produced three 10-plus win seasons. In the shortened 2020-21 season, the Lancers produced eight All-Western Athletic Conference honorees - the most since joining the WAC in the 2018 season. Rola Badawiya, Romy Salvador, and Erin Gallagher were all named All-WAC First Team.
In the 2022 season, the Lancers went 8-5-5 and made the WAC tournament in their first year eligible. CBU produced two more All-WAC honorees in Lourdes Bosch (First-Team) and Taylor Summit (Second-Team) and had three players on the All-Region Team with Bosch, Summit and Ari Coronado.
In the 2019 season, the Lancers exceeded all expectations, taking second in the conference standings after going 6-2-0 in the WAC and 13-5-1 on the season. The Lancers were picked to finish tied for seventh in the WAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Badawiya and Karley Weeks were both named United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region Team.
St. Clair guided CBU to a 12-5-1 overall record in its first season in NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference in 2018. Two Lancers earned All-WAC honors, with Desare Felix being named All-West Region in Division I, as well.
In CBU's final Division II season, St. Clair led the Lancers' to their third PacWest Conference Championship and an appearance at the NCAA Division II West Regional. CBU finished the year with an 11-5-3 mark and saw goalkeeper Sara Escobedo set new career records in most saves (307) and most shutouts (26).
On Sept. 17, 2010, with a 2-1 win over then-ranked No. 7 Martin Methodist, she picked up her 51st career victory, then becoming the program's all-time leader in coaching victories and has since kept the winning tradition.
Under St. Clair's leadership, 68 Lancers have earned all-conference honors, with 19 grabbing All-American distinction. CBU has also produced three PacWest Players of the Year (Bernadette Witz, 2012; Kelly Jenks, 2013; Lindsay Vesling, 2014), two PacWest Newcomers of the Year (Kylee Nicassio , 2011; Justene Kesterson, 2014) and three PacWest Goalkeepers of the Year (Nicoline Jorgensen, 2011; Rosie Nakata, 2012; Sara Escobedo, 2017).
In 2014, St. Clair led the Lancers to an 11-4-3 overall finish and undefeated 9-0-3 record in conference. While CBU just missed out on a second-straight NCAA Division II postseason appearance, it placed a conference-high 11 players on the All-PacWest teams.
With a 4-1 victory over Holy Names on Sept. 21, 2013, St. Clair hit the century mark in the win column. She went on to lead the Lancers to a 12-5-1 overall finish and 10-2 PacWest record. CBU made its first-ever NCAA Division II Championship Tournament appearance, but ultimately fell in penalty kicks to Cal State San Bernardino to end the run.
For the second year in a row, CBU took home the top accolade in the 2013 PacWest postseason awards with Jenks being named Player of the Year. A conference-high nine athletes were named to the team, with four grabbing first team recognition. Three more went on to earn All-West Region honors, with Jenks and Bernadette Witz moving on to become the first NCAA Division II All-American girls in program history.
In 2012, the Lancers tied the program record they set in 2011, going 18-2-1. CBU won the PacWest and NCCAA National Championships, and she was named PacWest and NCCAA Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Five players earned NCCAA All-American and six earned All-PacWest recognition. Witz was named PacWest and NCCAA Player of the Year.
During CBU's inaugural campaign in the PacWest in 2011, the Lancers set a new program wins mark, going 18-2-1 and winning a first-ever NCCAA National Championship. St. Clair also led CBU to a PacWest conference title with a 10-1-1 record in the program's first year in the NCAA Division II conference. Through four games of NCCAA regional and national tournament play the Lancers outscored opponents 12-1 to win the title.
In 2010, St. Clair led the Lancers to a 15-6-2 mark and spent the entire season in the top 15 of the NAIA, finishing at No. 11. They qualified for their third straight NAIA National Tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals for the second straight year and were 8-4-1 against nationally-ranked teams.
St. Clair led the 2008 Lancers to a 16-5-1 season, which at the time was their best record ever, an 8-1-1 second place finish in the GSAC and the program’s first national tournament berth since 2003. Along the way, the Lancers were ranked as high as No. 6 and had five wins against nationally-ranked teams.
Prior to CBU, St. Clair spent the 2006 season as an assistant at NCAA Division I Wisconsin-Milwaukee, serving as the recruiting coordinator, assisting in match management, training session preparation, player development and assisting in travel organization. In her one season with the Panthers, St. Clair was part of a program that finished 16-4-2, won their seventh straight Horizon League title and earned a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to No. 1 Notre Dame, 1-0, in the second round. Along the way, the Panthers set school-records for wins (16), winning percentage (.773), shutouts (16), goals allowed (10) and goals-against average (0.44), which was the fourth-best average in the nation. Additionally, the Panthers were third in the nation in shutout percentage (.730).
Prior to her time at UWM, St. Clair spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara fulfilling several responsibilities, which included recruiting, training development and implementation, player development and working with the goalkeepers. In her first season (2004), St. Clair’s keepers posted 10 shutouts, saw their save percentage rise above 80 percent, went 13-6-2 and won the Big West Conference championship.
One of the finest keepers in the history of the NAIA, St. Clair earned NAIA All-American first team honors twice (1998-99) along with second team honors in 2000. She received All-American honorable mention as a 1997 freshman. Her 40 career shutouts rank fourth on the NAIA’s all-time list and her 0.62 career goals against average is seventh. In 1999, she posted 14 shutouts and a 0.50 goals against average while leading the Warriors to the NAIA National Championship and earning the tournament’s Outstanding Defensive Player award. Both of those totals still rank among the all-time single-season leaders in the history of the NAIA.
During her career at Westmont, the Warriors made four NAIA Tournament appearances, going 8-1-2 in tournament games. Westmont reached the Final Four during her 1997 freshman campaign. She was also a four-time All-GSAC honoree.
St. Clair, who works in various summer camps both regionally and nationally, including the University of Notre Dame, holds an NSCAA Premier License and NSCAA Goalkeeper License. She earned her USSF “A” Coaching License in the summer of 2010.
She graduated from Westmont in 2001 with a degree in kinesiology and currently resides in Riverside. She also completed a Master's Degree in kinesiology, sport management at CBU.
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