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College of Charleston

College of Charleston Athletics
 301 Meeting Street Charleston, SC 29424
Division 1 South Carolina Southeast
Public Large National competitor
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Christian Michner

Christian Michner is in his 14th season as the head coach of the College of Charleston women's soccer program. He has directed the Cougars to a record of 89-122-17 with 17 student-athletes garnering a total of 27 all-conference honors.


In 2022, the Cougars posted a 8-7-3 record with season opening 2-0 victory over Alabama A&M. From September 2 through September 11, Charleston won four straight games and finished their season in a draw over UNCW. The Cougars took the home the title of city champions after taking the 2-0 win over Charleston Southern.


In 2021, the Cougars season was highlighted by a 2-0 win at Appalachian State and a 1-0 victory at Delaware, but the high point came in the home finale. UNCW came into Patriots Point with a chance to clinch the CAA regular season championship. The Cougars would deny the Seahawks that chance, winning 3-2 in extra time on Delaney Dawes' game-winner in the 97th minute.


The Cougars posted a record of 8-10 in 2019 including a five-game winning streak in which the team allowed only one goal. That run included a 2-0 win over Charleston Southern, marking the 19th straight season that CofC earned the Silver Cup. The previous season the Cougars went 11-8-1 with five victories in CAA play and defeated Drexel in the opening round of the conference tournament before dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to top-seeded James Madison.


In 2017, CofC posted an 8-9-1 record including a four-game shutout streak heading into the conference slate and made their second appearance in the CAA Tournament. The 2016 Cougars were the first team to see CAA postseason action thanks to a 3-3-3 conference slate and 10-7-3 overall record. For a full month between August 28 and September 30, CofC peeled off a nine-game unbeaten streak to tie the school record for the longest such spree. During that time, the Cougars outscored opponents 17-1.


Michner oversaw the team's transition into the CAA in 2013 and guided the Cougars to their first point in the conference standings with a 1-1 draw against Delaware.


After a 9-10-1 mark in his debut season in 2010, the Cougars broke out in Michner's second year at the helm. CofC set a school record with 13 wins and went 7-3-1 in the Southern Conference, earning the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. The Cougars then defeated Elon (3-0) and Georgia Southern (4-2) to advance to the third championship game in program history before dropping a 1-0 decision in the final three minutes against No. 1 seed Samford.


The 2011 Cougars placed three players on the all-conference team and three on the all-tournament team. The offense led the SoCon with 44 goal.


In 2012, Michner pitted his team against No. 1 Florida State and No. 3 Wake Forest, proving his drive to put the Cougars on the field against the highest level of competition. After the completion of that season, the Cougars had played three of the teams that reached the 2011 Final Four in a 12-month span.


Michner's recruiting skills has led to a pair of Top 20 national classes for CofC. He also saw to it that the Cougars hosted an international friendly with Trinidad and Tobago in 2014 after he organized a self-funded team trip to the island nations in 2012.


Michner, a CofC alumnus, returned to his alma mater after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois under head coach Janet Rayfield. The Illini were ranked as high as No. 11 in the nation and produced six All-Americans, 11 All-Big Ten first team selections and 51 Academic All-Big Ten honorees during Michner's tenure.


Prior to joining the Illinois staff, Michner spent one season as an associate head coach and three as an assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma under head coach Randy Evans.


Michner has a wealth of soccer experience both as a coach and a player. He spent two years as a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team, and his coaching resume includes stints with the Cal South Olympic Development Program and multiple youth soccer leagues across the country. Michner attained his U.S. Soccer Federation "A" Coaching License in 2006 and NSCAA Premier Diploma in 2010. He is also a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and U.S. Soccer Federation.


A 1998 graduate, Michner played for longtime Cougar men's soccer coach Ralph Lundy from 1996-98 after transferring from Creighton University. After graduation he played five years in the professional ranks with the Colorado Rapids, San Jose Clash, San Francisco Bay Seals, Seattle Sounders, El Paso Patriots and San Diego Flash.


He is married to the former Sarah Popper, who was an NSCAA First Team All-American at the University of Connecticut and played professionally in the Women's United Soccer Association with the Boston Breakers. They are the proud parents of two sons, Caelen and Brooks.


MICHNER'S ALL-TIME RECORD

2010 - Col. of Charleston - 9-10-1 (.475)

2011 - Col. of Charleston - 13-8-1 (.614)

2012 - Col. of Charleston - 7-12-1 (.375)

2013 - Col. of Charleston - 2-14-1 (.147)

2014 - Col. of Charleston - 7-11-1 (.385)

2015 - Col. of Charleston - 8-9-1 (.472)

2016 - Col. of Charleston - 10-7-3 (.575)

2017 - Col. of Charleston - 8-9-1 (.472)

2018 - Col. of Charleston - 11-8-1 (.575)

2019 - Col. of Charleston - 8-10-0 (.444)

2020 (played in Spring 2021) - Col. of Charleston - 0-8-1 (.056)

2021 - Col. of Charleston - 3-12-3 (.250)

2022- Col. of Charleston- 8-7-3 (.528)


ALL-TIME RECORD: 94-125-18 (.437)

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Shanna Caldwell

Shanna Caldwell is in her sixth season with the College of Charleston women's soccer program after joining head coach Christian Michner in the spring of 2017.


Caldwell came to CofC with 15 years of coaching experience, including a four-season stint as the first-ever women's soccer head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.


While with the Islanders, Caldwell took total ownership of the new program, helping to design the brand new $8.8 million Dugan Stadium, which serves as the home of TAMUCC's soccer and track & field programs. She propelled her student-athletes both on the field and in the classroom, leading them to a program-best 5-5-1 Southland record in 2015 as well as a cumulative team GPA of 3.0.


Prior to her time in Corpus Christi, she served as recruiting coordinator at Akron (2008-11) and Baylor (2006-08) and before that was an assistant at Alabama (2005) and Oklahoma (2002-05). While working for Sooner women's soccer, she and Michner worked together as colleagues for a season.


During her playing career, Caldwell was a goalkeeper for both North Carolina and UConn before going on to play for the Greensboro Sparks and Virginia Beach Piranhas of the W-League as well as WUSA's Atlanta Beat.


While playing for the Huskies in 2001, she was the national leader in goals against average. She was also a member of the U-20 Olympic Development Program national pool. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from UConn.

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Sarah Leiby

Assistant Coach

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