St. John's University Athletics
Ian Stone Receives Long-Term Contract Extension
9/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
QUEENS, N.Y. - Already the most successful head coach in the history of St. John's Women's Soccer, Ian Stone has signed a long-term contract extension, reassuring his commitment to continually raise the Red Storm to new heights.
"I am extremely honored the University's Administration thinks highly enough of me to provide me with a long-term contract extension," said Stone. "I am very proud of how far the St. John's Women's Soccer program has come in all areas under my tenure. I look forward to even greater successes in the future."
A two-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Stone had his most successful season to date in 2015, leading the Red Storm to a school-record 15 wins and claiming the first BIG EAST Regular Season title in program history. The Johnnies earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in just three seasons and were selected to host an opening-round game for the first time in team history.
Stone has the Red Storm off to another hot start in 2016, as the team went undefeated through its first seven games and currently sits with a record of 4-1-3. Following a showing at the Nike Portland Invitational that saw the Johnnies play perennial Pac-12 power Washington to a scoreless draw, the Red Storm earned five votes in the latest NSCAA Coaches' rankings released on Tuesday.
With 212 career victories and a .550 all-time winning percentage to his name, Stone has built a reputation as one of college soccer's most respected managers over the past two and a half decades, twice earning recognition as the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year (2009, 2015) and twice securing the title of BIG EAST Coach of the Year (2006 and 2015). Stone's peers at St. John's have also taken notice of his leadership prowess, selecting him as the Herbert V. Hess Coach of the Year three times (1998, 2008 and 2016).
Since he took over the reins of the programs prior to the start of the 1994 BIG EAST Championship campaign, Stone has mentored 34 All-BIG EAST selections and nine BIG EAST All-Freshman Team members. Stone has seen his players earn major awards from the conference on eight occasions, as Rachel Daly took home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors twice (2013, 2015) and was named the BIG EAST Newcomer of the Year in 2013. In 2014 and 2015, both Georgia Kearney-Perry and Diana Poulin were named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively, in consecutive seasons, while Kaitlin Schmidt was selected as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 2002.
Over the past two and a half decades, Stone has developed a wide-reaching tree of former assistants and players who have gone on to rise through the coaching ranks. In the Tri-State Area alone, Stone has mentored the current head coaches at Fordham, LIU-Brooklyn, Adelphi and SUNY Purchase, while his own staff contains two former players in Assistant Coach Jen Leaverton and Graduate Assistant Georgia Kearney-Perry.
Embodying the Vincentian mission of the University, Stone's squads have won the St. John's Community Service Award on four occasions (2004, 2008, 2010, 2014) and have been honored with the NSCAA Team Academic Award 13 times. This past academic year, the women's soccer team compiled an average GPA of 3.7, the highest mark in program history.
Stone and the Red Storm return to action on Sunday afternoon, welcoming La Salle to Belson Stadium for the Johnnies' non-conference finale. First kick is set for 1 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.
