IWLCA Names 2018 Coaches of the Year in Division II

4 Mentors Recognized

The IWLCA has named the 2018 National and Regional Coaches of the Year in Division II. The Regional and National Coaches of the Year for all three Divisions will be honored at the IWLCA Honors Banquet held on November 14 during the IWLCA Annual Meetings at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Florida.

Kathy Taylor, Le Moyne College

Through four seasons on the Heights, Taylor has guided the Dolphins to a 77-10 record, including a mark of 49-3 in Northeast-10 Conference play, and the program's first national championship in 2018. During her tenure, the Dolphins have captured two Northeast-10 Regular Season championships, one Northeast-10 tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Semifinals each of her four seasons, the first time in the program’s history that feat has been accomplished. Under her tutelage, 16 student-athletes have earned IWLCA All-America honors and 21 have been recognized with IWLCA All-Region accolades. Kelly Gaffney was recognized as the IWLCA Defender of the Year and Hannah George was recognized as the IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018.

Atlantic Region

Xeni Barakos-Yoder, East Stroudsburg University

Xeni Barakos-Yoder led ESU to its first-ever NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional title and national semifinal appearance in her third season with the Warriors, who finished with a 15-4 record ending with a 20-14 loss to Florida Southern in the semifinals. She had three IWLCA Division II All-America selections. The Warriors made their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, after a 17-3 record in 2017, and earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament wins, 12-11 vs. Mercyhurst and 16-14 vs. West Chester. Barakos-Yoder has a 44-12 record at her alma mater.

East Region

Kathy Taylor, Le Moyne College

See bio above.

Midwest Region

James Delaney, University of Indianapolis

In his first year as the head coach of the UIndy women’s lacrosse program, James Delaney took the Greyhounds to new heights. As the interim coach, Delaney led the team to five top-25 victories, a GLIAC tournament title, and the program’s first NCAA tournament berth in just its third season. Nine Greyhounds earned all-conference recognition, including Freshman of the Year Lauryn Hardoy and Defender of the Year Riley McClure, who was recently named UIndy’s first All-America recipient in the sport of women’s lacrosse. Overall, there were four UIndy student-athletes who received all-region recognition. Also as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Hounds ranked eighth in NCAA Division II in scoring offense with 17.20 goals per game. On the defense end, UIndy ranked 24th in scoring defense, allowing just 10.25 goals against.

South Region

Kara Reber, Florida Southern University

Florida Southern finished the season with a 21-2 record and were the 2018 NCAA Division II Runners-Up. Under Reber’s guidance, the Mocs became just the third team in Division II women's lacrosse history to advance to three-straight title games. This year's win total of 21 wins ties the school record for the most wins in a single season. That total is also tied for the second-most wins in a season in NCAA Division II history.